Eight historical chart patterns, grouped by how they form. Read the shape first; open the detection criteria only when you need the thresholds.
Shape→Volume→Confirmation
Trend structures
Repeated peaks or pullbacks reveal how price and participation are progressing.
Price + volume schematic
Rising Highs
RISING HIGHS
Each price peak is higher than the last, with growing trading activity.
Detection criteria
·Three or more peaks, each higher than the last.
·Volume rises with price: buyers are pushing, not drifting.
·Dips between peaks stay above the prior low.
Context: A dip back to the short-term trend line with healthy volume can provide useful context. If volume fades while price keeps climbing, the trend may be tiring.
Price + volume schematic
Rising Lows
RISING LOWS
Each dip is shallower than the last, with fading selling pressure.
Detection criteria
·Three or more dips, each shallower than the last.
·Volume on the dips shrinks: fewer sellers each time.
·Bounces carry more volume than the dips.
Context: A quieter signal than Rising Highs: buyers gaining control before the trend confirms. It is strongest when a price floor has held repeatedly; a break below the latest rising low can invalidate that structure.
Volume events
Single-session moves where unusual activity is part of the signal itself.
Price + volume schematic
Pocket Pivot
POCKET PIVOT
A high-volume up day that outran every down day's volume, moving back up through a moving average.
Detection criteria
·Signal-day volume beats every down day's volume from the past 10 sessions, on a day price closes above the prior close.
·Price's low sits at or just above (within about 2%) the 10-day or 50-day average, with the close back above that line.
·The close isn't already stretched more than about 4% above the 10-day average, and the prior 15 sessions haven't ranged more than about 15% of the last close.
Context: A volume-led re-entry into an existing moving average, not a breakout on its own. We reject days that are already extended above the 10-day average or emerging from a choppy, wide-ranging base.
Price + volume schematic
Gap-Up
GAP-UP
A price gap higher at the open, on unusually heavy volume, that held through the close.
Detection criteria
·The open sits at least 0.75x the stock's 40-day average trading range (ATR) above the prior close.
·Volume that day runs at least 1.5x the 50-day average volume.
·The close stays above the prior close, so the gap wasn't fully sold into by day's end.
Context: We flag this on the gap day itself or up to three sessions after. The gap day's own intraday low is the reference level our position-sizing uses for this pattern - the book's own risk marker for a failed gap.
Breakout bases
Multi-session pauses or bases confirmed only after price clears a defined pivot.
Price + volume schematic
Flag
FLAG
A strong price move followed by a brief pause.
Detection criteria
·A sharp move (about 8-15% in a few days) on rising volume.
·Then a brief pause: price drifts sideways or slightly back, volume quiets.
·We confirm it on the break in the original direction, and only when that break carries a clear volume jump (about 1.5x the quiet days).
Context: We wait for the volume-backed break before flagging, so the move is already underway. A subsequent break below the pause can show that the pattern has failed.
Price + volume schematic
VCP
VCP
A base whose pullbacks tighten before price clears its final pivot.
Detection criteria
·Two to six pullbacks contract in depth, with the final pullback the tightest and no more than about 10% deep.
·The base follows a meaningful prior rise and usually spans several weeks rather than a few sessions.
·We confirm it only after a daily close above the final contraction's high on expanding volume.
Context: The contraction sequence matters more than the label. A loose final leg, weak progression, or a breakout that falls back through the pivot can show that the structure did not hold.
Price + volume schematic
Cup with Handle
CUP + HANDLE
A rounded base, a shallow upper-half handle, then a pivot break.
Detection criteria
·Price traces a rounded U-shaped base after a prior rise; sharp V-shaped reversals are rejected.
·A handle lasts at least five trading days, forms in the upper half of the cup, and stays no more than about 15% deep.
·We confirm it on a daily close above the handle high with expanding volume.
Context: The handle is required. A deep or low handle, an asymmetric cup, or a breakout that loses the handle high can weaken the historical structure.
Price + volume schematic
3-C Cheat
3-C CHEAT
A tight pause partway through a base, followed by a break above the pause.
Detection criteria
·A prior rise gives way to an orderly base with a meaningful decline and partial recovery.
·Price pauses around one-third to one-half of the recovery, inside a narrow 5-10% range as volume contracts.
·We confirm it only after a daily close above the pause high on expanding volume.
Context: This is deliberately rare: the pause must be compact and well placed. A wide pause or a break back below its range means the historical structure did not persist.
How Flagwise uses them
We scan stocks already above their 50-day average and rank stretched moves lower. A match describes past price and volume behaviour; it is not a forecast or instruction.