What it looks like
Three separate falls that each stop at roughly the same price, with two bounces in between. The higher of the two bounce highs is the breakout level. The pattern completes on a close above that level. The height is the distance from the lows to the breakout level.
What it means
Sellers tried three times to push through the same price and buyers absorbed every attempt. Three tests make the level, and the eventual break, more significant than a double. When price closes above the bounces, the sellers have run out of attempts and buyers are in control.
How to trade it
- 1
Mark the three lows and the highest bounce between them.
- 2
Confirmation: a candle closes above that bounce high.
- 3
Entry: buy the break, or a retest of the broken level that holds.
- 4
Stop: below the three lows. Example on gold: lows near 4,000, bounce highs at 4,022 and 4,025. Buy the close at 4,027, stop at 3,995, a 32 point risk.
- 5
Target: the height (25 points) added to the break, about 4,050.
A close back below the level that broke.
Where it works best
On 1 hour to daily charts at a major support that has held for a while, such as a weekly low or a round number on gold.
WickSpeak finds triple bottoms automatically and names them on the candles that made them. The note covers what the pattern is, how to trade it and that a close back below the broken level 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
- Buying at the third low before any break has happened.
- Expecting the lows to be exactly equal; about the same price is enough.
- Missing that a fourth test that breaks lower cancels the whole idea.
Related patterns
Questions traders ask
Is a triple bottom stronger than a double bottom?
Three tests make the level more significant, so many traders see the break as more meaningful. It still needs a close above the bounces to count.
How do you trade a triple bottom?
Buy the close above the bounce highs or a retest of that level, with the stop below the three lows. Target the height of the pattern from the break.
What cancels a triple bottom?
A close back below the level that broke. A break below the three lows themselves would cancel it even more clearly.
How far apart should the lows be?
There is no fixed number, but each low should be a clear, separate swing. Three lows on consecutive candles are just a flat patch, not a pattern.