Chart patterns cheat sheet (printable, with a quiz)
A printable chart patterns cheat sheet: head and shoulders, double tops and bottoms, cup and handle, flags, triangles and wedges, with what confirms each one.
This cheat sheet shows each common chart pattern with a chart, what confirms it (a close through its trigger level, not a wick) and where the idea is proven wrong. The rules match the site's graded exercises, for example two tops within 1.5% of each other for a double top. Print it or save it as PDF, then take the quiz.
The cheat sheet
Head and shoulders
Rule: Three swing highs, the head at least 2% above both shoulders, shoulders within 3%.
Where: Usually after a rise
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close below the neckline
Wrong if: Price climbs back above the right shoulder and head
Inverse head and shoulders
Rule: Three swing lows, the head at least 2% below both shoulders, shoulders within 3%.
Where: Usually after a fall
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close above the neckline
Wrong if: Price falls back below the right shoulder and head
Double top
Rule: Two swing highs within 1.5%, at least 5 candles apart, a sharp dip of 3%+ between.
Where: Price rose from below the dip
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close below the dip
Wrong if: Price rises clearly above the higher top
Double bottom
Rule: Two swing lows within 1.5%, at least 5 candles apart, a sharp rally of 3%+ between.
Where: Price fell from above the rally
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close above the rally
Wrong if: Price falls clearly below the lower bottom
Cup and handle
Rule: Rounded cup 8% to 40% deep, rims within 3%, a short handle in the cup's upper half.
Where: Usually after a rise
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close above the rim
Wrong if: Handle sinks into the lower half of the cup
Bull flag
Rule: Pole of 8%+ in at most 8 candles, then a pause giving back at most 50%.
Where: A pole of 8%+ within 8 candles
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close above the pole
Wrong if: The flag gives back more than half the pole
Ascending triangle
Rule: Flat upper line (moves under 1%), rising lower line, converging.
Where: Often seen during a rise
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close outside the lines
Wrong if: A close below the rising lower line
Descending triangle
Rule: Falling upper line, flat lower line (moves under 1%), converging.
Where: Often seen during a fall
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close outside the lines
Wrong if: A close above the falling upper line
Symmetrical triangle
Rule: Falling upper line, rising lower line, converging.
Where: A pause within any trend
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close outside either line
Wrong if: No lean to disprove; direction is open
Rising wedge
Rule: Both lines rising, narrowing to at most 75% of the starting width.
Where: Usually inside a rise
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close below the lower line
Wrong if: A close above the upper line, then higher
Falling wedge
Rule: Both lines falling, narrowing to at most 75% of the starting width.
Where: Usually inside a fall
Confirmed by: Traders usually wait for a close above the upper line
Wrong if: A close below the lower line, then lower
Quiz: name the pattern
How to use this sheet
Each row answers four questions: what the shape looks like, where it usually forms, what confirms it and what proves it wrong. The last two columns are what most cheat sheets leave out, and they are the part that protects you. A pattern that has not been confirmed is only a possibility. A pattern whose invalidation level has been crossed is gone, however good it looked.
Reversal or continuation?
Cheat sheets often sort patterns into reversal patterns (head and shoulders, double tops and bottoms) and continuation patterns (flags, most triangles, cup and handle). Treat that sorting as a habit of naming, not a promise: any of these shapes can break the "wrong" way, and wedges and symmetrical triangles are described both ways in the literature.
Why the rules have numbers
The numbers in the pattern pages (1.5% between two tops, a cup 8% to 40% deep, a flag that gives back at most half of its pole) are the ones the site's charts are built and graded with. They are a reasonable reading of the classic descriptions, not an industry standard. Publishing them means every exercise has one checkable answer.
Printing tips
Use the print button on this page or your browser's print command and choose "Save as PDF" for a file. Menus, the quiz and the questions are hidden on paper; the charts and the table stay.
A word on reliability
An academic study that taught a computer to recognise these shapes on US stocks found that several of them carried some information about later returns. That is not the same as a profitable rule, and nothing on this sheet comes with a reliable success rate. Use it to read charts, not to predict them.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a chart patterns PDF I can download?
Use the print button on this page and choose "Save as PDF". The printed version keeps every pattern's mini chart, its confirmation and its invalidation level, and drops the menus and the quiz.
What is the most reliable chart pattern?
There is no trustworthy ranking. Win-rate tables found online rarely publish how patterns were identified or what happened to the ones that failed. Academic work on US stocks found some patterns carried information about returns, without making any of them a dependable trading rule on its own.
What is the difference between a chart pattern and a candlestick pattern?
A candlestick pattern is one to three candles and describes a single moment. A chart pattern spans dozens of candles and is drawn from swing highs and lows, like the two tops of a double top. Chart patterns need a confirmation close; candle patterns are complete when their last candle closes.