Cloud Charts: Trading Success with the Ichimoku Technique

In Cloud Charts, David Beckett Linton delivers a complete framework for mastering the Ichimoku Kinko Hyo system—a visual method for reading equilibrium, momentum, and timing directly from price action. Linton strips away the mystique surrounding Japanese cloud analysis and rebuilds it as a structured, rules-based approach that works across markets and timeframes. Through precise chart examples and multi-layered interpretations, he shows how Ichimoku offers traders an integrated model of trend, support/resistance, and confirmation that few Western tools can match. This book moves beyond indicator reading; it teaches how to synchronize the Five Lines of Ichimoku into one dynamic story of balance, breakout, and continuation.

Core Concepts

The Ichimoku system is presented as a price-action ecosystem rather than a single indicator. Linton guides readers through the synergy of its five elements—Tenkan-sen, Kijun-sen, Senkou Span A & B, and Chikou Span—and how their interaction defines the state of the market. You’ll learn how cloud thickness measures volatility, how line crossovers signal equilibrium shifts, and how lagging-span confirmation filters false moves. Real-world charts show how institutional players use cloud confluence to time breakouts, re-entries, and trend reversals. Core lessons include reading context across multiple timeframes, integrating volume and candlestick behavior, and combining Ichimoku structure with Western price-action methods for precise risk control.

Inside the Chart

Linton’s annotated examples take you inside daily, weekly, and intraday charts where the Kumo cloud becomes a living terrain of market sentiment. You’ll see how a flat Kijun attracts price like a magnet, how Senkou Span A shifts reveal momentum loss, and how Chikou confirmation separates true reversals from noise. Step-by-step, the author dissects trending and ranging environments, showing when to stay patient above the cloud and when to exploit pullbacks to the baseline. Traders are shown how to combine classical techniques—trendlines, Fibonacci zones, or price patterns—with Ichimoku structure to confirm entries and exits with institutional precision.

Author’s Edge

David Beckett Linton, an engineer-turned-trader and founder of Updata Analytics, brings quantitative rigor to Ichimoku interpretation. His edge lies in merging Japanese charting philosophy with Western analytical discipline—bridging intuition and algorithmic clarity. Having taught traders worldwide, Linton’s focus on objectivity and repeatable process turns Ichimoku into a measurable, back-testable strategy instead of visual art. The result is a rare guide that speaks equally to discretionary and systematic traders seeking consistency through the clouds.

Cloud Charts: Trading Success with the Ichimoku Technique By David Beckett Linton