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Pattern 2 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
Classic reversals  ·  Pattern 2 of 18

Triple top and triple bottom

ReversalAlso called: Triple test

Three tests of the same high with two pullbacks between them. The lower of the two pullback lows is the neckline. The bottom version is the mirror image.

What it shows

Each failed test uses up buyers who were willing to pay that price. After the third failure, a close below the neckline shows that sellers now control the range.

How the scanner finds it
  • Three swing highs within 15% of the pattern height, each at least four bars after the one before.
  • The neckline is the lower of the two pullback lows.
  • The scanner checks for a triple first, so the same shape is not also reported as a double top.
T1T2T3TargetEntryStop234
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. 2
    Complete

    The third top is confirmed. Neckline, stop and target are known.

  2. 3
    Close to signaling

    Price is within a third of an ATR of the neckline.

  3. 4
    Time to act

    A candle closes through the neckline.

  4. x
    Cancelled

    Price closes above the highest top, or the setup runs out of time.

The textbook trade

Trigger
A close through the neckline.
Stop
Beyond the highest top, plus a small ATR buffer.
Target
The height of the pattern, projected from the break.

Things to watch

  • A third test that breaks through instead of failing turns the shape into a breakout. That is why the stop sits beyond the highest top.
  • Triple tops take time to build. On a 15-minute chart they span many hours; check that nothing scheduled, such as a data release, sits inside the window.
Where it comes from

Catalogued alongside the double top by Edwards and Magee in Technical Analysis of Stock Trends (1948). Bulkowski's Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns treats it as a separate pattern.

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.

GER3015-minute chart2026-10-19Triple topReached the target
25275.325361.825448.325534.825621.210-16 14:3010-18 18:3010-18 20:4510-18 22:4510-19 00:4510-19 02:4510-19 04:45T1N1T2N2T3T 25450.7E 25518.1S 25592.4245
The alerts it sent
  1. 2Complete2026-10-19 02:15 NYcomplete; the trigger is a close through the neckline at 25518.4
  2. 4Time to act2026-10-19 02:45 NYclosed through 25518.4: entry 25518.1, stop 25592.4, target 25450.7
  3. 5Result2026-10-19 03:15 NYtarget (+0.91R)
US10015-minute chart2026-10-19Triple bottomNeither in 8 hours
29348.029468.529589.029709.529830.010-19 02:0010-19 05:0010-19 08:0010-19 11:0010-19 14:0010-19 18:0010-19 21:00T1N1T2N2T3T 29789.8E 29647.2S 29448.1245
The alerts it sent
  1. 2Complete2026-10-19 10:30 NYcomplete; the trigger is a close through the neckline at 29610.8
  2. 4Time to act2026-10-19 10:30 NYclosed through 29610.8: entry 29647.2, stop 29448.1, target 29789.8
  3. 5Result2026-10-19 19:30 NYtime (-0.38R)

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.