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Pattern 10 of 18: all patterns
Classic reversals
  1. Double top and double bottom
  2. Triple top and triple bottom
  3. Head and shoulders
Consolidation breakouts
  1. Ascending triangle
  2. Descending triangle
  3. Symmetrical triangle
  4. Rising wedge and falling wedge
  5. Rectangle
  6. Bull flag and bear flag
  7. Bull pennant and bear pennant
Harmonic patterns
  1. AB=CD
  2. Gartley
  3. Bat
  4. Butterfly
  5. Crab
Smart money concepts
  1. Order block after a break of structure
  2. Liquidity sweep and fair value gap
Session patterns
  1. Opening range breakout
Consolidation breakouts  ·  Pattern 10 of 18

Bull pennant and bear pennant

ContinuationAlso called: Pennant

A sharp pole followed by a small symmetrical triangle instead of a channel. A close out of the triangle in the direction of the pole completes it.

What it shows

Same story as a flag: a strong move, a short balanced pause, then a possible continuation. The pause narrows instead of drifting.

How the scanner finds it
  • A pole of at least 4 ATR in 15 bars or fewer.
  • A small converging triangle of 30 bars or fewer, no taller than 60% of the pole.
pole1234TargetEntryStop124
An idealized drawing. The numbers are the alert stages; the shaded boxes are the textbook stop and target.

How the alerts work for this pattern

  1. 1
    Forming

    The pole and four swings of the triangle are in.

  2. 2
    Complete

    A fifth swing still fits.

  3. 3
    Close to signaling

    A close comes near either line.

  4. 4
    Time to act

    A candle closes outside the triangle.

  5. x
    Cancelled

    The lines meet, or one more pattern length passes.

The textbook trade

Trigger
A close outside the triangle.
Stop
Beyond the last swing on the other side.
Target
The length of the pole, projected from the break.

Things to watch

  • Pennants are rarer than flags in the scanner because both the pole and the tight triangle must be present.
  • A break against the pole is reported and labelled against the textbook.
Where it comes from

Edwards and Magee (1948) group pennants with flags as continuation patterns.

On our charts

Real detections by the scanner on our own price data (2026-08-01 to 2026-10-19), with the alerts it sent. Times are New York time. Some worked and some did not.

GBPUSD15-minute chart2026-10-15Bull pennant, broke upReached the target
1.32361.32601.32841.33091.333310-15 11:0010-15 14:0010-15 17:0010-15 20:0010-15 23:0010-16 02:00123456T 1.3310E 1.3276S 1.32671245
The alerts it sent
  1. 1Forming2026-10-15 18:15 NY4 swings fit between 1.3265 and 1.3277; watching for a close beyond either line
  2. 2Complete2026-10-15 20:15 NY5 swings fit; a close above 1.3276 or below 1.3265 triggers it (textbook: up)
  3. 4Time to act2026-10-15 22:15 NYclosed through 1.3276: entry 1.3276, stop 1.3267, target 1.3310
  4. 5Result2026-10-16 02:30 NYtarget (+3.63R)
GBPUSD15-minute chart2026-10-12Bear pennant, broke downHit the stop
1.31601.31811.32011.32221.324310-12 08:4510-12 10:4510-12 12:4510-12 14:4510-12 16:4510-12 18:451234T 1.3167E 1.3203S 1.32091345
The alerts it sent
  1. 1Forming2026-10-12 17:15 NY4 swings fit between 1.3204 and 1.3209; watching for a close beyond either line
  2. 3Close to signaling2026-10-12 17:15 NYclose to the trigger at 1.3204
  3. 4Time to act2026-10-12 17:30 NYclosed through 1.3204: entry 1.3203, stop 1.3209, target 1.3167
  4. 5Result2026-10-12 18:00 NYstop (-1.00R)

Education, not advice. A pattern describes what many traders watch for; it does not predict what price will do. The textbook stop and target are reference levels, not instructions. Trading involves risk.

Put it to work

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Trading involves risk. This page is education, not advice; examples come from past data.