Lesson 02 · Formation

How supply and demand zones form around a base.

A zone begins with a simple visual story: price arrives, pauses, then leaves. TickerMantis evaluates that story consistently across the chart. You need to understand the roles of those parts—not the private thresholds used to calculate them.

BeginnerAbout 5 minutesConcept + chart use

By the end of this lesson

  • Recognize arrival, pause and departure as the anatomy of a zone.
  • Understand why a clear departure matters more than a random sideways area.
  • Know what to inspect after TickerMantis has already mapped the zone.
TYPICAL RANGE SMALL RANGE BODY FILLS IT LARGE RANGE LARGE BODY — A LEG LARGE RANGE SMALL BODY — A BASE
Body-to-range, then range against recent ranges. Both readings matter.
CONFIRMED DEPARTURE DRIFT THREE CANDLES, NO OVERLAP THE LEVEL WAS ABANDONED NINE CANDLES, ALL OVERLAPPING SLOW DRIFT — DEPARTURE NOT CONFIRMED WITHOUT A CONVINCING LEG-OUT THERE IS NOTHING TO DRAW
Both end higher than the base. Only one of them is evidence.

Three parts of zone formation

The model asks whether price moved into an area, spent time there, and then left with enough evidence to make the area relevant for later review.

Arrival

Price enters the area

The candles before the pause provide context for whether the finished structure continues or reverses the earlier move.

Base

Price pauses

The base is the compact area preserved as the zone. It should be read as an area, not as a single perfect price.

Departure

Price leaves the area

The move away confirms that the pause mattered enough to map. A drift and a decisive departure are not treated as equivalent evidence.

Read the completed zone—not the hidden calculation

Once a zone appears, focus on the information designed for decisions: side, location, width, quality and current distance.

Location

Where is the zone?

Note whether it is above or below price. The planned Pro product adds larger-location context.

Width

How broad is the area?

The planned Screener exposes zone width as a percentage so differently priced symbols can be compared on a common scale.

Freshness

Has price returned?

A newly formed, untouched zone and a previously tested zone do not carry the same current evidence.

Planned shortlist workflow

  1. LocateCompare the planned Screener output with the zone on the chart.
  2. ContextualizeReview the execution zone with planned trend and higher-timeframe context.
  3. WaitUse the planned approach alert instead of repeatedly reopening the chart.
Quick knowledge check

Is every sideways area a TickerMantis base?
No. The engine qualifies a complete formation; a pause by itself is not enough.

Do users need the hidden numeric thresholds?
No. The product exposes the completed zone, quality, width, distance and context needed for the workflow.

Pro status