What it is
Bill Williams used fractals to mark turning points. The pattern needs five candles with the middle one sticking out: the highest high for an up fractal, the lowest low for a down fractal.
Because the two candles to the right have to close first, a fractal always appears two candles late. That delay is the price of confirmation. In WickSpeak the wing size setting lets you demand more candles either side for bigger, rarer swings.
How it is calculated
1. Choose a wing size, 2 by default. 2. For each candle, compare its high with the highs of the 2 candles before and the 2 after. If it is higher than all of them, mark an up fractal at that high. 3. Compare its low with the lows of the 2 candles before and after. If it is lower than all of them, mark a down fractal at that low. 4. The mark appears once the last candle on the right has closed.
Settings
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wing size | 2 | 1 to 10 | Candles needed either side of the middle one. 2 is the classic five-candle fractal; higher values mark only larger swings and confirm later. |
How to read it
How to trade it
- 1
On a 15 minute gold chart in an uptrend, mark the most recent up fractal above price.
- 2
Place a buy just above that fractal's high, or wait for a candle to close above it.
- 3
Put the stop below the most recent down fractal, often 6 to 12 points away on 15 minute gold.
- 4
Target 2 times the stop, then trail the stop up below each new down fractal as it confirms.
- 5
On US30, ignore fractal breaks against the trend unless price has already broken the last opposite fractal.
A fractal breakout buy is proved wrong when price closes back below the broken fractal and then below the last down fractal used for the stop.
WickSpeak runs in your browser with nothing to install. When you add Fractals, it writes a plain-English reading on the live candle: what the indicator is, what it is doing right now, how to trade it and what would prove that reading wrong. It names the nearest confirmed swing high and low, how many points away each is, and whether price has just broken one.
Fractals are a marking tool in WickSpeak and are not one of the indicator conditions in Playbook. Breakout and pattern conditions in Playbook cover swing-break plays.
Best markets and timeframes
Useful on every market and timeframe. On gold and indices, 15 minute to 4 hour charts give a sensible number of fractals; on 1 minute charts there are too many to be meaningful.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the two-candle delay and expecting a fractal to appear on the live candle.
- Treating every fractal as strong support or resistance; many are minor.
- Trading fractal breaks against a clear trend.
Works well with
Questions traders ask
Do fractals repaint?
A fractal is only drawn after the candles either side have closed, so once it appears it does not move. It is delayed by the wing size, 2 candles by default, rather than repainted.
How many candles make a fractal?
The classic Williams fractal uses 5: the middle candle plus 2 on each side. WickSpeak's wing size lets you change the 2 on each side to anything from 1 to 10.
How do you trade fractals?
The common method is to buy a break above the last up fractal and sell a break below the last down fractal, ideally in the trend's direction, with the stop at the opposite fractal.
What is the difference between fractals and ZigZag?
Fractals mark every local high or low that beats its neighbours. ZigZag only marks turns of a minimum size, so it shows fewer, larger swings.