Full Guide to Use Head and Shoulders Pattern in Day Trading

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One of the best way to identify a Reversal in Charts

Price action is an important concept in trading. It is a method of trading where participants focus mostly on how an asset is trading. They ignore other concepts like technical indicators and fundamental analysis.

In price action, traders look at the direction an asset is trading in and how it is trading. This is because they believe that how an asset is trading can help them predict the future.

In this report, we will focus on the head and shoulders pattern, which is a very common price action strategy used by traders.

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What is the Head and Shoulders Pattern?

This is a pattern that traders use to find reverse and reversal. The pattern happens when the price of an asset is in an uptrend. When it completes, the pattern is usually the begin of a new downward trend.

The pattern is formed when there are three peaks during an uptrend. The middle of the three peaks is usually taller than the two others.

As a result, it paints an image of how a person looks like. The head of a person is usually at a higher level than the shoulders. A good example of how this forms is shown on the chart below.

Head and Shoulder sample

Measure the Pattern

The head and shoulders pattern form in a very simple way. This is summarized in the image above. Here are the important parts of this pattern:

Previous trend – First, there must be an initial upward trend for the price action to be formed. Without this, the head and shoulders formation cannot be formed.
Left shoulder – This is the initial peak of the head and shoulders pattern. This happens when in an uptrend, the price forms a small downtrend.
Head – After the initial downtrend, the price recovers and starts to rally again. The rally stays for a while and raises above the left shoulder.
Right shoulder – When the head is formed, the asset then declines. The decline then leads to another upward trend, which reaches the same level as the left shoulder.
Neckline – The neckline of the pattern is formed by connecting the lower parts of the left shoulder, head, and right shoulder. This neckline does not need to be horizontal. It can slope up, slope down, or be horizontal.
Volume – Volume is usually an important thing in head and shoulders pattern. Changes in volume can tell whether the pattern is actually forming or not.

Important note: In this pattern, the price must move below the neckline to complete

How do you trade Head and Shoulders Pattern?

There are a few steps you need to take when using the head and shoulders pattern.

First, you need to look at the chart of the asset you are trading. Look at the stage that it is in. As such, it is very difficult to look at it when it is on the left shoulder and the head.

Instead, you should look at a chart with a left shoulder and head. You should then look at how it moves next. You should draw a neckline and wait for the right shoulder.

After this, you should wait and see whether it moves below this line or not. If it moves back, you should also wait to see where it reaches.

Finally, any move below the neckline should be indicative of further drops.

You can draw these lines using the tools that are provided. The TradingView platform provides a head and shoulders tool.

A good example of this is shown on the silver chart that is shown below.

Head and Shoulders in Silver Chart

Inverse Head and Shoulders Pattern

The inverse head and shoulders pattern is the exact opposite of the head and shoulders. The key parts we described above are usually the same.

However, the difference is that in the inverse, the initial trend happens when the price is moving lower.

Summary

The head and shoulders pattern is a common one among chartists. It is easy to work with, and is ideal for identifying reversals.

As a trader, we recommend that you take your time to learn more about it. Also, learn about how you can use volumes to confirm it and whether you can use any indicators to confirm the trends.