Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns. Thomas N. Bulkowski

Tall and narrow performance 43% 20% –15% –22%

      Width. In three of four contests (columns), wide patterns see better post‐breakout performance than do narrow ones. The one exception happens in bear markets after upward breakouts.

      I found it odd that bear market, up breakout percentages for height and width are the same. I checked my spreadsheet, and the information is correct.

      To use width as an indicator, compute the time from the end of the pattern to the start (in calendar days, not price bars). If the result is more than the median listed in the table, then you have a wide pattern.

      Height and width combinations. Table 11.5 shows the performance results after combining the characteristics of height and width. Most of the time, tall and wide patterns show the best performance. In bear markets, after downward breakouts, short and wide patterns outperform. That's probably a statistical fluke, and the percentages are close, anyway.

      Table 11.6 shows volume‐related statistics.

Table 11.6 Volume Statistics

Description	Bull Market, Up Breakout	Bear Market, Up Breakout	Bull Market, Down Breakout	Bear Market, Down Breakout
Volume trend	67% up	73% up	67% up	66% up
Rising volume trend performance	42%	27%	–14%	–23%
Falling volume trend performance	41%	19%	–13%	–20%
Heavy breakout volume performance	41%	25%	–14%	–21%
Light breakout volume performance	43%	24%	–13%	–23%

Volume trend. Volume trends upward from 66% to 73% of the time on average. However, don't throw away a trade because the pattern has a downward volume trend. Try to recycle.

      Rising/Falling volume. Half the time, the volume trend doesn't really matter to performance. In bear markets, we see a wider separation of results. For example, after upward breakouts in bear markets, price averages a climb of 27% compared to just 19% for patterns with falling volume. The sample counts (146 versus 54, respectively) are not as robust as I like to see, so the results may change.

      Breakout day volume. The broadening top is a rebel: It doesn't conform to common wisdom about heavy breakout volume (which is, heavy breakout volume helps performance). As the table shows, sometimes it helps, sometimes it hurts, and half the time it can't make up its mind. However, as a general rule, you should see improved performance (probably meager) if breakout day volume is above the prior 30‐day average.

      I added Table 11.7 to this edition to highlight where price might stop on the way to the ultimate high or low. For example, I found that 79% of the time, price will return to the top of the pattern after an upward breakout. You'll likely be stopped out a lot if you choose to place a stop‐loss order there.

      Place a stop at the bottom of the pattern and a stop‐loss order will be hit less than 5% of the time, on average. However, the size of the loss, after an upward breakout, could be large, so do consider the size of the potential loss before deciding where to place a stop.

      Table 11.8 shows how the chart pattern performed over three decades. This table only shows bull market numbers because bear markets only happened in the 2000s.

Table 11.7 How Often Stops Hit

Description	Bull Market, Up Breakout	Bear Market, Up Breakout	Bull Market, Down Breakout	Bear Market, Down Breakout
Pattern top	79%	79%	3%	2%
Middle	24%	20%	18%	8%
Pattern bottom	4%	3%	75%	67%

Table 11.8 Performance and Failures Over Time for Bull Markets

Description	Up Breakout	Down Breakout
1990s	40%	–16%
2000s	49%	–12%
2010s	36%	–13%
Performance (above), Failures (below)
1990s	14%	17%
2000s	15%	29%
2010s	23%	33%

Performance over time. Upward breakouts saw the best performance and downward breakouts saw the worst performance in the 2000s. That makes sense. If the market is rising after an upward breakout, those patterns with downward breakouts will struggle to see price drop. It's like trying to swim against the current.

      Failures over time. Failures have increased over the three decades for both upward and downward breakout directions. That's not a good omen for future performance.

      Table 11.9 shows busted pattern performance. See the Glossary (“Busted pattern”) for details on what a busted pattern looks like and how to spot one. Don't forget your binoculars.

      Busted patterns count. Almost half (47%) of broadening tops will bust in bull markets after downward breakouts. Notice that the fewest busted patterns happen after downward breakouts in bear markets. There you have the market current (downward) carrying along price as it drops after a downward breakout. The sample count, at 30, is tiny compared to the some of the others.

      Busted occurrence. I counted the types of busts