The chart pattern I look for most often for a swing trade or a day trade is the bull flag. The bull flag pattern is considered a continuation pattern that usually occurs after a large increase in price. On occasion, I like to use the bull flag to add more shares to an existing position when a breakout of the bull flag pattern occurs. But mostly I will buy a breakout of a bull flag pattern to generate short-term cash flow into my account, usually in stocks I already own or am very familiar with.
A bull flag is the result of price fluctuations within a relatively tight range, usually on declining volume, and marks a consolidation before the previous move resumes.
Valid bull flags generally break out to the upside within twelve (12) days. Keep track of the upper trend line of the flag pattern. Look for heavy volume on the breakout of the flag. Be sure to enter long positions only when the upper trend line is crossed by heavy volume.
Bullish flags are among the most reliable continuation patterns. The success rate can be as high as 87% if the overall market is trending up. As mentioned above, a bull flag is considered a type of retracement/consolidation of a previous uptrend.
My experience is that buying shares of a leading stock at a resumption of the short-term consolidation uptrend known as a bull flag is very profitable in uptrend markets. Buying breakouts of a bullish flag pattern can be a dynamically profitable addition to long-term stock investing.