What it looks like
Three separate rises that each stop at roughly the same price, with two dips in between. The lower of the two dip lows is the breakdown level. The pattern completes on a close below it. The height is the distance from the highs to that level.
What it means
Buyers tried three times to get through the same price and sellers turned them back each time. Three failed tests make the level, and the eventual breakdown, more significant than a double top. A close below the dips shows buyers have given up.
How to trade it
- 1
Mark the three highs and the lowest dip between them.
- 2
Confirmation: a candle closes below that dip low.
- 3
Entry: sell the break, or a retest of the broken level that fails.
- 4
Stop: above the three highs. Example on US30: highs near 47,500, dip lows at 47,300 and 47,280. Sell the close at 47,270, stop at 47,520, a 250 point risk.
- 5
Target: the height (220 points) below the break, about 47,060.
A close back above the level that broke.
Where it works best
At major resistance on 1 hour to daily charts, such as an all time high or a round number on an index.
WickSpeak finds triple tops automatically and labels them on the candles that made them. Each note explains what it is, how to trade it and that a close back above 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
- Selling the third high before any break.
- Using a stop just above the break level instead of above the highs.
- Ignoring a strong uptrend, where repeated tests often end in a breakout instead.
Related patterns
Questions traders ask
What does a triple top mean?
Buyers failed three times at the same price. Once price closes below the dips between the highs, it shows sellers have taken control.
Where does the stop go on a triple top?
Above the three highs, with a small buffer for spread. A close back above the broken level already proves the trade wrong, often before that stop is reached.
What is the target for a triple top?
The height of the pattern, from the highs to the breakdown level, measured down from the break.
Is a triple top the same as a rectangle?
They can look similar. A rectangle needs a flat floor and ceiling; a triple top focuses on three failed highs and is traded on the break below the dips.