Trading
Charts 101CandlesticksIndicatorsRisk managementAll chart patternsHead and shouldersInverse head and shouldersDouble topDouble bottomAscending triangleDescending triangleBull flagBear flagCup and handleFalling wedgeRising wedgeSupport and resistanceTriple topTriple bottomSymmetrical triangleRounding bottomPennantRectangleAscending channelDescending channelBroadening formationGolden crossDeath crossBart patternWyckoff accumulationWyckoff distributionWhat moves marketsTradingViewMarket cap vs price
The short answer
A flat floor with falling highs above it, showing sellers pressing.
What you are looking at
A horizontal support line with a descending line across the highs.
How traders act on it
A close below the flat support is the trigger, with the target the height of the pattern.
Closes, not touches
Wait for a close beyond the level, not a touch. Intraday spikes through a level that reverse before the close are extremely common, and they exist partly because so many stops sit just beyond.When it fails
In strong uptrends these often resolve upward instead, so context matters more than shape.
Failure is normal and it is not a problem, provided you decided your invalidation level before entering and sized the position so that being wrong is survivable. See risk management.
Context that changes the odds
| Factor | Improves the setup | Weakens it |
|---|---|---|
| Higher timeframe trend | Pattern agrees with the daily or weekly direction | Pattern fights the larger trend |
| Volume | Expands on the breakout | Breakout happens on thin volume |
| Duration | Formed over many candles | Formed over three or four candles, which is mostly noise |
| Level confluence | Trigger sits at a well tested level | Trigger sits in empty space with no history |
| Market conditions | Trending, orderly market | Choppy range, where nearly every pattern fails |
Other patterns
Head and shouldersInverse head and shouldersDouble topDouble bottomAscending triangleBull flagBear flagCup and handle
Common questions
Is a descending triangle always bearish?
It usually resolves downward in a downtrend, which is the context that matters most. In a strong uptrend the same shape breaks upward often enough that the trend should be checked first.
How long should one take to resolve?
The useful ones resolve well before the two lines meet. A triangle that runs all the way into the apex has lost the pressure that made it meaningful.
Where to go next
All 26 patternsThe full set with diagrams.Risk managementSizing and stops.CandlesticksThe building blocks.
Practice spotting these
We go through live charts together and separate the real setups from the shapes your brain wants to see. That second skill is the harder one.