It is certainly more consistent to read when in a clear uptrend or downtrend, than when in a sideways range.
Just for instance, Richard Wyckoff, for the most part, did not even try to trade when price was in a sideways range (usually an accumulation zone to trade long....but also when in a distribution zone, to trade short). He almost always waited for price to breakout, then bought in once price began to trade higher, and was consistently trending higher. He said that risk was lowest when price has broken out and was trending. So he was trading the mark up phase of the Wyckoff schematic.
