The 12 articles in this set explain and illustrate basic breakout concepts, including breakout trading strategies based on chart analysis and simple breakout–channel calculations. The techniques cover time frames from intraday to multi–week. For more sophisticated breakout trading systems and concepts, see the Advanced Breakout Techniques article compilation. A combination set of the Advanced and Basic collections is also available in one PDF file.

These collections are 30 percent off. The price shown is the discounted price.


ARTICLE 1: "Price Breakout" by Active Trader Staff (March 2001)
Summary: A beginner’s guide to price breakouts.
Excerpt: The price "breakout" is one of the most fundamental concepts in trading. It occurs when price moves out of a consolidation or trading range (a period of relatively narrow, sideways price movement) or pushes above or below an established price level (support or resistance), initiating either temporary follow–through or a sustained trend.

ARTICLE 2: "More bang for your buck: Patterns within patterns" by Active Trader Staff (Oct. 2000)
Summary/Excerpt: One way to create trade opportunities with increased reward and decreased risk is to look for shorter–term patterns within larger patterns.

ARTICLE 3: "Anticipating breakouts and beating slippage" by Steve Wendlandt (Aug. 2000)
Summary: Make trading breakouts more profitable by getting in before the rest of the crowd.

Excerpt: One of the most important aspects of short–term trading is something you almost never hear about: slippage, which is the difference between where you expect, or want, to be filled on a trade and where your order is actually executed. However, a little–known tendency can help make slippage work for you instead of bleeding you dry. In fact, if most of your trading techniques are breakout related, you can use this trick on almost every trade you enter.

ARTICLE 4: "100–20 channel breakout system" by Dion Kurczek (Trading System Lab, June 2003)
Summary: This classic trend–following system buys when price moves above the highest high of the last x days and sells when price falls below the lowest low of the last y days. (Tested on a stock portfolio.)

ARTICLE 5: "Futures 100–20 channel breakout system" by Dion Kurczek (Futures Trading System Lab, June 2003)
Summary: This classic trend–following system buys when price moves above the highest high of the last x days and sells when price falls below the lowest low of the last y days. (Tested on a futures portfolio.)

ARTICLE 6: "60–minute breakout system (futures)" by Volker Knapp (Futures Trading System Lab, Jan. 2004)
Summary: This is an intraday system that trades on breakout of the range established in the first hour of trading.

ARTICLE 7: "Four–percent breakout system" by Volker Knapp (Trading System Lab, Sept. 2004)
Summary: In some situations, the market ignores the contrarians and continues to rise. Traders who fade the up move must cover their short positions, which leads to panic buying and further upward momentum. The four–percent breakout system is an attempt to quantify and profit from this market scenario.

ARTICLE 8: "Broadening patterns: Clues to breakout direction" by Thomas N. Bulkowski (April 2004)
Summary: A partial rise or decline can predict the direction of a breakout. Learn to use these signals to increase profits when trading broadening patterns.

Excerpt: "Trying to determine when a breakout will occur in broadening chart patterns, which are expanding rather than contracting price formations, can be difficult. However, partial rises (PRs) or partial declines (PDs) can improve the odds of making a correct decision."

ARTICLE 9: "High, tight flag helps squeeze out profits" by Thomas N. Bulkowski (Dec. 2004)
Summary: This bullish formation boasts excellent post–breakout performance and a low failure rate––exactly the type of pattern traders should look for in bull markets.

Excerpt: "A high, tight flag (HTF) is a consolidation pattern that forms after a stock’s price doubles. When price breaks out above the pattern, it signals the rise is not over. The basic HTF trade strategy is to buy at the close of the day after price breaks out above the pattern’s upper trendline. Although it is sometimes difficult to buy high and sell higher, the price moves following HTFs show how such an approach can work."

ARTICLE 10: "Mastering two–minute breakouts" by Ken Calhoun (Sept. 2001)
Summary: How can you find consistent trade opportunities? One way is to trade breakouts through yesterday’s high and low––but only after the stock has shown its true colors.

Excerpt: "A relatively consistent short–term, pattern–based trade is to buy upside or downside breakouts of the previous day’s high or low, respectively, avoiding trades in the middle of the day’s range. This article shows you how to apply this technique using two–minute charts."

ARTICLE 11: "Swing–trading 10–day channel breakouts," by Ken Calhoun (March 2002)
Summary: To trade breakouts successfully, you have to line up as many market factors as possible. Incorporating volume and momentum into your trading plan can put you on the inside track to breakout trades that won’t break apart.

Excerpt: "Combining 10–day support and resistance lines with confirming signals such as volume breakouts and reversals is a practical approach to identifying swing trade opportunities. These 10–day "channels" provide clear criteria for entering breakout trades once these price levels are triggered.

ARTICLE 12: "60–minute breakout system (stocks)" by Volker Knapp (Trading System Lab, Jan. 2004)
Summary: This intraday system takes a trade when the price breaks out of the trading range established in the first hour of the session.

If purchased individually, these articles would cost $45.94. Save 30 percent and purchase them as a set for $32.16.

BONUS OFFER: A packaged set of the Advanced and Basic collections is also available (22 articles total/69 pages) for $63.64 — a 30 percent discount from the combined regular price. Click here to purchase both article collections as one PDF download.