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1999issue C011-5

Drawing the Triangle pattern before Breakout confirmation and the Stop-loss order

A Triangle pattern is constructed from two converging trendlines that meet at an apex. This article teaches that construction first, then how Breakout confirmation is defined and how a Stop-loss order keeps the hypothesis honest.

  • A Triangle pattern is constructed from two converging trendlines, one through adjacent peaks and one through adjacent troughs, that meet at an apex.
  • The three named constructions are ascending, descending, and symmetrical, and each trendline needs at least two reversal points.
  • Breakout confirmation is the first decisive violation of one of the two trendlines and is the event the construction is meant to anticipate.
  • Waiting for the initial breakout before acting, then placing a Stop-loss order, is presented as the more conservative way to treat a false breakout.
Entries in this reading3 entries
Current trackTriangle pattern55 readingsStop-loss order144 readingsBreakout confirmation172 readings

How a Triangle pattern is drawn

A triangle is constructed from two converging trendlines, one through adjacent peaks and one through adjacent troughs, that meet at an apex.

Each trendline needs at least two reversal points. More approaches without a lasting excursion outside the lines strengthen the construction.

Ascending, descending, and symmetrical constructions

The three named constructions are ascending (flat highs, rising lows), descending (flat lows, falling highs), and symmetrical (neither side horizontal).

What counts as Breakout confirmation

A breakout is the first decisive violation of one of the two trendlines and is the event the construction is meant to anticipate.

A Stop-loss order after the first breakout

Waiting for the initial breakout before acting, then placing a protective stop, is presented as the more conservative way to treat a false breakout.

Banctec symmetrical triangle and the May upside breakout

Banctec trends up into the autumn, then coils through winter between a falling line of highs and a rising line of lows. The May thrust through the upper line is the continuation breakout the pattern is drawn to catch. Weekly-ish prices were read from the published MetaStock pane, not from a printed table.
Banctec trends up into the autumn, then coils through winter between a falling line of highs and a rising line of lows. The May thrust through the upper line is the continuation breakout the pattern is drawn to catch. Weekly-ish prices were read from the published MetaStock pane, not from a printed table.Banctec · Daily · 1998-06-01T00:00:00.000Z to 1999-06-30T00:00:00.000Z

Closes are digitized from the raster to about one tenth of a point. The source prints a 0.5 price grid and does not list a numerical series, so the path is sampled rather than bar-by-bar.

Projecting a target and trailing the stop

A common target construction measures the widest vertical span of the triangle and projects that distance from the breakout point in the breakout direction.

After price has moved a meaningful distance from the broken trendline, the stop used against a false breakout can be trailed, then tightened as the projected target is approached.

Educational research material, not investment advice. Historical source context does not establish present-day performance.
10 of 33 in the Triangle pattern track
20001-7 pp.Next on Triangle patternFour-phase market cycle triangle breakoutsLocate the market in accumulation, markup, distribution, or markdown with a two-close 50-period simple moving average filter before classifying a triangle.
All readings on this track · 33 readings
  1. 1986Gold as a double zigzag before a contracting B-wave triangle
  2. 1990Scoring competing wave counts after a crash
  3. 1992Pre-trade checklist for trendline and triangle signals
  4. 1995Chart patterns as tactics, not strategy
  5. 1996Constructing Elliott wave counts with triangles and Fibonacci
  6. 1996A price-channel case study with a pending triangle signal and a planned stop-loss
  7. 1996Expanding triangle as a dual-label fourth-wave reversal worksheet
  8. 1997Rising wedge construction, breakout, and volume
  9. 1997Confirm structure and conditions before naming a Triangle pattern
  10. 1999Drawing the Triangle pattern before Breakout confirmation and the Stop-loss order
  11. 2000Four-phase market cycle triangle breakouts
  12. 2000Continuation triangles as a three-lock experiment
  13. 2001Folding rule: stacking three trendlines on an accelerating swing
  14. 2003A scored symmetrical triangle on a utility stock
  15. 2003Constructing wedges versus flat-boundary triangles
  16. 2004Testing triangle breakouts against volume filters
  17. 2004Mute triangles, histogram force, and trader optimization
  18. 2004Constructing falsifiable reversal and continuation patterns
  19. 2004Construct a corrective rising wedge before treating it as a short
  20. 2004A continuation triangle with Fibonacci targets and an apex stop
  21. 2005Pre-breakout filters for classic chart patterns
  22. 2005Reverse trendlines as a geometry lab for convergence and expanding triangles
  23. 2005Volume shapes versus triangle and double-pattern breakouts
  24. 2005A nested-pattern checklist on the 2005 euro
  25. 2005Volume test for a descending triangle breakout
  26. 2010Constructing triangle, broadening, and head and shoulders patterns
  27. 2011Treat a numeric pattern rank as a shortlist
  28. 2011Evaluating the head-and-shoulders as a falsifiable reversal
  29. 2013Auditing chart patterns by the first post-breakout swing
  30. 2014A three-gate entry for a triangle pullback
  31. 2014Golden triangle: a 50-day pause that still needs both gates
  32. 2014The triangle qualifier came after the rating pre-screen and the fifty-day bounce
  33. 2018Aligning daily, weekly, and monthly triangles with trendlines and Fibonacci retracements
By fieldChart patterns222 readingsBy year199959 readings
All 55 readings tagged Triangle pattern
Also on Triangle pattern5 readings
1996A price-channel case study with a pending triangle signal and a planned stop-loss2004A continuation triangle with Fibonacci targets and an apex stop1996Expanding triangle as a dual-label fourth-wave reversal worksheet1997Point-and-figure box scale and reversal construction1997Rising wedge construction, breakout, and volume