What it looks like
Three up candles in a row during a rise. Each body is smaller than the one before, and each upper wick (the thin line above the body) is longer. Price still closes higher each time, but by less, and is pushed back from the highs more.
What it means
Buyers are still winning each candle, but the gains are shrinking and sellers are knocking price back off each high. It often looks like three white soldiers losing their strength. It is a hint the rise is tiring and no more than that.
How to trade it
- 1
Do not sell during the three candles. Mark the pattern's high and low.
- 2
Wait for a candle to close below the pattern's low, then sell.
- 3
Put the stop just above the pattern's high.
- 4
Aim first for one to two times the stop distance, or the last swing low.
- 5
Example: on the US30 1 hour chart an advance block spans 120 points. A candle closes below its low, you sell with a stop about 125 points away and target 125 to 250 points.
A close above the pattern's high.
Where it works best
Into a ceiling such as the previous week's high or a round number, late in an extended rise.
WickSpeak finds the advance block automatically on any chart and names it on the candles that made it. It writes what it is, how to trade it and what proves it wrong right on the chart. Playbook can use it, or any of the 146 patterns, as a condition alongside up to 12 conditions on any of 12 timeframes, and backtest the play on past candles with your costs.
Common mistakes
- Selling a healthy rise just because one candle is smaller than the last.
- Selling before the close below the pattern's low.
- Confusing it with three white soldiers, which have strong bodies closing near their highs.
Related patterns
Questions traders ask
Is the advance block bearish?
Yes, it is a bearish warning, but a gentle one. It shows buyers tiring in a rise. Sell only after a close below the pattern's low.
What is the difference between advance block and deliberation?
In an advance block all three candles shrink with growing upper wicks. In a deliberation the first two are long and strong, then the third suddenly stalls.
What proves an advance block wrong?
A close above the pattern's high. That means buyers have pushed on and the tiring was only a pause.
Which timeframe suits the advance block?
It means more on 1 hour charts and above, where each candle holds more trading. On very low timeframes the shrinking bodies are often just a quiet spell.