Head and Shoulders
BearishReliability: HighAlso called · H&S, head & shoulders
A bearish reversal of three highs where the middle one is highest.
How to spot it
- Highs form in order: left shoulder → head (highest) → right shoulder
- The line joining the two lows (the neckline) acts as support
- Volume on the right shoulder is usually lighter than on the left
Why this shape forms
Three attempts at a high where only the middle one got through and the last one fell short. The buying was spent on the second push, and the shorter third attempt is the evidence.
Where it actually means something
It only means something after a sustained advance. Three bumps in the middle of a range are noise. If there is no rally to give back, there is nothing to reverse.
What else to check
Watch for a close below the neckline together with rising volume. A wick that dips and recovers is not a break. A retest from below that fails is the cleaner signal.
This means you're wrong
If the neckline never breaks and the right shoulder exceeds the head, the pattern is void.
The mistake beginners make
Shorting before the neckline breaks. On shape alone, nothing has happened yet.
Easy to confuse with
Easy to mix up with a triple top. If the three highs are level it is a triple top; if the middle one is clearly higher it is head and shoulders. When in doubt, trade the neckline instead of the label.
Real examples from the community
Patterns are probabilistic tendencies, not guarantees. This is not investment advice.