Market Travel: An Adaptive Framework for Tracking StructureUS Dollar/Japanese YenFX:USDJPYThe_Forex_Steward🧠Understanding Market Travel: An Adaptive Framework for Tracking Structure Manually Market structure can be one of the most challenging patterns to read. There are tools and methods to help interpret it, but none are absolute. As market speed and volatility shift, so does its behavior. That’s why it’s important to move beyond rigid definitions and start understanding how price travels through the market. What Is Travel? “Travel” is a concept I developed through personal study and chart work. As price moves, it naturally forms pullbacks—temporary dips toward the weak side—and breaks—moves that close beyond the strong side. These are the two critical phases that form the backbone of market structure. While most people focus on static patterns, I’ve found more value in learning how price travels through its pullbacks and breaks. These movements aren’t random—they follow clear behavioral patterns. Once you learn to identify these, structure becomes easier to read across timeframes. The Three Modes of Travel I've observed three types of travel that occur between the dip and the break: 1. Pure Sentiment Travel This is the cleanest and most decisive form of travel. Price moves in one dominant direction with little to no opposing candles. For example, in a daily uptrend, the pullback might consist entirely of bearish 4H candles. As soon as a strong bullish candle appears, that typically signals the return toward the trend’s strong high. 2. Stacking Travel Stacking is more nuanced. Price moves with alternating bullish and bearish candles, but the dominant sentiment stays in control. Let’s say price is dipping in a daily uptrend. On the 1H chart, you may see a bearish sequence that includes a few bullish candles. These bullish candles don’t invalidate the bearish structure because they fail to close above the pivot high formed between the last bullish leg and the beginning of the bearish move. As long as that high is respected, the bearish stacking is valid. Once price breaks that high (or, in a bullish stacking case, breaks the pivot low), the stacking order is broken, and that signals a reversal back toward the dominant direction. 3. Shifting Travel Shifting travel looks similar to stacking but is constantly flipping between bullish and bearish stacking. Each shift creates a new high or low within the shifting structure. These micro-structures form lower lows or higher highs as sentiment switches back and forth. Once price breaks its own shifting structure (e.g., breaks a bearish sequence with a bullish close), this typically signals the end of that leg of travel and a reversal toward the dominant higher timeframe trend. How to Apply Travel Across Timeframes These three types of travel operate in a hierarchy: - Shifting travel (LTF) respects stacking travel (MTF) - Stacking travel (MTF) respects pure travel (HTF) - Pure sentiment travel (HTF) is the master mode that resets the others When you identify a new pure sentiment shift on the higher timeframe, that becomes your reset point. From that candle forward, you should begin fresh stacking and shifting analysis on your lower timeframes. Workflow example: 1. Spot a pure sentiment shift on the HTF (e.g., bullish daily candle after a clean bearish pullback) 2. From that pivot low, begin tracking stacking travel on the MTF 3. Use shifting travel on the LTF to navigate inside the stacking structure If stacking or shifting behavior breaks unexpectedly, that usually means market speed is changing—and you may need to reassign which timeframes serve as HTF, MTF, and LTF. Why This Works This framework gives you a fixed point of structure—the dip and the break—but allows you to adapt to the behavior in between. Instead of just reacting to breakouts, you're learning how price moves to get there. That’s what gives you the edge: not just reading where price is, but how it’s traveling to get there. Final Thoughts This adaptive travel model helps break down market structure into something both trackable and flexible. Try observing these travel types in real time and let me know how it works for you. Tools & Resources If you’d like to access my Pure Order Flow indicator and more exclusive tools, visit my TradingView profile: @The_Forex_Steward I’ve built an arsenal of indicators designed to support this framework across different markets and styles. If this breakdown helped, don’t forget to boost the post so others can benefit from it too!