Staring at the screen watching market fluctuations? Then you're no different from 90% of retail investors. I was the same when I first entered the scene—consequently, my account shrank day by day, and I was thoroughly harvested.

It wasn't until later that I realized that true experts don't actually look at the candlestick charts themselves—they look at the traps behind the candlesticks.

These three signals, which I have verified in real trading, changed my understanding of the market. With this logic, I exited the BTC top 12 hours early, avoiding the subsequent 15% plunge.

**First: Breakout Trap, the easiest "cut loss line" to fall into**

When the price breaks through the previous high, a large number of people FOMO in—this is the favorite harvesting moment for the whales. The key is how to distinguish real from fake?

Just look at these two points: volume must be at least twice the 3-day average volume; and there should be at least two 4-hour candlesticks firmly above the resistance level. When ETH surged to 2100 in early 2024, trading volume actually shrank, resulting in a 15% crash that day. Most of the people who entered then got caught and took losses.

**Second: Accumulation signals, the whale's layout you can't see**

Market stagnation ≠ nothing happening. When whales quietly build positions at the bottom, they usually leave traces.

Focus on these two key actions: long lower shadows combined with volume contraction and a rebound (being hammered down but quickly pulled back); a sudden large bullish candlestick during sideways movement (usually a signal before initiation).

In practice, I look for a "Three Bottoms" structure on the daily chart—that is, support tested three times without breaking. Coupled with on-chain data to see if whales are quietly adding positions at the bottom, this greatly improves accuracy.

**Third: Escape signals, the two major patterns of top reversal**

The scariest thing isn't the fall itself, but falling without warning beforehand. Remember these two patterns can save your life:

The Hanging Man—long upper shadow, closing near the lowest point, indicating bulls have run out of steam; Evening Star—a combination of a large bullish candle, a doji, and a large bearish candle, the most classic trilogy of trend reversal.

But honestly, these are just basics. The real secret to making money lies deep within structures you haven't yet understood. To understand the market, the key is to change your perspective when analyzing charts.