Wyckoff schematics: accumulation and distribution

How to choose a schematic

The Wyckoff method reads a market through a sequence of tests of supply and demand inside a trading range. The useful part of a schematic is not its attractive zigzag but the order of evidence: the previous trend stops, boundaries emerge, one side is tested, and an escape is attempted. Accumulation and distribution can look deceptively similar in the middle of a range, so a single candle cannot define the whole structure. This atlas separates four teaching variants and explains the conditions that make each reading plausible.

The No. 1 variants contain a distinctive false break: a spring beneath accumulation support or a UTAD above distribution resistance. The No. 2 variants do not require that late excursion. These are not inherently strong and weak versions. Either can lead to continuation, invalidation or no conclusive result. A brief probe by itself does not determine the number; closed-bar confirmation, boundary status and attachment to a particular verified range matter much more.

The live section beside each schematic lists only structures that can be associated with confirmed events in their current range. When a market remains in phase A or B, assigning a variant would be premature: a later spring or UTAD could change the answer. An empty list therefore means that no specific variant is verified at this moment, not that the entire market is inactive. The separate accumulation and distribution totals preserve this distinction.

Open a schematic to read its events in order, compare the phase table and see how it differs from the neighbouring variant. Then open the scanner to inspect real closed candles, boundaries, volume and outcomes over the next thirty bars. Forex volume is explicitly marked as a proxy, and markup can be reclassified when range evidence changes. The illustration is an educational map, never a substitute for the verified chart or a trading recommendation.

Start with the trend that preceded the range, then identify the climax and the automatic response. Do not copy a variant number from a similar-looking drawing onto an instrument: its phase, the chronological order of marks and the state of the current range matter more than matching lines. New closed candles can change a classification, which is a normal, auditable revision of the markup.

The summary above counts all active accumulation and distribution ranges, including ranges too young to receive a variant number. Each detail page lists only matches supported by its current-range events. For the latest bar, measured outcomes or actual boundaries, open the live scanner and inspect the original chart.

Read about the Wyckoff method

Accumulation phases A–E: guide with a live summary