The playbook

The setups we hunt for

Every alert we send starts with one of these technical set-ups. Learn the shape once and you will spot it on any chart. Each one links to its full write-up in MAD Academy — the price points that define it, where it completes, how often it follows through and what it looks like when it fails. Members get a premium alert the moment one triggers, on any ticker they follow.

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Continuation

6 set-ups

A move is already under way and something interrupted it. These describe whether the interruption was a rest or an ending.

ContinuationBullish

Bull flag

A sharp advance, then a shallow drift against it, and a ceiling on that drift which is the one price the whole set-up is read from.

What we look for

A steep advance on heavy volume, covering its ground in a few sessions rather than a few months.
A pullback that gives back roughly a third of the pole and rarely more than half of it.
Overlapping bars with small ranges through the pause, closing in their upper halves.
Volume falling away through the drift, measured against the volume that built the pole.

Where it completes

Close above the flag's high

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Illustrative

ContinuationBearish

Bear flag

A sharp decline, then a shallow drift back up against it, and a floor under that drift which is the one price the whole set-up is read from.

What we look for

A steep decline on heavy volume, covering its ground in a few sessions.
A recovery that retraces roughly a third of the pole and rarely more than half of it.
Overlapping bars with small ranges through the drift, closing in their lower halves.
Volume falling away as price drifts up, measured against the volume that built the decline.

Where it completes

Close below the drift's low

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Illustrative

ContinuationBullish

Bull pennant

The same pause as a bull flag drawn as a triangle rather than a channel: the highs step down, the lows step up, and the range squeezes toward nothing.

What we look for

A steep, high-volume advance immediately before the triangle begins.
At least two lower highs and two higher lows, so both lines have something to be drawn through.
A range that measurably contracts bar by bar rather than simply staying narrow.
Volume draining away into the apex, usually more sharply than in a flag.

Where it completes

Close above the descending upper line

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Illustrative

ContinuationBearish

Bear pennant

A hard decline followed by a coil rather than a bounce: highs stepping down, lows stepping up, and a range that runs out of room.

What we look for

A steep, high-volume decline immediately before the coil begins.
Two or more lower highs and two or more higher lows to draw both lines through.
A range that contracts bar by bar rather than one that is merely narrow.
Volume falling to a fraction of what the decline traded on.

Where it completes

Close below the rising lower line

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Illustrative

ContinuationBullish

Trend pullback

The plainest continuation shape there is: an established uptrend, a dip into a rising reference that has already held twice, and a resumption from it.

What we look for

A sequence of at least two higher highs and two higher lows before the pullback begins.
A dip into a reference the trend has already held at, not into thin air.
Shrinking bars and shrinking volume through the dip, against the advance before it.
A pullback shallower than the one before it, or at worst no deeper.

Where it completes

Close above the prior swing high

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Illustrative

ContinuationBearish

Rally fade

The bearish mirror of the trend pullback: a downtrend, a rally into a falling reference that has already capped it twice, and a resumption from there.

What we look for

A sequence of at least two lower highs and two lower lows before the rally starts.
A rally into a reference that has already turned price back at least twice.
Volume that expands on the rally and then thins out at the reference.
A rally that stops short of, or barely reaches, the previous lower high.

Where it completes

Close below the prior swing low

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Illustrative

Momentum

3 set-ups

The version where the pause barely happens at all — a repricing, and what the session after it does.

MomentumBullish

Gap and go

A stock opens well above the range it has been trading in and never trades back into it, with the first half-hour's range becoming the reference everything afterwards is read against.

What we look for

An identifiable reason: an earnings release, a guidance change, a regulatory decision — something that repriced the business rather than the mood.
Volume in the opening minutes at a multiple of a normal session, not merely above average.
A first-half-hour range that holds well clear of the gap rather than sagging back toward it.
No meaningful attempt to trade back into the previous range at any point.

Where it completes

Above the opening range high

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Illustrative

MomentumBearish

Gap-down continuation

A stock opens well below its range on a repricing it cannot recover from, and the first half-hour's low becomes the reference the rest of the session is read against.

What we look for

A specific cause — a guidance cut, a failed trial, a lost contract — rather than general weakness.
Opening volume at a large multiple of normal, sustained past the first half-hour.
A first-half-hour range that sits well below the previous range and does not climb.
No serious attempt to reclaim the bottom of the previous range at any point.

Where it completes

Below the opening range low

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Illustrative

MomentumBullish

Stair step

An advance that moves in stages: a short run, a tight shelf that holds above the last one, another run, and a series of shelves that never gives one back.

What we look for

At least three completed steps, each shelf sitting clear above the previous one.
Runs and shelves of roughly similar length, rather than shelves that keep stretching.
Volume expanding on each run and drying up on each shelf, consistently.
No shelf that dips into the range of the shelf before it.

Where it completes

Close above the current shelf's high

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Illustrative

Breakout

7 set-ups

A boundary that has been tested more than once, and the session that finally closes outside it.

BreakoutBullish

Flat base

A ceiling price has been turned back from several times, a range that tightens underneath it, and the session that finally closes above it.

What we look for

At least three rejections from roughly the same price, ideally spread over weeks rather than days.
A floor that holds near a constant level rather than drifting lower.
Bar ranges narrowing and volume falling as the base matures.
The base sitting in the upper part of a prior advance rather than at the bottom of a decline.

Where it completes

Close above the ceiling, on volume

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Illustrative

BreakoutBullish

Ascending triangle

A flat ceiling with a rising floor underneath it: buyers arriving earlier at every dip while one price keeps capping the rallies.

What we look for

Two or more clear rejections from roughly the same price.
Two or more lows, each measurably higher than the last, with room to draw a line through them.
Ranges compressing as the two lines converge.
Volume declining through the structure and expanding on the resolution.

Where it completes

Close above the flat ceiling

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Illustrative

BreakoutBearish

Descending triangle

A flat floor with a falling ceiling above it: sellers accepting less at every rally while one price keeps absorbing the declines.

What we look for

Two or more clear bounces from roughly the same price.
Two or more highs, each measurably lower than the last.
Ranges compressing as the structure matures.
Volume falling through the triangle and expanding on the break.

Where it completes

Close below the flat floor

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Illustrative

BreakoutBullish

Cup and handle

A rounded decline and recovery back to a prior high, then a small drift below it, and a test of the level the whole structure is organised around.

What we look for

A prior high that is a genuine reference — one the market has already reacted to.
A rounded rather than V-shaped base, taking weeks or months rather than days.
A handle that drifts in the upper third of the cup and retraces well under half of it.
Volume heavy on the decline, light at the base, and returning as the rim is approached.

Where it completes

Close above the rim, on volume

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Illustrative

BreakoutBearish

Inverted cup and handle

A rounded top and decline back to a prior low, then a small drift above it, and a test of the level the structure is organised around.

What we look for

A prior low that is a genuine reference the market has already reacted to.
A rounded top taking weeks or months, not a spike and a collapse.
A handle that drifts in the lower third of the dome and recovers well under half of it.
Volume heavy on the rally, light at the top, and returning as the rim is approached.

Where it completes

Close below the rim, on volume

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Illustrative

BreakoutBullish

Volatility squeeze

A market whose range has contracted to the narrowest it has been in months, which says a large move is coming without saying anything at all about its direction.

What we look for

A range at or near its narrowest reading of the last several months.
Volatility bands at their tightest, and narrowing rather than merely narrow.
Volume that has drifted down alongside the range, not spiked.
A prior trend the expansion could plausibly continue, which is where the direction comes from.

Where it completes

Close outside, on an expanding bar

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Illustrative

BreakoutBullish

Range break

A rectangle with both sides working — a floor and a ceiling each tested more than once — and the session that finally closes outside one of them.

What we look for

At least two clear touches of the ceiling and two of the floor.
Boundaries that are horizontal rather than sloping, so it is a rectangle and not a channel.
A range that has lasted long enough to be a range — weeks, not three sessions.
A prior trend leading into it, which is what gives the eventual break a direction to inherit.

Where it completes

Close outside the range, on volume

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Illustrative

Reversal

8 set-ups

The harder claim: a trend that stops and turns. Read the follow-through bands on these more sceptically than the rest.

ReversalBullish

Double bottom

Two lows at roughly the same price with a rally between them, and the high of that rally as the level the reversal is confirmed at.

What we look for

Two lows within a small percentage of each other, separated by weeks rather than days.
A rally between them large enough to be a rally, commonly a tenth of the price or more.
Lighter volume on the second low than the first.
A meaningful decline into the first low — a reversal needs something to reverse.

Where it completes

Close above the middle high

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Illustrative

ReversalBearish

Double top

Two highs at roughly the same price with a dip between them, and the low of that dip as the level the reversal is confirmed at.

What we look for

Two highs within a small percentage of each other, weeks apart.
A decline between them large enough to be a decline, not a two-day dip.
Lighter volume on the second high than on the first.
A genuine advance into the first high, since a reversal needs something to reverse.

Where it completes

Close below the middle low

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Illustrative

ReversalBullish

Inverse head and shoulders

Three lows with the middle one deepest, two rallies between them forming a neckline, and the break of that neckline as the confirmation.

What we look for

Three lows, the middle one clearly deepest, with the outer two roughly level.
Two rallies between them reaching similar prices, so a neckline can be drawn.
Volume heaviest at the head or the left shoulder and lightest at the right.
A real decline into the pattern, of months rather than weeks.

Where it completes

Close above the neckline

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Illustrative

ReversalBearish

Head and shoulders top

Three highs with the middle one tallest, two dips between them forming a neckline, and the break of that neckline as the confirmation.

What we look for

Three highs, the middle one clearly tallest, with the outer two roughly level.
Two dips between them reaching similar prices, so a neckline can be drawn.
Volume heaviest at the left shoulder or the head and lightest at the right.
A genuine advance into the pattern, of months rather than weeks.

Where it completes

Close below the neckline

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Illustrative

ReversalBullish

Rounding bottom

A decline that slows, flattens, and turns without ever making a dramatic low, over months rather than weeks — and the old high that ends it.

What we look for

A decline whose down bars are visibly shrinking rather than accelerating.
A base of weeks with no identifiable single low.
Volume falling to a fraction of normal at the base, then rising as price does.
Rough symmetry — a recovery taking about as long as the decline did.

Where it completes

Close above the old high

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Illustrative

ReversalBearish

Rounding top

An advance that loses speed, flattens into a dome, and turns down over months — with the price the advance came from as the level that ends it.

What we look for

An advance whose up bars are visibly shrinking rather than extending.
A stretch of weeks at the top with no identifiable single high.
Volume falling steadily through the dome, including on the up bars.
Months of structure, not weeks.

Where it completes

Close below the old low

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Illustrative

ReversalBearish

Diamond top

A top that first broadens into wider and wider swings and then contracts back into a coil, leaving a diamond outline and a narrowing lower boundary that ends it.

What we look for

A clear prior advance for the shape to be a top of.
A broadening phase with at least two higher highs and two lower lows.
A contracting phase that follows it, with the swings measurably shrinking.
Volume high and erratic through the broadening half, falling through the contraction.

Where it completes

Close below the rising lower line

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Illustrative

ReversalBullish

Three rising valleys

Three successive lows, each higher than the last, under a ceiling formed by the rallies between them — a base that announces itself before the level goes.

What we look for

Three distinct lows, each measurably above the last, separated by real rallies.
A decline of substance into the first valley, so there is something being reversed.
Volume falling with each successive valley.
Rallies between the valleys that reach similar prices, giving a ceiling to break.

Where it completes

Close above the ceiling of the peaks

Read the full set-up →

Illustrative

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