What is the bull flag pattern?
The bull flag is a bullish continuation pattern. A sharp advance (the pole) followed by a shallow drift against it. Volume dries up through the drift.
How does the bull flag form?
A sharp advance forms the pole. Price then drifts gently against it inside a narrow channel.
How do you confirm a bull flag?
How little ground price gives back is the giveaway. A flag that retraces most of its pole was never a pause; it was a reversal.
When does the bull flag fail?
It fails when the drift lasts too long. A flag that goes sideways for many bars has become a range, and the pole's momentum is gone.
No chart pattern works every time. The examples on this page were chosen because they show the pattern clearly, and in real markets patterns fail often.
Practice on real charts
3 real examples of the bull flag, cut off where the pattern completed. Make your call, then see what happened.
The shaded area is a bull flag. Where did price go next?
