Spotted a pattern lately—traders on social media are dropping chart analysis all over the place, but here's the thing: most seem to be playing by their own rulebook. That's not how technical analysis actually works.

Chart patterns aren't some mystical art form you improvise on the fly. There are actual, documented rules that have been around for ages. We're talking about principles that were formally codified way back in 1934 by Richard W. Schabacker, a figure whose work essentially shaped how we read charts today. Those rules existed for a reason—they work because they're based on repeated market behavior and price action patterns.

The problem is obvious: when everyone's making up their own interpretation, you end up with analysis that's all over the map. One trader sees a head and shoulders pattern where another sees something completely different. No consistency. No real edge.

If you're serious about improving your trading game, stop guessing. The foundation matters. Schabacker's work laid out the proper framework for understanding these patterns—what they mean, how to spot them correctly, when they actually signal reversals or continuations. It's worth going back to the source material and learning it right.

Better to know the real rules than keep reinventing the wheel. That's the difference between traders who get lucky and traders who actually know what they're doing.