PivotBoss Outside Reversal Setup
PATTERN SUMMARY
1. The engulfing bar of a bullish outside reversal setup has a low that is below the prior bar's low (L < L) and a
close that is above the prior bar's high (C > H).
2. The engulfing bar of a bearish outside reversal setup has a high that is above the prior bar's high (H > H)
and a close that is below the prior bar's low (C < L).
3. The engulfing bar is usually 5 to 25 percent larger than the size of the average bar in the lookback period.
PATTERN PSYCHOLOGY
The power behind this pattern lies in the psychology behind the traders involved in this setup. If you have
ever participated in a breakout at support or resistance only to have the market reverse sharply against you, then
you are familiar with the market dynamics of this setup. What exactly is going on at these levels? To understand
this concept is to understand the outside reversal pattern. Basically, market participants are testing the waters
above resistance or below support to make sure there is no new business to be done at these levels. When no
initiative buyers or sellers participate in range extension, responsive participants have all the information they
need to reverse price back toward a new area of perceived value.
As you look at a bullish outside reversal pattern, you will notice that the current bar's low is lower than the
prior bar's low. Essentially, the market is testing the waters below recently established lows to see if a downside
follow-through will occur. When no additional selling pressure enters the market, the result is a flood of buying
pressure that causes a springboard effect, thereby shooting price above the prior bar's highs and creating the
beginning of a bullish advance.
If you recall the child on the trampoline for a moment, you'll realize that the child had to force the bounce
mat down before he could spring into the air. Also, remember Jennifer the cake baker? She initially pushed price
to $20 per cake, which sent a flood of orders into her shop. The flood of buying pressure eventually sent the price
of her cakes to $35 apiece. Basically, price had to test the $20 level before it could rise to $35.
Let's analyze the outside reversal setup in a different light for a moment. One of the reasons I like this setup
is because the two-bar pattern reduces into the wick reversal setup, which we covered earlier in the chapter. If
you are not familiar with candlestick reduction, the idea is simple. You are taking the price data over two or more
candlesticks and combining them to create a single candlestick. Therefore, you will be taking the open, high, low,
and close prices of the bars in question to create a single composite candlestick.
Take a look at Figure 2.13, which illustrates the candlestick reduction of the outside reversal setup.
Essentially, taking the highest high and the lowest low over the two-bar period gives you the range of the
composite candlestick. Then, taking the opening price of the first candle and the closing price of the last candle
will finish off the composite candlestick. Depending on the structure of the bars of the outside reversal setup, the
result of the candlestick reduction will usually be the transformation into a wick reversal setup, which we know to
be quite powerful. Therefore, in many cases the physiology of the outside reversal pattern basically demonstrates
the inherent psychological traits of the wick reversal pattern. This is just another level of analysis that reinforces
my belief in the outside reversal setup.
1. The engulfing bar of a bullish outside reversal setup has a low that is below the prior bar's low (L < L) and a
close that is above the prior bar's high (C > H).
2. The engulfing bar of a bearish outside reversal setup has a high that is above the prior bar's high (H > H)
and a close that is below the prior bar's low (C < L).
3. The engulfing bar is usually 5 to 25 percent larger than the size of the average bar in the lookback period.
PATTERN PSYCHOLOGY
The power behind this pattern lies in the psychology behind the traders involved in this setup. If you have
ever participated in a breakout at support or resistance only to have the market reverse sharply against you, then
you are familiar with the market dynamics of this setup. What exactly is going on at these levels? To understand
this concept is to understand the outside reversal pattern. Basically, market participants are testing the waters
above resistance or below support to make sure there is no new business to be done at these levels. When no
initiative buyers or sellers participate in range extension, responsive participants have all the information they
need to reverse price back toward a new area of perceived value.
As you look at a bullish outside reversal pattern, you will notice that the current bar's low is lower than the
prior bar's low. Essentially, the market is testing the waters below recently established lows to see if a downside
follow-through will occur. When no additional selling pressure enters the market, the result is a flood of buying
pressure that causes a springboard effect, thereby shooting price above the prior bar's highs and creating the
beginning of a bullish advance.
If you recall the child on the trampoline for a moment, you'll realize that the child had to force the bounce
mat down before he could spring into the air. Also, remember Jennifer the cake baker? She initially pushed price
to $20 per cake, which sent a flood of orders into her shop. The flood of buying pressure eventually sent the price
of her cakes to $35 apiece. Basically, price had to test the $20 level before it could rise to $35.
Let's analyze the outside reversal setup in a different light for a moment. One of the reasons I like this setup
is because the two-bar pattern reduces into the wick reversal setup, which we covered earlier in the chapter. If
you are not familiar with candlestick reduction, the idea is simple. You are taking the price data over two or more
candlesticks and combining them to create a single candlestick. Therefore, you will be taking the open, high, low,
and close prices of the bars in question to create a single composite candlestick.
Take a look at Figure 2.13, which illustrates the candlestick reduction of the outside reversal setup.
Essentially, taking the highest high and the lowest low over the two-bar period gives you the range of the
composite candlestick. Then, taking the opening price of the first candle and the closing price of the last candle
will finish off the composite candlestick. Depending on the structure of the bars of the outside reversal setup, the
result of the candlestick reduction will usually be the transformation into a wick reversal setup, which we know to
be quite powerful. Therefore, in many cases the physiology of the outside reversal pattern basically demonstrates
the inherent psychological traits of the wick reversal pattern. This is just another level of analysis that reinforces
my belief in the outside reversal setup.
Release Notes:
updated signal style