Strategies School / Price Action
Support and Resistance Flips
Beginner ยท 7 min read
When a level breaks, old resistance often becomes support. Learn to trade the retest.
What it is
Support is where buyers tend to step in, and resistance is where sellers tend to step in. The more times a level holds, the more traders watch it.
When price closes decisively through a level, the role often flips: broken resistance can act as support on a retest, and broken support as resistance.
Levels are zones, not exact lines. Draw them with a little thickness.
How to spot it
- Mark a level touched at least twice.
- Wait for a candle body close beyond it.
- Wait for price to return and hold the level on a retest.
- Enter on a rejection candle at the level.
Trade plan
- Entry: On a bullish rejection at the retest of the broken level.
- Stop loss: Just below the level (zone) for longs.
- Target: The next level or at least 2R.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Entering on the first break without a retest. Right: Be patient. The retest gives a closer stop.
- Wrong: Drawing levels as single exact lines. Right: Use zones and allow for wicks.
Pro tip: Higher timeframe levels (daily, weekly) carry more weight than 5-minute levels.
Quiz
- After resistance breaks, it often acts as: Answer: Support on a retest. Role reversal: broken resistance often becomes support.
- A break should be confirmed by: Answer: A candle body close beyond the level. A body close shows acceptance beyond the level.
- Why wait for the retest? Answer: It gives a closer stop and better reward to risk. The retest lets you place a tighter stop.
Educational content, not financial advice. Diagrams are illustrations, not real market data.