What is the trendline breakout pattern?
The trendline breakout is a bullish breakout pattern. Price closes above a descending trendline fitted to the recent highs, ending the run of lower highs.
How to spot a trendline breakout
- 1Draw a falling trendline through at least two or three lower highs.
- 2Watch price come back to the line.
- 3A breakout is a close above the line, not just a wick through it.
How does the trendline breakout form?
Price closes above a trendline fitted to the recent highs, ending a run of lower highs.
How do you confirm a trendline breakout?
The break has to be a close, not a wick. A touch through the line proves nothing. The line is a best fit, so it deliberately does not pass exactly through every pivot.
When does the trendline breakout fail?
First breaks fail often. Price closes above, then falls back under within a bar or two, and the trendline holds after all.
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 trendline breakout, cut off where the pattern completed. Make your call, then see what happened.
The shaded area is a trendline breakout. Where did price go next?
Trendline Breakout: common questions
Is the trendline breakout bullish or bearish?
The trendline breakout is bullish. The break has to be a close, not a wick. A touch through the line proves nothing.
How do you spot a trendline breakout?
Draw a falling trendline through at least two or three lower highs. Watch price come back to the line. A breakout is a close above the line, not just a wick through it.
What is the difference between the trendline breakout and the trendline breakdown?
The trendline breakout: Price closes above a descending trendline fitted to the recent highs, ending the run of lower highs. The trendline breakdown: Price closes below an ascending trendline fitted to the recent lows, ending the run of higher lows.
How reliable is the trendline breakout?
No chart pattern works every time. First breaks fail often. Price closes above, then falls back under within a bar or two, and the trendline holds after all. That is why it helps to wait for confirmation and to practice on many real examples before relying on it.
How can I practice spotting the trendline breakout?
Use the real charts on this page: each one stops where the trendline breakout completed, so you can make a call and then see what happened. The free Chartle app mixes the trendline breakout in with 48 other patterns in short daily sessions.
Keep learning
- Chart pattern gameGuess where price goes next on real charts, all 49 patterns mixed.
- All 49 chart patternsEvery bullish and bearish pattern, with a printable cheat sheet.
- How to read candlestick chartsBodies, wicks and colors explained from the start.
- Cheat sheet PDFAll patterns on two printable pages.
