How to Identify and Trade The Bull Flag Pattern

We discuss this strategy in detail in our post on liquidity traps. The best way to view them is using a candlestick chart. Bull flag trading patterns are one of many patterns that traders study in the markets. Trading patterns are a way to simplify the markets and condense information into repeatable, visual formations.

In this strategy, we’ll confirm the bull flag signal with the Volume indicator. Always wait for price action to confirm the pattern. Then again, the 20-day moving average is also a great stop.

• Sometimes a bull flag won’t work out as you want or expect.
• The next thing you know, the market continues to break new highs and you’re left on the sidelines.
• Wait for the line of resistance to form, then watch for the price to break out above that line before buying.

$ETSY was a stock on our stock watch lists for a swing trade back whe nteh stock was $45. You can see on the 5 min chart it made a bull flag then pushed up. You could have day traded if off the bull flag and the 9 EMA around $49.50 and made at least 50 cents on the trade.

When is A bull flag invalidated?

We want you to see what we see and begin to spot trade setups yourself. If you would like to contact the Bullish Bears team then please email us at bbteam[@]bullishbears.com and we will get back to you within 24 hours.

Give your trade more room to breathe by setting your stops a distance away from the market structure. Just look through your past trades and notice how often you got stopped out only to watch the market do a complete reversal. Now that you’ve learned what is a Bull Flag pattern and how to trade it. Whatever the case is, this is a sign of strength and the market could breakout higher.

Pattern 80-20: Trap for plankton

The “flag pole,” or initial uptrend, should be strong in demand. This demand then supports the ensuing pullback (flag). Once early bears realize the strength in the overall move, they give up their early shorting efforts. A bull flag is a bullish stock chart pattern that resembles a flag, visually. The pattern occurs in an uptrend wherein a stock pauses for a time, pulls back to some degree, and then resumes the uptrend.

The strong directional move up is known as the ‘flagpole’, while the slow counter trend move lower is what is referred to as the ‘flag’. Recently, we discussed the general history of candlesticks and their patterns in a prior post. We also have a great tutorial on the most reliable bullish patterns. For a more detailed tutorial on bear flags, be sure to check out our tutorial here.

The best way to measure the profit target is to use the higher and lower bull flag channel lines and use the distance to set the expected profit target. Read on to learn more about the bull flag and its use in trading forex currency pairs. That’s followed by a consolidation period where volume drops off substantially and the stock pulls back. Many traders are convinced their trade has to work — they don’t include an exit in their trading plan. It’s similar … but the top and bottom trend lines meet at a point.

It’s very common in intraday trading in the penny stock world. Spotting Bull Flags on charts requires a keen eye for patterns and a familiarity with technical analysis tools. Traders can use charting software to draw trendlines and identify the flagpole and flag components. Additionally, combining the Bull Flag pattern with other technical indicators can provide further confirmation of the pattern’s validity. Do you promise to study the bull flag pattern and more?

Market Trend Technical Indicators

On the other side, there are just a few pricing bars to choose from. Here you found the bull flag strategy explained, and now it’s time for you to implement your knowledge on this setup. While it’s a favourable setup for beginners, it too can go wrong at certain times. The bear flag strategy is just like the bull flag strategy. However, this strategy is completely the inverse of the bull flag strategy as it spirals downwards.

If the price moves in your favor, then trail your stop loss with the 50-period Moving Average. In such market conditions, there is a lot of “meat” for the trend to continue and the only way to ride it is to trail your stop loss. However, I prefer to trail my stop loss until the market takes me out of the trade. You don’t want to set your stop loss at obvious levels like Support & Resistance, swing high & lows, and etc. You can either enter on the break of the highs or wait for the market to close above the highs. I’ll cover all these and more in this Bull Flag Pattern trading guide.

How to Plan a Trade Using Flag Patterns

Smart traders know key patterns — and the bull flag pattern can be a crucial momentum indicator. Like any trading pattern, Bull Flags come with their own set of advantages and limitations. One of the main advantages is their relatively high accuracy rate, providing traders with reliable signals for potential bullish continuations. However, Bull Flags may not be as prevalent in certain market conditions, limiting their applicability in all trading scenarios. It’s essential for traders to remain adaptable and use Bull Flags in conjunction with other technical analysis tools. For this second example, let’s consider a Bull Flag pattern observed on a cryptocurrency chart.

Lastly, the trend resumes as volume/demand returns and price breaks to a new 30-minute candle high. It’s the main trading strategy of the bull flag pattern. The bull flag is a sloping rectangle moving downward formed by two parallel trend lines that serve as support and resistance levels. The main idea is to trade in the overall trend direction and never against it. This is a price action forming for the trading pullbacks. This can be found on every important chart patterns.

What is the best way to trade the bull flag Price Action Forex Pattern?

Bull and bear flag formations are price patterns which occur frequently across varying time frames in financial markets. Mechanical traders like chart patterns that meet precise criteria, since this allows bull flag trading strategy them to automate their strategy. Market trends are identified by freelance traders using their previous experience. First, I develop a technique for systematically detecting price patterns of interest.

• You should remember that the uptrend’s decline of more than 38% can be the first alert of the downtrend.
• The increasing or higher than usual volume accompanying the uptrend (flagpole), suggests an increased buy side enthusiasm for the security in question.
• In conclusion, the bull flag pattern is a powerful tool for traders and investors looking to capitalize on potential bullish continuation signals.

As you can see from the image above, the context is everything when comparing a bull flag to a bear flag. That being said, they are both very similar and should be treated almost identically, just in different trending contexts. Notice in this example of symbol AMC, you see a perfect bull flag formation on the 30-minute chart.

Bullish flags are present in all markets in all time frames. Forex traders interpret the formation to signal that a currency pair may be headed https://g-markets.net/ higher. Thus, long-side or buy strategies are appropriate to capture market share. And it’s an awesome way to stay disciplined while trading.