Pattern school
What the tape is drawing
Elliott, Wyckoff, Power of 3, and the named setups — same story in four dialects. Open a card. The diagram is the lesson. The cheat is what you do. The kill line is when you are wrong.
Elliott wavesMarkets breathe in fives and give it back in threes. Wave 2 is the trap. Wave 3 is the meat.
WyckoffSize builds a cause in a range, then spends it. Phase C is the last lie — that lie is the entry.
Power of 3Accumulate in a box. Raid one side (the Judas swing). Expand the other way. The raid is the setup, not the breakout.
Named patternsA sketch until the neckline, rim, or wedge floor does the confirming close. Until then, it is not a trade.
Named patterns
Rising wedge
Looks like a trend. Usually distribution in disguise.
Both boundary lines slope up and converge. Each push is smaller. Volume often fades. Confirming close is under the rising floor.
The cheat
A close under the rising floor is the tell. Do not buy the fifth tap of a dying wedge. Hard stop if you defend it.
It dies if
A close through the upper line on volume is a real breakout, not a wedge fail. Cover and reassess.
A sketch until the neckline, rim, or wedge floor does the confirming close. Until then, it is not a trade.
Named patterns
Cup and handle
Rounded base, then a shallow rest.
Named patterns
Head and shoulders
Three peaks. The middle is the head.
Named patterns
Inverse head and shoulders
Three troughs. The middle is the deepest.
Named patterns
Double top
The same high, refused twice.
Named patterns
Double bottom
The same floor, held twice.
Named patterns
Rising wedge
Higher highs, higher lows — floor catching the ceiling.
Named patterns
Falling wedge
Lower highs, lower lows — ceiling falling faster.
Named patterns
Ascending triangle
Flat supply, rising demand.
Named patterns
Descending triangle
Flat demand, falling supply.
Named patterns
Bull flag
A sharp pole, then a tight downward channel.
Named patterns
Bear flag
A sharp drop, then a tight upward channel.