Formations
The screener finds classic chart patterns on Binance futures from ZigZag pivot points: triangles, wedges, channels, double tops and head and shoulders. Timeframes 15m, 1h and 4h.
What it is
Formations finds chart patterns automatically. The server builds a ZigZag line from the candles, a polyline through significant highs and lows, and checks how several of its pivots in a row are arranged. If the pivots form a known pattern, it goes into the table.
The model is computed on the server for Binance USDT perpetual futures, for all trading coins, on three timeframes: 15m, 1h and 4h. On each timeframe the last 500 candles are used.
Formations is a widget only; the model has no chart indicator. The model is part of the Pro plan. The widget opens from the "Screeners → Price Action → Formations" menu.
How patterns are found
- ZigZag. A high pivot is a candle whose High is the highest of the last 12 candles; a low pivot is a candle whose Low is the lowest of the last 12 candles. Highs and lows alternate: until the opposite reversal is found, a pivot can move to a more extreme candle.
- Pivots. Four ZigZag pivots in a row are taken: A, B, C, D, and five for head and shoulders, up to E. A and C are pivots of one type, B and D of the other.
- Classification. The pivot prices and the slopes of the AC and BD lines are compared.
| Pattern | Condition |
|---|---|
| Ascending Triangle Up | A and C are highs at the same price, lows are rising (B below D) |
| Ascending Triangle Down | B and D are highs at the same price, lows are rising (A below C) |
| Descending Triangle Up | B and D are lows at the same price, highs are falling (A above C) |
| Descending Triangle Down | A and C are lows at the same price, highs are falling (B above D) |
| Triangle Up | Highs are falling, lows are rising, the pattern starts at a high |
| Triangle Down | Lows are rising, highs are falling, the pattern starts at a low |
| Horizontal Channel | A and C at the same price, B and D at the same price |
| Ascending Channel | Both lines rise with exactly the same slope |
| Descending Channel | Both lines fall with exactly the same slope |
| Ascending Wedge Up | Both lines rise and converge, the pattern starts at a low |
| Ascending Wedge Down | Both lines rise and converge, the pattern starts at a high |
| Descending Wedge Up | Both lines fall and converge, the pattern starts at a low |
| Descending Wedge Down | Both lines fall and converge, the pattern starts at a high |
| Double Up | B and D are highs at the same price, with low C between them (double top) |
| Double Down | B and D are lows at the same price, with high C between them (double bottom) |
| Head and Shoulders Up | Shoulder A, head C above A, right shoulder E below C; lows B and D at the same price (classic head and shoulders) |
| Head and Shoulders Down | The mirror pattern: head C below the shoulders, highs B and D at the same price (inverse head and shoulders) |
"At the same price" means an exact match of pivot prices, with no tolerance. So patterns with horizontal lines (double tops, head and shoulders, the horizontal channel, ascending and descending triangles) occur noticeably less often than symmetric triangles and wedges. Ascending and descending channels need an exact match of the slopes of two lines, which almost never happens on real prices.
The Up and Down suffixes are part of the pattern name, not a breakout forecast. For triangles, Up means the pattern starts at a high; for wedges, at a low. The green and red colors in the table simply follow the suffix: for example, Double Up is a double top, and it is highlighted in green.
Widget
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Symbol | Coin |
| Duration | Pattern duration in minutes: from A to D, for head and shoulders from A to E |
| Pattern | Pattern type. Green background for patterns with Up and Ascending Channel, red for those with Down and Descending Channel, gray for Horizontal Channel |
The timeframe is switched in the widget header: 15m (default), 1h or 4h. By default the table is sorted by Duration in descending order.
On each timeframe the server keeps the 100 patterns with the latest start across the whole market. One coin can have several patterns in the table: every four consecutive pivots are checked separately.
The Type filter keeps the selected pattern types in the table. The list includes Triple Up and Triple Down, but the server does not publish such patterns at the moment, so selecting them leaves the table empty. The global filters of the control panel and the blacklist also apply to the table.
How to use it
- Use the widget as a list of candidates, not as a signal. Open the coin on the chart and check the pattern by eye: the screener does not draw it on the chart.
- A four-pivot pattern enters the table only once ZigZag has found the next reversal after D. So the screener shows completed patterns, not those forming right now. For head and shoulders, point E can be the most recent ZigZag pivot, and it can still move until the price reverses.
- The longest patterns are found by sorting by Duration, which is the default.
Limitations
- Binance USDT perpetual futures only, and only the 15m, 1h and 4h timeframes.
- A pattern is found by exact pivot prices, with no tolerance. A visually similar pattern whose pivots differ by one tick will not enter the table.
- There is no public backtest of the model yet. We do not claim that the price moves in any particular direction after a pattern.