Not only is “head and shoulders” known for trend reversals but it’s also known for dandruff reversals as well. 😂
In this lesson, we’ll stick to talking about trend reversals and leave dandruff for another time.
Head and Shoulders
A head and shoulders pattern is also a trend reversal formation.
A peak (shoulder) forms it, followed by a higher peak (head), and then another lower peak (shoulder).
A “neckline” is drawn by connecting the lowest points of the two troughs.
The slope of this line can either be up or down. Typically, when the slope is down, it produces a more reliable signal.
In this example, we can easily see the head and shoulders pattern.
The head is the second peak and is the highest point in the pattern. The two shoulders also form peaks but do not exceed the height of the head.
With this formation, we put an entry order below the neckline.
We can also calculate a target by measuring the high point of the head to the neckline.
This distance is approximately how far the price will move after it breaks the neckline.
You can see that once the price goes below the neckline it makes a move that is at least the size of the distance between the head and the neckline.
We know you’re thinking to yourself, “the price kept moving even after it reached the target.”
And our response is, “DON’T BE GREEDY!”