What it looks like
Bullish Quasimodo: a swing low (L1), a swing high (H1), a lower low (L2, the extreme), then a higher high above H1. Price then pulls back to the level of L1 and holds there. Bearish Quasimodo is the mirror: a high (H1), a low (L1), a higher high (H2, the extreme), then a lower low below L1, and price returns to the level of H1 and stalls. The first low or high is the Quasimodo level.
What it means
In the bullish version sellers made a new low and then lost control: price went on to break the last high. That break shows a shift. When price comes back to the level where the failed push began, traders who missed the shift get a defined, close entry. The bearish version tells the same story with buyers failing at a new high.
Bullish and bearish versions
How to trade it
- 1
Label the four swings and mark the Quasimodo level (the first low for bullish, the first high for bearish).
- 2
Confirmation: price returns to the level and holds or stalls there.
- 3
Entry: buy (bullish) or sell (bearish) at the level.
- 4
Stop: beyond the extreme of the pattern. Example on gold (bullish): L1 4,020, H1 4,040, L2 4,008, higher high 4,055. Price returns to 4,020 and holds. Buy at 4,021, stop at 4,005, a 16 point risk.
- 5
Target: the high made on the way, 4,055 (or the low made on the way for the bearish version).
A close beyond the extreme of the pattern: below the lower low for the bullish version, above the higher high for the bearish.
Where it works best
On 15 minute to 4 hour charts on gold and indices, where the structure break is clear and the return to the level is orderly.
WickSpeak finds bullish and bearish Quasimodo patterns automatically and names them on the candles that made them. The note explains what it is, how to trade the return to the level and the close beyond the extreme that proves it wrong. In Playbook you can use it as a condition in a play, alone or alongside other patterns and indicators (any of the 146 patterns can be a condition), and backtest it on past candles with your own costs.
Common mistakes
- Taking the trade before the higher high (or lower low) has broken structure.
- Placing the stop at the Quasimodo level itself instead of beyond the extreme.
- Labelling small wiggles as swings, so the pattern means little.
Related patterns
Questions traders ask
What is a Quasimodo pattern?
A reversal pattern where a push to a new extreme fails and price breaks structure the other way. Traders then wait for price to return to the level where the failed push began.
Is Quasimodo the same as head and shoulders?
It is related. Both show a failed extreme between two swings. The Quasimodo trade is taken at the first swing's level after structure breaks, rather than at a neckline break.
Where is the stop on a Quasimodo?
Beyond the extreme of the pattern: below the lower low for the bullish version and above the higher high for the bearish version.
What is the target?
The high made on the way for a bullish Quasimodo, or the low made on the way for a bearish one.