In trading communities, a fierce debate often rages: which is better, pure price action or indicator-based strategies? The price action purists argue that all you need is on the chart itself—support, resistance, and candlestick patterns. The indicator camp, on the other hand, relies on mathematical tools to filter and interpret market data. The professional trader knows the truth: the debate itself is flawed. The real edge lies in combining them.

Price action is the foundation of all technical analysis. It is the unfiltered story of the battle between buyers and sellers, represented by market structure (higher highs, lower lows) and candlestick patterns. Reading price action tells you what is happening right now. It shows you key levels where control has shifted in the past and where it is likely to shift again. Trading on price action alone is a valid strategy, but it can sometimes lack a deeper layer of confirmation.

Indicators, by contrast, are the interpreters. They are derivatives of price and/or volume that help us understand the context behind the price action. A momentum oscillator, for example, doesn’t just show you that price is going up; it shows you the velocity of that ascent. Is it accelerating with strength, or is it beginning to fade? This is a crucial distinction that price action alone might not reveal immediately.

The true magic happens when you create a confluence between the two. Imagine price action forms a clear double top pattern at a major resistance level—a classic bearish signal. A price action purist might take that trade. But a trader who synthesizes their analysis will look to their indicators for confirmation. They might look at an indicator like the MACD and see that the second peak of the double top occurred on clear bearish divergence.

Now, the trade is no longer just a pattern; it’s a high-probability setup backed by two different analytical methods. The price action identified a potential reversal area, and the MACD confirmed that the momentum required to break that area was fading.

For a prop trader, this method of confluence is everything. It builds discipline, prevents you from chasing weak signals, and provides the conviction needed to hold a trade with confidence. The question isn't "price action or indicators?" The question is, "How can you use indicators to confirm what price action is telling you?"