Stock chart patterns, explained with real examples
Eight chart patterns that traders look for, each with plain-English rules, real historical examples and a quiz you can try right here. No sign-up.
Bull and bear flags
A flag is a short, tidy pause after a sharp move.
See examples and take the quiz →Trading range / horizontal channel
A trading range, also called a horizontal channel or tunnel, is a stretch where a stock bounces between a floor and a ceiling instead of trending.
See examples and take the quiz →Volatility contraction (VCP)
In a volatility contraction pattern each pullback is shallower than the one before.
See examples and take the quiz →Double top and double bottom
A double top is two nearly equal highs with a dip between them, a sign the market tried a level twice and could not break through.
See examples and take the quiz →Head and shoulders (and inverse)
A head and shoulders is a reversal shape with three peaks: a left shoulder, a higher head, and a right shoulder at about the same height as the left.
See examples and take the quiz →Breakaway gap
A breakaway gap is a stock opening far above or below the previous close, usually on news, with unusually heavy volume.
See examples and take the quiz →Parabolic moves and capitulation
A parabolic move is a stock racing higher with no pause, and capitulation is the mirror image: a rush lower as holders give up.
See examples and take the quiz →Want to practise all of them?
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How to learn chart patterns
Reading about patterns helps, but the skill comes from seeing many real charts and checking what happened next. Make your call before you know the answer, then study the ones you got wrong. That loop, repeated, is how traders train their eye, and it is what SwipeTrainer is built around.
No pattern works every time. Treat every pattern as a way of thinking about the odds, and always remember that this site is educational, not investment advice.