1 Chart Pattern Recognition Module User Guide
1 Chart Pattern Recognition Module User Guide
User Guide
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Chapter 2
Pattern Settings
Activating the Patterns Toolbar .............................................................. 3
Understanding Pattern Strength .................................................. 4
Editing Pattern Settings .......................................................................... 7
Analyzing Patterns ...................................................................... 8
Displaying Patterns in the Focus List ......................................... 9
Specifying Terms for Pattern Types ........................................... 9
Editing Pattern Properties ........................................................... 9
Modifying the Strength Settings ................................................. 11
Analyze Settings ......................................................................... 12
Filter Patterns .............................................................................. 12
Statistical Results ........................................................................ 13
Specifying Patterns to Display.................................................... 14
Specifying Tags to Display......................................................... 15
Specifying the Right Edge Display Tolerance............................ 16
Specifying the Assistant Display Settings .................................. 16
Displaying Pivot Points .............................................................. 17
Displaying Fibonacci Retracements ........................................... 17
Tag & Pattern Display Examples............................................................ 18
Chapter 3
Patterns Recognized................................................................................ 21
Candle Pattern Types .................................................................. 21
Channel Pattern Types ................................................................ 22
Consolidation Pattern Types ....................................................... 22
Cup and Handle Pattern Types ................................................... 23
Fibonacci Retracement Pattern Types ........................................ 23
Gap Pattern Types....................................................................... 24
Head and Shoulder Pattern Types............................................... 24
Chapter 4
Pattern Results & Analysis
Viewing Patterns in the Focus List ......................................................... 28
Adding the Columns ................................................................... 28
Interpreting the Results ............................................................... 30
Charts ...................................................................................................... 32
Pattern Tutor ........................................................................................... 32
Filtering Pattern Results.......................................................................... 35
Statistical Results .................................................................................... 36
Pattern Report ......................................................................................... 37
In this chapter, you will learn how to install and begin using the Chart Pattern
Recognition Module.
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module represents a significant advance for chartists
and traders alike. Chart Patterns have been used with great success for many years.
However, up to now, the effectiveness and identification of these patterns has been
subjective and mostly confined to textbooks and seminars. With the Chart Pattern
Recognition Module, you can instantly see patterns identified in your data across an
entire chart.
You can also instantly determine whether or not a confirming pattern occurs with a
given signal in the Focus List, thanks to special columns that illuminate the patterns
as they occur at the right edge of the chart—where all of us trade the market. Finally,
customer education on patterns is facilitated with the Pattern Tutor™, which is capable
of pointing out all examples of a given pattern in your data.
Figure 1-2.
3. Click OK to accept your changes and add the Patterns Toolbar to the OmniTrader
interface.
As with other OmniTrader toolbars and buttons, you can drag the Patterns Toolbar to
the edge of the OmniTrader interface to dock it.
The strength rating comes from an analysis of over one million bars of market data
and is based on the profitability of the pattern. Each pattern is subdivided into groups,
so that strength varies within each pattern. For example, Consolidations are divided
into the various types of Consolidations, such as Ascending Triangles, Rectangles,
and Flags.
You should experiment with the strength rating buttons to determine the strength that
best suits your particular trading style. Using a setting of 1 displays all patterns
detected by the module, while a setting of 5 displays only the most historically
profitable patterns.
The Patterns Toolbar has no bearing on which patterns are analyzed. It only specifies
the strength cutoff for displaying the patterns. You can change the settings any time
without incurring a processing penalty.
The following examples illustrate the effect of varying the Strength rating. Figure 2-5
displays all tags and all patterns with strengths of 3 and above.
Figure 2-6 displays all tags and all patterns with strengths of 5.
Again, you will want to experiment with the strength cutoff to find the best value to
use for your particular trading style.
The following sections explain the functionality of the controls in the Edit Pattern
Settings dialog box.
Analyzing Patterns
The Edit Pattern Settings dialog box defines which patterns are analyzed. By default,
all patterns are turned off. To enable pattern analysis, select a pattern classification to
view the available pattern types.
You will need to enable the specific pattern types you would like plotted for each
pattern classification. Each pattern classification has its’ own sub-set of pattern types.
The following example shows the pattern classification ‘Candles’ enabled and then
available pattern types for that classification are shown to the right.
Figure 2-8. Consolidation Pattern Classification showing the Available Pattern Types
All pattern types for a classification or multiple pattern types can be enabled by
clicking and dragging over the pattern types and using the Enabled button.
When you run the To Do List, the Chart Pattern Recognition Module searches on all
patterns that are enabled. You can add columns to the Focus List to help you see the
patterns form with signals in the Focus List. For more information on this feature,
refer to the section of Chapter 4, Viewing Patterns in the Focus List.
Depending on the pattern you have selected, you may see the following options:
When you select a pattern from the Pattern drop-down menu, you can choose to have
the values determined automatically or you can customize them to meet your needs.
• Automatic—Automatically sets values for Min Hits and Min Profit for the
selected pattern and displays the results in the Strength Settings dialog box. The
strength settings influence the patterns you see in your charts.
• Custom—Allows you to edit the minimum number of hits and minimum average
profit that define each strength value for the pattern. When you edit the Min Hits
and Min Profit columns, the statistical results for count, average hit rate, etc. are
updated.
The statistics for the selected pattern are displayed in the columns below the Pattern
drop-down menu. The Strength Settings dialog box contains the following columns.
• Strength—Displays the strength rating for the selected pattern. For more
information, refer to the Understanding Pattern Strength section in this chapter.
• Min Hits—Specifies the minimum number of times the selected pattern occurred
in history. This field is editable if you have chosen the Custom option.
• Min Profit—Specifies the minimum profit per trade required for each pattern and
strength value. This field is editable if you have chosen the Custom option.
Note You can only edit the Min Hits column and the Min Profit column
when the Custom option is enabled. All other columns in the Strength
Settings dialog box are automatically populated with statistics about the
pattern’s historical performance.
Analyze Settings
The Number of Bars to Analyze field is used to specify how many bars of historical
data to analyze for each selected sub-pattern for every symbol in the list. For example,
a setting of 250 in an end of day profile using daily bars would look at one year’s
worth of historical data for every symbol in the list for each of the sub-patterns that is
enabled.
Filter Patterns
Specify the minimum statistics required for patterns to be displayed. Statistics are
calculated in percentages. For more information about this feature see Chapter 4
Filter Patterns section. A total number of patterns and pattern types is also displayed
in this section.
Chapter 2 Pattern Settings
Statistical Results
View the results for each enabled sub-pattern by clicking on the pattern in the list
above. These results will display for each enabled pattern and will instantly update
when Filter Pattern criteria is applied.
Note The focus list, charts, statistical results, & patterns report will not
reflect the filter until the analysis is rerun.
• All—Displays all patterns in the entire chart for the chart period displayed.
Patterns are shown exactly as they would have been drawn on the bar where the
pattern was found.
• Right Edge Only—Displays patterns relative to the right edge of the chart. With
this option, you must also specify the number of bars for which you want to
display patterns. For more information, refer to the Specifying the Right Edge
Display Tolerance section in this chapter.
• Most Recent—Displays only the most recent visible pattern of each enabled
pattern type. For example, the Chart Pattern Recognition Module will display the
most recent Consolidation, the most recent Trendlines, the most recent Fibonacci
Retracements, and so on. This is probably the most useful setting for trading and
is the default.
• None—Disables the display of all patterns.
The tag shows the bar at which the pattern was confirmed and where it is most likely
to be tradeable.
• Most Recent—Displays only the most recent visible pattern tag of each enabled
pattern type. For example, the Chart Pattern Recognition Module will display the
most recent Consolidations, the most recent Trendlines, the most recent Fibonacci
Retracements, and so on. This is probably the most useful setting for trading and
is the default.
• None—Disables the display of all tags.
The Display Forming Patterns option displays patterns that are beginning to form at
the right edge of the chart.
Figure 2-16. Most Recent Tags and Most Recent Patterns Displayed
In Figure 2-17, all tags are shown. Note that, due to the abundance of Candle Patterns,
there are a large number of (red) dots above the chart. In this example, the strength
rating was set to 1 so all patterns are shown.
Figure 2-18 shows all tags and all patterns. This is useful for finding patterns in
charts. For example, you could turn off all patterns except for Consolidations and look
through charts to see only Consolidation pattern types.
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module uses the Pattern Tutor and the Focus List to
help you identify patterns. Each of these tools is designed to make identifying patterns
in a chart quick and easy.
Most analysts who have studied candle patterns assert that they are helpful in
determining supply and demand in a freely-traded market. However, there is also
universal agreement that candle patterns cannot be used in isolation, and should be
"confirmed" with other techniques. We typically want to see a candle pattern occur
with a strong OmniTrader Signal, and preferably with another pattern, such as a Gap
or Consolidation break.
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Candle patterns. The
abbreviation for a Candle pattern is CAN.
• Belt Hold • Piercing Lines
• Counterattack • Shooting Star
• Dark Cloud Cover • Side By Side White Lines
• Doji Star • Stick Sandwich
• Engulfing Lines • Tasuki
• Evening Star • Three Black Crows
• Hammer • Three Inside Up
• Hanging Man • Three Inside Down
The Chart Pattern Recognition module recognizes channels. The abbreviation for a
Channels is CHN.
• Channel
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Consolidations. The
abbreviation for a Consolidation is CNS.
• Broadening Bottom • Rectangle
• Broadening Continuation • Rectangle Bottom
• Broadening Reversal • Rectangle Top
• Broadening Top • Triangle, Ascending
• Flag, Falling • Triangle, Descending
• Flag, Falling Continuation • Triangle, Symmetrical
• Flag, Falling Reversal • Wedge, Falling
• Flag, Rising • Wedge, Falling Continuation
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module recognizes Cup and Handle patterns. The
abbreviation for Cup and Hand is CUP.
• Cup and Handle
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Gaps. The
abbreviation for a Gap is GAP.
• Breakaway Gap
• Measured Gap
• Exhaustion Gap
• Common Gap
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module recognizes Head and Shoulders and Inverted
Head and Shoulders Patterns. The abbreviation for Head and Shoulders is HS.
• Head and Shoulders
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Range Patterns. The
abbreviation for Ranges is RNG.
• Range Breakout
Chapter
3
• Range Reversal
The Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Saucer patterns. The
abbreviation for a Saucer pattern is SAU.
• Rounded Top
• Saucer
The Chart Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Scallop Patterns.
The abbreviation for Scallops is SCL.
• Scallop, Ascending
• Scallop, Descending
The Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Support and Resistance
patterns. The abbreviation for Support and Resistance patterns is SR.
• Support Break • Resistance Break
The Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Tops and Bottoms
patterns. The abbreviation for Tops and Bottoms patterns is TB.
• Double Bottom • Double Top
• Triple Bottom • Triple Top
Trendlines
A Trend Line is a line drawn across 2 or more sloped points in the chart. Typically,
the more touches a trend line has, the more valid it tends to be. We have two essential
patterns from Trend Lines - Breaks and Reversals.
The Pattern Recognition Module recognizes the following Volume patterns. The
abbreviation for Volume is VOL.
• Volume Climax
• Volume Trend
2. Select the columns you want to add from the Profile Statistics tab of the Configure
Columns dialog box and click Add.
You can also add and remove columns using the Add and Remove arrows. For
more information on using the Configure Columns dialog box, refer to the
OmniTrader Help File by selecting Help»Contents in OmniTrader.
This illustration of the Focus List contains the PD (Pattern Direction), and Str
(Strength) columns added to the Focus List.
If you run the To Do List with these settings, you will see that GE has a Long signal
and a green TLN (Trend Line) pattern of strength 5. In this example, the pattern
statistics for GE give us more reason to look at this chart than for the chart of CBS.
Figure 4-4. Chart of GE with Long Signal and Trend Line Pattern of 5 Strength
Charts
Patterns and Pattern Tags are displayed in the chart according to the selections and
preferences specified in the Editing Pattern Settings dialog box. Once all selections
have been made, close the pattern settings dialog box and run the analysis. When the
analysis is complete, plot the charts to display the patterns and tags.
Figure 4-5. Daily Chart of HOLX Showing Two Trendlines Found by CPRM
Mouse over the pattern tags in the chart to view the pattern type. Clicking a pattern
tag in the chart will load the pattern Tutor.
Pattern Tutor
The Pattern Tutor is designed to help you learn about the effectiveness of patterns.
This feature is possible because all patterns are found when you run the To Do List.
The pattern definitions and locations are saved to a database and can be called up
later. To see the Pattern Tutor, click any tag in the chart.
In this example, clicking on a tag in the chart displays all Trend Line Break patterns
of similar shape and strength.
Figure 4-7. Pattern Tutor Showing All Trend Line Breaks of Similar Strength
Click the right and left arrows or press <Page Up> and <Page Down> on your
keyboard to scroll through the patterns.
Note In the example shown, the Trend Line Break occurs in the center of
the data range, which is why the Border Alert (yellow/black warning bar) is
shown. The Border Alert appears on a chart when you are not viewing the
latest price data.
The patterns filter can be applied to all of the enabled patterns by clicking the Apply
button. The default settings for the pattern filters are calculated in percentages. The
pattern filters are set to zero for each of the criteria except Max ADD (maximum
average drawdown) which is set to 100. Keep in mind that statistics can return
negative values so the default settings of zero will apply a filter if the Apply button is
clicked.
Criteria can be entered for any or all fields. All patterns not meeting the filter criteria
will be immediately deselected upon clicking Apply and the Patterns Types and
Patterns Found calculations will be updated. You can view the results for the
remaining patterns and tighten the constraints by increasing the filter criteria.
Note .The focus list and charts will not reflect the filter until the analysis is
rerun. Additionally, the filter will need to be reapplied when new data is
collected.
The Statistical Results and Patterns Report will also be updated to reflect the patterns
filter.
Click the Restore button to re-enable the selected patterns prior to applying the filter.
Statistical Results
Statistical Results are calculated using the close price of the bar the pattern was
generated on to the next pivot point according to the term that is selected for the
pattern. For example, when a short-term trendline break is detected, CPRM will use
the close of the bar the pattern was generated on and calculate profitability based on
the short-term pivot that followed it.
View Statistical Results for individual sub-patterns that have been analyzed by
clicking on any enabled sub-pattern in the list. A breakdown of the statistics for each
sub-pattern for all enabled timeframes will be displayed.
To show patterns with higher profitability, tighten the constraints by editing the filter
criteria. Statistical Results will be updated after the analysis has been rerun.
Pattern Report
The statistics for all enabled patterns can be viewed together in the Patterns Report.
Click the Report button to view a comprehensive list of all enabled pattern statistics.
This report is also subject to immediate filtering when there is a filter applied.