🔺 Triangle Chart Patterns: The Battle Between Bulls and Bears
A triangle pattern forms when price moves into a narrowing range over time, visually showing the tug-of-war between buyers (bulls) and sellers (bears).
Triangles are usually continuation patterns, meaning once the pattern finishes, price is expected to continue moving in the direction of the trend that came before it.
What Counts as a Triangle?
To qualify as a triangle pattern, price typically needs to touch support and resistance lines at least five times — for example, three touches on one side and two on the other.
Meet the Three Little Triangles
There are three main types of triangle formations:
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Symmetrical Triangle
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Ascending Triangle
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Descending Triangle
1. Symmetrical Triangle
A symmetrical triangle forms when the slope of the highs and the slope of the lows converge towards each other, creating a shape like a triangle.
This happens because the market is making lower highs and higher lows — neither buyers nor sellers can push the price decisively in their favor.
Think of this as a stalemate — a period of consolidation.
As the two slopes get closer, it means a breakout is coming, but we don’t yet know which direction.
How to Trade It
You can place entry orders just:
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Above the slope of the lower highs
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Below the slope of the higher lows
Whichever order triggers first lets you jump on the breakout.
Example
In the chart, price breaks above the slope of the lower highs, starting a strong upward move.
If you had an order below the slope of the higher lows, you’d cancel it once the upper breakout triggered.
2. Ascending Triangle
An ascending triangle forms when price hits a flat resistance level repeatedly but makes higher lows — buyers are gradually gaining strength, pushing price upward.
What to Expect
Buyers keep pressing on resistance, so a breakout above this level often happens.
But beware — sometimes resistance is too strong, and price falls instead.
How to Trade It
Place entry orders:
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Above the resistance line
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Below the slope of the higher lows
Be ready to trade in either direction depending on which order triggers first.
Example
In one case, buyers lost the fight, price broke below support, and continued downward — falling roughly the height of the triangle.
A short order below the triangle would have caught those pips.
3. Descending Triangle
A descending triangle is the opposite of an ascending triangle.
Here, price makes lower highs (showing sellers gaining control) while support remains flat — price struggles to break below this support level.
What to Expect
Most of the time, price breaks below support and continues down.
But sometimes, support holds strong, and price bounces back up.
How to Trade It
Place entry orders:
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Above the line of lower highs
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Below the flat support line
Example
In one case, price broke above the upper line of the triangle and surged up, moving roughly the height of the triangle.
A buy order placed just above the triangle’s top, aiming for the triangle’s height as a target, would have captured nice profits.
🧠 Summary
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Triangle patterns signal an upcoming breakout after price squeezes into a tighter range.
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Symmetrical triangles mean a balance of power, so breakout direction is unknown.
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Ascending triangles usually hint at bullish breakouts but can fail.
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Descending triangles often lead to bearish breakouts but sometimes reverse.
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Use entry orders on both sides of the triangle and trade whichever breakout happens first.
Get ready, because when triangles form, price is about to make a move — you just have to be prepared!