Field Notes
When RSI and ADX Disagree
Overbought does not mean ‘reverse’ when trend strength is still climbing — how we teach the disagreement in class.
In the intensive we keep a running list of nights when RSI prints above 70 while ADX is still rising through the mid-twenties. Newer chart readers often treat the oscillator extreme as a countdown to reversal. The ADX reading says something quieter: directional movement still has conviction.
Name the question first
Ask whether you are measuring speed or strength. RSI answers speed relative to recent closes. ADX answers whether the directional move is organised enough to respect. When they disagree, write both answers in the margin before you invent a trade.
Classroom drill
We hand out the same electronics daily chart to every seat. Half the room marks only RSI. The other half marks only ADX and DI lines. Then we swap packets. The conversation that follows is almost always the same: the RSI-only group wants to fade; the ADX group wants to wait. Neither is “right” until someone states the holding period and the invalidation level.
A mild caution
Disagreement is not a licence to ignore risk. Strong trends still end. The point of the drill is to stop collapsing two different measurements into one impatient decision.