The Wyckoff Pattern Springs Setup Trading Strategy

A classic range break fake strategy

Range Break Fake

Years ago, I came up with a trading strategy that I called the “range break fake”.

It consisted of this pattern:

  • Price forms a range
  • Price moves out of the range
  • Fails to follow through
  • Reverses back into the range
  • Explodes strongly out of the range in the other direction

Here’s an example of an intraday range break fake price action to the downside on the DOW:


Textbook stuff – Trend, range, fake out against the trend, immediately smashed back into the range, and follow through. It’s classic price action behavior that catches retail off guard while smart money prepares to move.

Then I started studying Richard Wyckoffs work a bit more…

The Spring Setup

The spring setup is kind of a range break fake to the upside.

It turns out I wasn’t a genius who discovered a new Wyckoff pattern or Wyckoff method in the markets, traders have been playing this for years. (Who would have thought…!) Anyway, here are the basic rules:

  1. A support level gets tested
  2. The market breaches that support
  3. Bounces back above the support

*Sometimes you will get a second test if the first had high volume. This often marks the secondary test ST phase in a broader accumulation or distribution zone, helping confirm the level of the trading range.

Here are some chart examples:

Wyckoff suggested you should

  1. Align the spring with the market trend.
  2. Wait for the break
  3. Look to trade long back above the support level.

He also warned that springs will often be tested twice. (Especially if the first break had higher than normal volume).

Eg:

In that case, you either needed to be prepared for the retest under high volume conditions with a wider stop or consider a second bite of the cherry.

A nice clear setup that’s easy to scan for and trade.

Digging Deeper

If you are a Traders Mastermind member, you can access the Springs Masterclass and much more market structure in your dashboard.

There are also a few books covering Wyckoff‘s work and market trends:

Trades About to Happen – David H. Weis (I have this one and wasn’t blown away, a decent book to reference from time to time).

Wycoff 2.0 – Ruben Villahermosa (I’ve not read this one yet, I’m sure it’s on a bookshelf somewhere… I’ve got way to many unread books!)

Linda Raschke made a video called “What would the great technical masters say today?” which in one section talks more about Wyckoff springs technical analysis.

Starts at 24:56. Linda is always worth a watch.