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Breaker Blocks
Advanced ยท 9 min read
When an order block fails, it often flips role. Learn to trade the retest of a breaker.
What it is
A breaker block is an order block that failed. A bearish order block (the last up candle before a drop) is broken when price rallies through its high. That failed block then becomes a bullish breaker.
The idea is polarity: the zone that capped price now acts as support when retested. This mirrors the support and resistance flip, but uses a specific candle zone.
A breaker is most useful after a liquidity sweep and a break of structure in the new direction.
How to spot it
- Mark the last up candle before a decline (the bearish order block).
- Wait for price to close above its high, which shows the block failed.
- Draw the block zone forward and wait for a retest from above.
- Look for a reaction candle or a CHoCH on a lower timeframe.
Trade plan
- Entry: On the retest of the breaker with a reaction.
- Stop loss: Below the breaker low. A close below it means the flip failed.
- Target: The next swing high or liquidity pool, at least 2R.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Calling any broken candle a breaker. Right: It must be an order block that led to a drop and then failed.
- Wrong: Entering at the first touch with no confirmation. Right: Wait for a reaction on a lower timeframe.
Pro tip: Breakers that sit inside discount and overlap a fair value gap are the cleanest.
Quiz
- A breaker block is: Answer: An order block that failed and flipped role. It is a failed order block that now acts the other way.
- A bullish breaker forms from a failed: Answer: Bearish order block. A bearish block broken to the upside becomes a bullish breaker.
- Where is the stop for a long from a breaker? Answer: Below the breaker low. A close below it invalidates the flip.
Educational content, not financial advice. Diagrams are illustrations, not real market data.