What it is
Market structure is the sequence of swing highs and lows. An uptrend makes higher highs and higher lows; a downtrend makes lower highs and lower lows. The terms BOS and CHoCH come from smart money concepts (SMC), a popular way of reading price.
WickSpeak treats this as pure geometry. It finds the swings, labels them, and only calls a break when a candle closes beyond the level. A wick poking through does not count.
How it is calculated
1. Find the swing highs and lows using the swing size setting (auto picks a size to suit the chart). 2. Label each swing against the previous swing on the same side: a high above the last high is HH, below it LH; a low below the last low is LL, above it HL. 3. Watch the most recent confirmed swing. When a candle closes above a swing high or below a swing low, that is a break. 4. If the break goes the same way as the trend so far, it is a BOS. If it goes the opposite way, it is a CHoCH, and the trend direction flips. 5. A dashed line runs from the swing to the candle that broke it, with the label.
Settings
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| swing size | auto | auto, or a fixed 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 8%, 12% or 20% | How big a move must be to count as a swing. Smaller gives internal structure; larger gives the main swings. |
| show | both | both, labels only or breaks only | Show the HH/HL/LH/LL labels, the BOS/CHoCH breaks, or both. |
How to read it
How to trade it
- 1
Find the trend on a higher timeframe, for example the 1 hour chart of gold shows HH and HL.
- 2
Drop to 5 or 15 minute and wait for a pullback that prints a CHoCH back in the trend direction.
- 3
Entry trigger: the close that confirms that CHoCH, or a retest of the broken swing level.
- 4
Stop: beyond the swing low (for longs) that formed before the CHoCH, often 5 to 10 points on gold 5 minute.
- 5
Target: the last higher timeframe swing high, or 2 to 3 times the stop.
A long taken on bullish structure is proved wrong if a candle closes below the last higher low: that is a CHoCH against you.
WickSpeak draws the swing labels and the BOS and CHoCH lines on the chart, and writes a plain-English reading of the current structure: which way it is pointing, how to trade it and which close would prove it wrong. Breaks and changes of character can also be used in Playbook through its breakout and pattern conditions, and the 146 pattern scanner includes break of structure and change of character.
Best markets and timeframes
Works on any market and timeframe. Gold, US30 and NAS100 traders often read structure on 1 hour or 4 hour and time entries on 5 to 15 minute.
Common mistakes
- Calling a break on a wick instead of a close.
- Treating every CHoCH as a new trend; many are just deep pullbacks.
- Mixing swing sizes, so internal structure is read as the main trend.
Works well with
Questions traders ask
What is the difference between BOS and CHoCH?
A break of structure (BOS) is a close beyond the last swing in the same direction as the trend, so the trend continues. A change of character (CHoCH) is the first close beyond a swing against the trend, so it may be turning.
Does a wick count as a break of structure?
In WickSpeak, no. A break needs a candle to close beyond the swing. A wick that pokes through and closes back is more often a liquidity sweep.
What timeframe is best for market structure?
Use a higher timeframe such as 1 hour or 4 hour for the main direction and a lower one such as 5 or 15 minute for entries. The swing size setting controls how fine the structure is.
What does HH, HL, LH and LL mean?
Higher high, higher low, lower high and lower low. Highs and lows rising together mean an uptrend; falling together mean a downtrend.