A break of structure is price closing beyond the most recent swing high in an uptrend, or swing low in a downtrend — confirming the existing trend is continuing. It is a continuation signal, not a reversal one, and it requires a close rather than a wick.
- 1Higher low holds
- 2Close beyond the prior swing high
No instance passed the hard criteria in the last 7 days. This one is 8 days old and is dated as such rather than re-presented as current.
Run this break of structure continuation read yourselfWhat the engine actually checks
“Looks like one” is not a rule. Detection requires every hard criterion and scores the confluences — fail a hard criterion and it is not this setup, it is a hope with a nickname.
Hard criteria — all required
- ▪A defined prior swing point formed by at least three bars either side.
- ▪A candle close beyond that swing point — a wick through it is not a break.
- ▪An existing trend for the break to continue.
Confluences — weighted, not required
- ▫The break accompanied by displacement rather than a marginal close.
- ▫Higher-timeframe structure agreeing.
- ▫The broken level holding as support on the retest.
Trading it
- 1Where you are wrongA close back below the broken level. Once price closes back inside the prior structure, the break has failed and what looked like continuation was the end of the leg — which is common enough that the retest entry exists specifically to reduce exposure to it.
- 2EntryEither on the close beyond the level, or on the retest of the broken level as support. The retest gives a defined invalidation and misses the breaks that never look back; the immediate entry catches those and pays for it with a wider stop.
- 3ObjectiveThe next structural objective in the trend direction, or the liquidity resting above the previous high. Because this is a continuation setup inside an existing trend, the objective is usually nearer than a reversal target and the trade correspondingly shorter.
Worked example — real numbers
entry on the break, stop below the higher low, target at the next structural objective. A valid formation offering under about 1.5R is still a valid formation and still not worth taking — valid and worth it are different questions.
Size this trade against your account →The scoreboard
Resolution by grade, market and timeframe — because a single blended number would let strong contexts carry weak ones, which is how every invented “success rate” in this category is constructed.
| Grade | Market | Timeframe | Resolution | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Indices | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| A | Indices | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| A | Crypto | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| A | Crypto | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| A | FX | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| A | FX | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| B | Indices | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| B | Indices | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| B | Crypto | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| B | Crypto | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| B | FX | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| B | FX | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| C | Indices | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| C | Indices | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| C | Crypto | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| C | Crypto | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| C | FX | 15m–1H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
| C | FX | 4H | collecting | no resolved sample yet |
Where this traps people
Break of Structure Continuation vs Change of character (CHoCH)
A break of structure confirms the existing trend; a change of character is the first break against it — an uptrend making a lower low. BOS says carry on, CHoCH says stop taking continuations. Reading one as the other is the difference between adding to a trend and catching a reversal early.
Drop your chart and the engine checks it against the same hard criteria listed above — the ones it uses on every scan. First read is free and needs no account.
Questions traders actually ask
- What is a break of structure?
- Price closing beyond the most recent swing high in an uptrend, or swing low in a downtrend. It confirms the trend is continuing. The close is what matters — a wick through the level is price failing to hold beyond it, which is the opposite signal.
- BOS vs CHoCH — what is the difference?
- A break of structure goes with the trend and confirms it. A change of character goes against the trend and is the first structural warning that control may be shifting. Same mechanics, opposite meaning, and confusing them is expensive.
- Does a wick count as a break of structure?
- No. A wick beyond a level is price being rejected from it. Requiring a close roughly halves the number of signals and improves the ones that remain, which is why it is a hard criterion rather than a preference.
- How do you identify the swing point to break?
- A swing high needs at least three bars either side making lower highs — enough structure that it is a level rather than a wiggle. Loosening that definition produces a swing point every few candles and makes the concept meaningless.
- Is a break of structure enough to enter on its own?
- It is a continuation signal, not a complete setup. Where in the trend it occurs, whether the higher-timeframe agrees, and whether the broken level holds on retest all change the quality substantially — which is what the confluence scoring is measuring.
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