There are many differing perspectives on how the market moves—such as the Wyckoff Method, Elliott Wave Theory, Stacey Burke Trading, and Steve Mauro’s BTMM. Despite their differences, they all share a common idea: the market tends to move in three distinct pushes.
Across all timeframes, price is always forming some variation of a three-push pattern. Price action unfolds fractally, meaning what occurs on higher timeframes appears far more frequently on lower ones. Stay mindful of Other Time Frame (OTF) traders, as well as prior monthly, weekly, and daily highs and lows—these often highlight key liquidity areas. Ask yourself: where are traders entering, and where are their stop-loss orders placed? Is the liquidity concentrated at the upper or lower end of the range?
After the third push in one direction, price typically moves into consolidation. During the second push, retail traders often assume the trend will continue and rush in. This creates a trap, where liquidity builds through clustered entries and stop-loss orders during the consolidation phase. By the third push, price is often already forming part of a broader peak (or trough) reversal pattern.
There are four main variations of the three-push pattern that can be observed across all timeframes:
(1.) Three Levels, also known as "stair stepping."
(2.) Three Pushes, which can appear in several forms:
(2.) Three Pushes, which can appear in several forms:
a. Stair step
b. 1, 2, pause, 3
c. 1, 2, 3
d. 1, pause, 2, pause, 3
e. Three burst impulse candles
b. 1, 2, pause, 3
c. 1, 2, 3
d. 1, pause, 2, pause, 3
e. Three burst impulse candles
(3.) Three pushes emerging from consolidation, in any of the variations listed above.
(4.) Working levels (three pushes), including:
(4.) Working levels (three pushes), including:
a. Triple tops
b. Triple bottoms
b. Triple bottoms
