Chart patterns › Bull flag

Bull Flag Pattern

A bull flag is a continuation pattern: a sharp rise (the flagpole) followed by a short, orderly pullback in a small channel (the flag), before the rise continues. The bear flag is its mirror image.

Bull flag chart pattern
Bull flag: a strong rise, a small downward-sloping channel, then a breakout.

How a bull flag forms

The flag should be short and shallow compared with the pole. A pullback that retraces most of the pole is usually no longer treated as a flag.

Bear flag

Bear flag chart pattern
Bear flag: a sharp drop, a small upward-sloping channel, then a breakdown.

A sharp drop, then a small upward or sideways drift in a channel, then a break below the lower line.

Measured move

A common estimate projects the length of the flagpole from the breakout point. It’s a rough guide.

Flag vs pennant

A pennant is the same idea, but the pause forms a small triangle with converging lines instead of a parallel channel. A larger pattern with converging lines that both slope the same way is a wedge.

Drawing it on TradingView

Use the Trend Line tool (shortcut Alt + T) for necklines and wedge lines, the Parallel Channel tool for flags, and the Patterns group in the left toolbar, which includes a head and shoulders drawing tool. Practise on past charts with Bar Replay, and see all TradingView shortcuts.

No pattern is a guarantee. Patterns describe how buyers and sellers behaved; they don’t predict the next move on their own, and they fail often. Traders usually wait for confirmation, look at where the pattern forms (after a trend, at support or resistance), and decide their exit before they enter. Size the trade with the position size calculator.

Diagrams are illustrations drawn from example prices. Hollow candles closed higher than they opened; filled candles closed lower. ChartWatch doesn’t give trading advice.

FAQ

Is a bull flag bullish?
Yes. It's a bullish continuation pattern: after a sharp rise and a short pause, the rise is expected to continue on a breakout above the flag.
What is a bear flag?
The bearish version: a sharp drop, a short upward or sideways drift, then a break lower.
What is the difference between a flag and a pennant?
A flag's pause is a parallel channel; a pennant's pause is a small triangle with converging lines.

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Chart PatternsHead and shoulders, double tops, flags and wedges explained. Cup and HandleThe rounded-base continuation pattern explained. Rising & Falling WedgeConverging trend lines and what they suggest. Trend LinesHow to draw trend lines and channels correctly.
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