When does a breakout become support or resistance?

[bmwhendrix]

This is something I am working on and have yet to come to terms with.

When you see a range developing with several similar highs. and then there is a breakout, say to the upside. If you are a pullback player, you may be faced with where to call support if you want to place a buy order there. There may have been pierces of the first point that failed and went back to bottom of range. Would you call support the first level that was penetrated but did not hold or the top of the penetrating attempt?
I argue with myself with valid points for either and am not consistent in the way I play them.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

BMW

 

[tomahawk]

Quote from bmwhendrix:

This is something I am working on and have yet to come to terms with.

When you see a range developing with several similar highs. and then there is a breakout, say to the upside. If you are a pullback player, you may be faced with where to call support if you want to place a buy order there. There may have been pierces of the first point that failed and went back to bottom of range. Would you call support the first level that was penetrated but did not hold or the top of the penetrating attempt?
I argue with myself with valid points for either and am not consistent in the way I play them.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

BMW

In the case you described you might have to just consider it a "zone". Ordinarily S would be found at a return to the highest high that broke out, but there's always the possibility for slight overshoots and shakeouts.

I also like to look at TL b/o's as S/R on re-test, and sometimes it just tests the LEVEL of the breakout, not the actual TL itself.

 

[murray t turtle]

Quote from bmwhendrix:

This is something I am working on and have yet to come to terms with.

When you see a range developing with several similar highs. and then there is a breakout, say to the upside.

If you are a pullback player, you may be faced with where to call support if you want to place a buy order there. There may have been pierces of the first point that failed and went back to bottom of range. Would you call support the first level that was penetrated but did not hold or the top of the penetrating attempt?


I argue with myself with valid points for either and am not consistent in the way I play them.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

BMW

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BMW
Concrete simplified , specific examples;
3 year weekly charts of QQQ, SPY.

S& R are areas,zones , speed bumps, fences,not exact areas, weekly charts can get exact if you please;
smaller time frames like a 5 minute chart=fog/noise.

Was reasonably sure QQQ wasnt clearing $60,FEB,MAR,May;
& a bit more sure it wouldnt be by much even if it did. Not a prediction.$60 is 50% of $120, QQQ high area;
not an exact figure