Bull Flag
BullishReliability: HighAlso called · flag, pennant
A sharp advance (the pole) followed by a narrow drift lower (the flag).
How to spot it
- The pole is a sharp rise on volume
- The flag drifts gently down on falling volume
Why this shape forms
A sharp advance followed by a shallow drift lower. The key is that the pullback is small relative to the run, which says there is little supply.
Where it actually means something
There has to be a clear impulse leg (the pole) in front of it. A drift with no pole is just sideways movement.
What else to check
Volume should fade through the flag. Volume expanding while price drifts down is distribution, not a flag.
This means you're wrong
Void if price retraces to where the pole started.
The mistake beginners make
Holding while the flag gets longer and deeper. That may be a reversal, not a pullback.
Easy to confuse with
If the pullback gives back more than half the pole it is hard to still call it a flag. At that point the trend has more likely turned.
Real examples from the community
Patterns are probabilistic tendencies, not guarantees. This is not investment advice.