When a triangle is only a pause
How we teach students to withhold the triangle label until the apex behaviour and volume story agree.
In Chart Pattern Studio we keep a jar of discarded labels. Most weeks the jar fills with triangles that never earned the name.
The premature apex
Students often draw converging lines as soon as two lower highs appear. A true triangle needs repeated tests of both boundaries and a narrowing that traders in the room can measure without squinting. If the third touch is imaginary, we call the structure a pause and move on.
Volume as a veto
When range contracts but volume stays heavy into the boundary, we treat the pattern as contested. The scenario card then leads with “wait for acceptance outside the range” rather than “triangle breakout long.”
Classroom drill
Bring one chart you previously marked as a triangle. Cover the right edge. Redraw only from the left. Compare the two labels. The mismatch is the lesson.