Characteristics of tradeable congestion:

• a 2-way market [meaning price moves as 'easily' up as it does down] BUT does since it keeps moving back and forth the market remains in a congestion range -vs- continuing and expanding one direction.

• range width is wide enough so that a centerline trade that tests either extreme is able to gain a base partial profit.

• price movement is continuous AND with base setup-pattern.  For instance a base setup - break2 entry WITH mex flow on the retrace -vs- random chop AND momentum-mex zero line 'braiding'.

• NOTE:  watch for a market transition - either into tighter width AND 'choppier' movement OR into continuation.

yellow dot1-2:  break1 pivot trade - there is no setup in either case.

yellow dot3:  after the pivot sell goes to a higher low holding the purple line - you reverse again on what you are viewing as a break2 entry. This may be a line break2 BUT there is no trade setup - there is no combination ttm flip back green WITH a retrace into the trade where mex is flowing up.

dark blue dot:  3 non-setup losers in a row - want to make it 4 in a row?  NO WAY.  BUT this is actually a base setup - IF you had been viewing the price movement on a slower chart for clarity - the recommended thing to do inside of 'congestion chop'.  On that chart this is a break2 entry AND that retrace was WITH mex flow up - AND for continuation there was the diagonal to trade into/through.

blue dot:  after the 3 losers also caused you not to 'see' a base setup that you then become aware of - you chase the trade and buy the breakout of the swing high - which holds the range AND you get another non-setup losing trade.

We can't 'see' inside a chart like this, or many [most] of the congestion-consolidation trading period that we get UNLESS we are specifically looking for something that we have already defined. 

• taking a left side price AND bringing it right as a focus line

• wait until the right side setup is a break2 at the same location

• AND with 2 prior breaks to trade into/through

• WITH the 'best' setups including a reject of a price specific - this combination giving a reject-failure component.

yellow line:  take to the right side as a focus line

dark blue line1:  the top dark blue line is right side relevant as the high before break1 of the yellow line BUT it is chart significant as a left side price specific - this gives this reject as an additional selectivity component.

A:  on the line drawing it is shown as a lower high/on the actual chart it is a double hold - these are both rejects of the dark blue line.

dark blue dots:  these 2 dots are the prior breaks of the yellow line that is being traded into/through - what i have referred to as an inverted diagonal.  the significance of the inverted triple diagonal OR triple diagonal - is that these are diagonal breakout points -vs- a horizontal line breakout.

dark blue line2:  the bottom dark blue line is the congestion range low - additionally significant as a breakdown area from the previous day - this gives another breakout area that is being traded into. 

B:  always note mex flow on your retraces - a reject-failure combination includes mex flow down on the retrace-retest of the reject price - in this case the top dark blue line/or the lower high A in the line drawing.

green dot1 - green dot2:  left side trade setups included an initial buy, and an addon buy - note that the addon is a price break setup of the dark blue line, which was a previous left side price action area price.

transition:  this market transition is typical - where a directional move 'stops' as a price momentum divergence at a resistance point [OR support if direction was down].

yellow dots:  after the pmd high, price moves side ways between resistance AND a support point, which in this example is the area of the dark blue line shifting from left side resistance to right side support. 

this movement to the right of the vertical line is a transition from direction to consolidation - not considering this situation in your trading decisions, and instead only attempting to trade 'right side', tends to be quite futile likely leading to a series of 'consolidation overtrading losses' AND then the 'missing' of a consolidation break setup.

yellow line - dark blue dot:  left side price that has been extended into this chart - do not sell the dot with the indicator reverse 'right into' this key price that has NOT been setup to break

yellow dot - blue dot:  after the pmd high you do not do the counter trade at the yellow dot BUT do sell the blue dot as a first continuation trade - right into the yellow line which hits-holds as a double bottom.

IF you take this trade - you take some 'heat' AND end up with a winning trade BUT the blue dot isn't a 'base' first continuation setup because of the yellow line support.  NOTE:  the purple rectangle - there is nothing to do at that line test regardless of whether there was an indicator reverse.  no buy AND no exit on the first hit-test of this line [do determine the amount you would let the line break before going flat].

red dot:  this sell is the base consolidation entry - a shift-reject of the blue line as resistance WITH the break2 of the dark blue focus line WHEN the yellow line has been setup to fail as a triple bottom break.

yellow line pmd low - yellow dot:  the left side directional move again went into consolidation after a pmd - this time between the pmd low AND the floor number as resistance.  i would not buy the yellow dot - regardless that it is a right side base setup at the time - the decision being related to doing a counter-consolidation trade at resistance.

green dot1:  this became the buy - BUT isn't this also a trade right at resistance - the trade that wasn't done at the yellow dot?  NO - there is a method difference where this setup is now a price failure setup since it's through 2 setup points -vs- a price break setup of only 1 setup point.

red dot:  this trade was done as an attempt to resume the previous sell.  it is an initial trade entry BUT with room to support at the floor number-blue line.

green dot2:  support holds AND there is another reverse through the dark blue line BUT instead of buying an initial reverse - the trade is done when the dark blue line shifts to support AND still with the momentum of the initial reverse.  this move resumes the consolidation transition into buy AND continues to the blue square.