Two pushes to the same price, the second one weaker than the first. That weakness is the signal.
“The failed breakdown of the middle level is what confirms this pattern. Skip that step, and you're just fading a strong trend because it printed a second high.”Jason Parker · Founder
Price pushes to a level, pulls back, and pushes to the same level again, but the second push comes in on less: smaller candles, lighter volume, a longer time to get there. That loss of steam is the tell. You're not fighting the trend. You're fighting a trend that's already running out of gas.
| Entry | Break of the swing low between the two pushes on a top, or the swing high between them on a bottom |
| Exit | A measured move equal to the pattern's own height, taken from the breakdown point |
| Stop | Above the second push's high on a top, below its low on a bottom |
An illustrative example built to show the setup’s shape. Not historical price data, and not tied to any specific ticker.
A double top in a strong uptrend is usually a pause, not a reversal, and treating every second touch of a level as exhaustion turns this setup into a full-time trend-fighting habit. The failed breakdown of the middle level, the part that's supposed to confirm the pattern, is exactly what gets skipped past when the shape looks exciting.
None of this works without the framework underneath it. Read risk management next, or run your own numbers in the position-size calculator.
Common questions about trading this setup, answered straight.
Entry comes on the break of the swing low between the two pushes on a top, or the swing high between them on a bottom. That confirmed break is what signals the exhaustion, not just seeing a second touch of the level.
The target is a measured move equal to the pattern's own height, taken from the breakdown point. The stop sits above the second push's high on a top, or below its low on a bottom.
A double top inside a strong uptrend is usually a pause, not a reversal. Treating every second touch of a level as exhaustion turns this into a full-time trend-fighting habit, and skipping the confirmed break of the middle level is exactly how that mistake happens.
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