Trading Strategy - Descending Triangles Downside Breakout
Descending triangles have been very popular with traders on the short side and are not so often traded when it breaks in the upward direction. A descending triangle is defined by two lines, one on the lower boundary of the price movement which is horizontal and one on the upper side which slopes down.
Descending Triangles Best Traded Short
Most descending triangles would be expected to break down and in fact 57%, break out to the downside making this pattern best when traded on the short side. 45% of these breakouts are profitable and on average the profit per trade is 0.92% over a period of 9 days. A good proportion, 12.1% of these breakouts make a profit of 10% or more. The descending triangle is one of the best chart patterns when it breaks to the downside and applying some filters makes this pattern even more attractive to trade.
Refine Your Entries
Short breakouts work better in falling markets which is clear from the results that were achieved in 2002 and 2008, so the market should be falling or consolidating. The best results are achieved trading descending triangles when the sector is falling. For some reason the trend of the sector at the start of the pattern is more important than the trend of the sector prior to the breakout.
A breakout from a descending triangle can occur anywhere on the way to the point of the pattern; it is not important exactly where the breakout occurs. The best trades occur when a down side break occurs after the stock bounces off the lower boundary and drops back before hitting the upper boundary.
If the volume supports the breakout the results are better. Supportive volume means the volume on the way down is higher than the volume on the way up.
Descending Triangles Extremely Profitable
Following a series of simple rules to determine which descending triangle to trade can improve results dramatically. By applying these filters descending triangles are profitable on 48% of the trades and return an average of 2.55% per trade in 10 days. This is a very profitable pattern to trade.
Note: Statistics for this article have been provided by Patterns Trader after analyzing over 60,000 chart patterns on the Australian market from 2000 - 2008. - 23200
Descending Triangles Best Traded Short
Most descending triangles would be expected to break down and in fact 57%, break out to the downside making this pattern best when traded on the short side. 45% of these breakouts are profitable and on average the profit per trade is 0.92% over a period of 9 days. A good proportion, 12.1% of these breakouts make a profit of 10% or more. The descending triangle is one of the best chart patterns when it breaks to the downside and applying some filters makes this pattern even more attractive to trade.
Refine Your Entries
Short breakouts work better in falling markets which is clear from the results that were achieved in 2002 and 2008, so the market should be falling or consolidating. The best results are achieved trading descending triangles when the sector is falling. For some reason the trend of the sector at the start of the pattern is more important than the trend of the sector prior to the breakout.
A breakout from a descending triangle can occur anywhere on the way to the point of the pattern; it is not important exactly where the breakout occurs. The best trades occur when a down side break occurs after the stock bounces off the lower boundary and drops back before hitting the upper boundary.
If the volume supports the breakout the results are better. Supportive volume means the volume on the way down is higher than the volume on the way up.
Descending Triangles Extremely Profitable
Following a series of simple rules to determine which descending triangle to trade can improve results dramatically. By applying these filters descending triangles are profitable on 48% of the trades and return an average of 2.55% per trade in 10 days. This is a very profitable pattern to trade.
Note: Statistics for this article have been provided by Patterns Trader after analyzing over 60,000 chart patterns on the Australian market from 2000 - 2008. - 23200
About the Author:
Jeff Cartridge is a private trader and created the website LearnCFDs.com Discover Chart Pattern Secrets

