Before the signal
The impulse and channel use confirmed extrema of closed candles.
Flag Pattern: Bullish and Bearish
Study the impulse, channel and confirmed breakout of bull and bear flags, then explore the historical observations currently available.
01 · Learn
What it looks like
Bull flag
A sharp rise is followed by a narrow channel that slopes against it. The figure completes when price closes above the upper channel boundary.
The figure completes on a close above the upper channel boundary.
Exact machine rule
An upward impulse of at least 3 ATR(14) within 20 candles is followed by a 4–20 candle channel with falling highs and lows whose range is no more than 60% of the impulse.
The impulse and channel use confirmed extrema of closed candles.
Optional practice
Check your recognition
Select the chart where the formation is already complete.
Try it
A dotted candle is still forming; a solid candle is closed. Only one chart contains a completed signal.
The exercise checks recognition. Historical outcomes are calculated separately and do not promise a price move.Three features of Bull flag
Signal and boundary
An upward impulse of at least 3 ATR(14) within 20 candles is followed by a 4–20 candle channel with falling highs and lows whose range is no more than 60% of the impulse.
Completion
The figure completes on a close above the upper channel boundary.
Similar formations and limits of one example
A pennant converges; a flag uses a compact sloping channel. The shape identifies an event to research. It does not predict the next move or provide a trading signal by itself.
One formation does not establish the probability of a move. The historical comparison measures outcomes against a comparable background for each configuration.
Exact machine rule and definition version
An upward impulse of at least 3 ATR(14) within 20 candles is followed by a 4–20 candle channel with falling highs and lows whose range is no more than 60% of the impulse.
Required context: The impulse and channel use confirmed extrema of closed candles.
Completion: The figure completes on a close above the upper channel boundary.
Definition version 1.0 · canonical definition.
Published research at a glance
Stored publication UTC · pattern-data-v21 · methodology research-v21-session-calendar-signed-bh-plan-v1.
Latest stored candle date in the curated family table: Nov 9, 2026 UTC.
The curated family table covers 22 core and 16 additional extended configurations. These are configuration counts; the own-result registry is separate. The study compares movement after a completed signal with a matched background at the same horizon.
Go to interactive research ↓- Bull flag
- A sharp rise is followed by a narrow channel that slopes against it. The figure completes when price closes above the upper channel boundary.
- Bear flag
- A sharp fall is followed by a narrow channel that slopes against it. The figure completes when price closes below the lower channel boundary.
Historical research
Select the exact market conditions. Statistics, examples and threshold evidence appear only when the same definition and complete configuration have a published row.
Research methodologyInitial conditions
Reset returns to forex, all researched instruments, H1, five candles, no higher-timeframe condition and the first teaching variant. The market scope and short address stay the same.
Previously selected statistics are hidden until the shared publication responds.
Further reading
These related TLAP materials for “Bull flag” are in Russian. Their examples do not replace the historical calculation above.