What Is A Bull Flag Pattern Bullish & How to Trade With It


The bull flag pattern is commonly used by traders as it shows the presence of a strong uptrend. With this pattern, traders who missed the initial surge of a cryptocurrency’s upward movement can still profit. However, it is important to use it in conjunction with other analysis techniques and to consider the overall market context before making any trades. It is also crucial to manage risk and maintain proper position sizing to ensure the success of any trading strategy.

bull flag pattern

There were various opportunities available both short term and long term. Once you can identify chart patterns, you can easily anticipate where price will go next. A great chart pattern that I always use is flags – Bull Flags and Bear Flags.

Risk management

It’s the main trading strategy of the bull flag pattern. The bull pattern is a key element of many trading strategies. It’s helpful as a sign of the trend continuation and a tool that provides entry and limit levels. If we have a big pullback, then squeeze right back to the highs we’ll sometimes see a double top formation, or a U shape on the chart. In the examples below you will see some perfect bull flags, but you will also see some sloppier bull flags. Other technical analysis tools can be used in conjunction with bull flags.

However, they should keep an eye out if the price breaks out of the consolidation range to the downside. This can be a sign that the trend is reversing and that it is time to exit the trade. As a result, traders may consider this slide the start of the downtrend. You should remember that the uptrend’s decline of more than 38% can be the first alert of the downtrend. Still, if the price doesn’t decline by more than 38%, there’s a high chance the major trend will continue.

This Bullish log chart for BTC shows a clear cup and handle Yet these could be acting as a quasi-bullflag, flagpole at the same time. Both experience an upward move initially (cup, flag-pole) and further consolidation period Both are bullish but experience a similar development as bullish tools. To put it simply, a what is neoworld cash signals that although there may be a temporary setback, a positive price trend is likely to continue.

The narrow trading range may become smaller and shaped like a triangle. During a range, wait for the price to form a bull flag pattern below resistance. It is important to set a stop-loss order when trading based on the bull flag pattern.

bull flag pattern

In this case, you want to use the 50-period moving average as your trailing stop loss. Therefore, you’d be using a 50-period moving average. Now, the first thing you need to do is to spot a downtrend and wait for the price to break its trend line resistance.

There are a few key points to look for when identifying a bull flag formation. First, the pole should be formed by a strong uptrend with consistent price movements higher. Next, the flag should form after this uptrend as the price consolidates sideways in a tight range. Finally, once the consolidation forms the flag, traders will watch for a breakout higher which signals the continuation of the original uptrend.

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Simultaneously, the upward breakout of the flag’s resistance will signal the strength of bulls, so the trading volumes should increase. In common words, the https://cryptolisting.org/ appears due to a pause in the uptrend. It’s the time of price consolidation, after which the price continues to move up. The key to trading flag patterns is following the volume. Typically, the flag portion of the bullish flag pattern doesn’t move perfectly horizontally.

bull flag pattern

Bear flags have the same structure as bull flags — the flagpole and the flag itself — but are inverted. A bull flag is a widely used chart pattern that provides traders with a buy signal indicating the probable resumption of an existing uptrend. The key to successfully trading a bullish flag pattern is to wait for all of the pattern’s necessary elements to appear. A bear flag pattern is characterized by an initial sharp decline and then a period of consolidation. With most bear flag patterns, the volume increases when the pole is being formed, then remains at its new level. Volume typically does not decline during the consolidation period as downward trends are often a vicious cycle driven by investor fear over falling prices.

Trading Volumes for the Bull Flag

If the flagpole was formed by a move upwards, it forms a bullish flag. If the resistance of a bull flag is broken, traders can be more confident that the price will continue to move upwards by the length of the pole. On the other hand, if the support of a bull flag is breached, traders can deem that the pattern was invalid. Traders can profit from identifying bearish flag patterns by going short on bearish trends.

It is a pattern of market consolidation that includes a slight countertrend retracement to the downside. The third variation of the bull flag pattern is the bull pennant. Instead of a rectangular outline of the flag, the pennant consolidates the stock in what looks like a triangle with the top line descending and the bottom line ascending.

To measure the Take-Profit target of the bull flag, you need to count the distance between the start of the trend and the correction. This distance should be counted from the breakout of the upper boundary of the bull flag. Fibonacci retracements are used as support and resistance levels. The price is expected to retrace at those, so there’ll be a pullback. There should be an uptrend as the bull flag is a continuation pattern, not a reversal. A sharp uptrend should always precede the pattern followed by a correction.

  • Once the price breaks out of the consolidation phase, it signals that the uptrend is likely to continue.
  • Now, what you want is for the price to be above the 50-period moving average.
  • The bull pattern is a key element of many trading strategies.
  • The flagpole is formed by the initial price move, and the flag forms as the market consolidate.
  • There may be more than just a couple of retracements and recoveries with lower highs and lower lows before a breakout continuing the uptrend occurs.
  • So, our trading strategies are designed to engage the “buy” or “long” side of the market.

A bull flag chart pattern is a technical analysis pattern that is often used to identify potential buying opportunities in an uptrend. It is called a “bull flag” because it is typically seen as a continuation of the uptrend. A disadvantage of trying to trade bull flags is that so many elements are necessary for the pattern to generate a legitimate buy signal. Trading volume is an additional key element in identifying a bull flag pattern.

Trading plan for bull flag pattern

So on a bull flag I buy the first candle to make a new high after the 2-3 red candles of pullback. Buy when prices breakout above the consolidation pattern on high volume. The hardest part of trading this pattern is finding it in realtime, but our scanners streaming everyday for Warrior Starter and Warrior Pro students help make that easier. Plan your trading strategy according the identified flag trends. After execution of pending buy orders, the price will break the channel and continue to move upward.

Like all chart patterns, the bull flag has its pros and cons. The first characteristic is that the controlling uptrend should have experienced a sharp, rapid increase in price before forming the flag pattern. We’ve mentioned the Volume indicator that can confirm the upward trend continuation and the bull flag’s effectiveness. Here are some steps to help you determine the bull flag pattern. The price corrected for three weeks during the strong uptrend but continued its upward movement later. Open the daily timeframe chart and highlight the highs and lows of the daily candlestick.

What Is a Bull Flag Breakout?

Bull flags are sharp rallies followed by a period of consolidation that forecast the breakout of an asset. Bear flags are sharp downturns followed by a period of consolidation that forecast the reversal of an asset. Price patterns such as bull flags and bear flags provide insight into what traders think and feel at a specific price level. Once the price breaks out of the consolidation phase, it signals that the uptrend is likely to continue. As such, bull flag patterns can be used by traders to enter long positions.

As such, the volume is upwards as the remaining investors feel compelled to take action. It’s a beautiful pattern that excites momentum traders around the world. Bull flag patterns are one of the most popular bullish patterns. Look for price move out of flag to confirm bullish breakout. Watch our video on how to identify and trade them below.

Rectangular Bull Flag

If you’re relying on one pattern to tell the story, you’ll find trading to be difficult. That’s why it’s so important to be able to see patterns within patterns. Hence the shape of the flag isn’t as important as what it’s telling you. A stock that has a strong move up and consolidates but refuses to drop is telling a story.

Again, you must be already familiar when it comes to plotting support and resistance. That’s why I suggest taking your profits below the next area of resistance you’ve plotted on the chart. Now recall, this strategy is a range breakout strategy. At this point, you should be a pro at plotting support and resistance. I’ll share with you practical trading strategies that will answer all of these questions. You’ll be able to capture trend reversals easily, even if they are short, medium, or long-term downtrends.

During the correction, the price should move slightly opposite to the main trend. If the price doesn’t exceed a 50% deviation from the overall trend, there’s a high chance it’s a flag pattern. Although the bull flag seems simple, there are some tips for trading this continuation pattern. They’ll be used to define when the price will turn around and continue moving up. 87.8% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

I will make it easy for you by explaining a simple technique to identify the higher timeframe trend. But keep in mind that this is for intraday traders only. Without that the formation becomes questionable and trading it as a bull flag is risky.


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