Volume context without worshipping the histogram
Using volume as supporting evidence for breaks and retests, not as a standalone signal.
Volume appears in our checklists, yet we refuse to treat a single tall bar as proof. Context matters: rising participation on a break through a well-watched shelf can support the idea; the same tall bar on a quiet mid-cap with no prior interest may mean little.
On retests we look for diminishing pressure against the level as price returns. That pattern is common in textbooks and rare in perfect form on live charts. Training focuses on relative change — quieter than the break bar, not “zero volume.”
If your broker’s volume data is incomplete, say so in the journal and lean harder on price structure. Honest gaps in evidence beat invented certainty. Breakout and retest planning survives imperfect data; it does not survive pretending the histogram is gospel.