A Simple Lesson: How to Identify Congestion Zones in the Market — Schabacker’s Approach and the Head and Shoulders Pattern
⸻
👤 Who Was Schabacker?
🔹 Richard Schabacker was one of the pioneers who authored seminal works on technical analysis.
🔹 He lived over 90 years ago and served as Editor-in-Chief of Financial World magazine.
🔹 His most notable book is:
Technical Analysis and Stock Market Profits
🔹 Published around 1932 in the United States.
🔹 Schabacker is often considered the “grandfather” of technical analysis, and much of the methodology traders use today can be traced back to his insights.
⸻
🟢 What Did He Teach?
🔹 Schabacker introduced a critical concept:
✅ The Congestion Zone
🌟 What Does It Mean?
When the market makes a strong move—either a sharp rally or a steep decline—price often becomes trapped in a range:
• Buyers at higher levels wait for further gains.
• Sellers at lower levels expect more downside.
But in reality, retail traders aren’t moving the market. Large institutions and funds—the so-called smart money—are in control.
👈 When these big players want to exit positions, they avoid selling everything at once to prevent a sudden collapse in price and to avoid revealing their hand.
✅ Their Playbook:
• Keep price contained within a narrow band between support and resistance.
• Gradually increase volume over time.
• Attract new buyers who believe the trend is still intact.
• Quietly distribute their holdings without alarming the market.
🌟 Why Do They Do This?
If they were to dump all at once:
• Price would drop rapidly.
• Everyone would realize a large seller was active.
• Institutions would get stuck, unable to exit at favorable prices.
🔻 So They Create Congestion and Distribution:
1️⃣ Sell discreetly over time.
2️⃣ Maintain the illusion that the trend is healthy.
3️⃣ Trap latecomers who buy into the range.
⸻
🟢 How Do You Recognize This on a Chart?
🎯 A Simple Example:
• Price climbs steadily from 3,000 to 3,300.
• Suddenly, it surges to 3,450.
✅ Most traders think the rally will continue.
🌟 What happens next:
• Price stalls between 3,380 and 3,450.
• Numerous candles form in this area.
• Volume remains elevated.
🔥 Inside this range:
1️⃣ Institutions sell into every upward move.
2️⃣ Early buyers remain committed, hoping for new highs.
3️⃣ New participants enter, unaware of the distribution.
🔻 What Do You See?
• Repeated candles oscillating within the same band.
• Failed breakouts above resistance.
• Sustained high volume.
✅ This is the classic Congestion Zone.
⸻
💡 How Can You Tell If It’s Distribution, Not Accumulation?
• Persistent high volume indicates steady selling.
• Price struggles to make fresh highs.
• Long upper wicks signal selling pressure.
• A Head and Shoulders pattern may start forming.
⸻
🎯 What Happens After Congestion?
• Institutions complete their distribution.
✅ Price breaks sharply below the range.
✅ The market drops quickly.
✅ Late buyers are forced to sell at losses.
⸻
🟢 Practical Illustration:
Visualize the range like this:
| |
| The Range |
| |
3380 ————> Resistance
| Multiple Candles |
| Multiple Candles |
| Multiple Candles |
3300 ————> Support and Neckline
✅ If price breaks below 3,300 on heavy volume:
• The distribution is complete.
• Price declines rapidly.
⸻
📌 Key Takeaway:
After any strong move, expect congestion as large players exit. Once they’re done, the trend often reverses.
⸻
🎯 Quick Tips:
✅ Never rush to buy inside congestion after a big rally.
✅ Watch volume—if it’s high, it’s likely distribution.
✅ Wait for a clear breakdown before shorting.
✅ Your target should at least match the size of the preceding move.
⸻
🔥 Let’s Cover the Head and Shoulders Pattern:
✅ What Is It?
A reversal pattern appearing after a strong uptrend, signaling the end of bullish momentum.
⸻
✅ Pattern Components:
1️⃣ Left Shoulder:
• Price makes a high.
• Pulls back.
2️⃣ Head:
• Rallies to a higher high.
• Declines again.
3️⃣ Right Shoulder:
• Attempts to rise but fails to exceed the head’s high.
4️⃣ Neckline:
• Connects the lows between the shoulders and the head.
🔻 When the Neckline Breaks Down:
It’s a strong sell signal. The market often drops decisively.
⸻
💡 Example in Numbers:
• Price moves from 3,200:
1️⃣ Up to 3,350 (Left Shoulder)
2️⃣ Down to 3,300
3️⃣ Up to 3,400 (Head)
4️⃣ Down to 3,300
5️⃣ Up to 3,350 (Right Shoulder)
6️⃣ Down to 3,300
✅ If price closes below 3,300 on strong volume, the pattern is confirmed.
🎯 Target Calculation:
• Head = 3,400
• Neckline = 3,300
• Distance = 100 points
• Target = 3,200
⸻
🟢 How To Trade It:
1️⃣ Don’t preemptively sell during the right shoulder.
2️⃣ Wait for a confirmed breakdown.
3️⃣ Enter a short position targeting 3,200.
4️⃣ Set your stop loss above the right shoulder.
⸻
🟢 Final Advice:
✅ The Head and Shoulders is powerful if confirmed by volume.
✅ Always wait for the neckline break—otherwise, it could be a false signal.
✅ Keep monitoring volume for confirmation.
⸻
🔥 Be disciplined in your analysis and decisive in your execution.
🔥 As Warren Buffett said:
“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”
⸻
If you found this valuable, let me know—I’d be glad to prepare more lessons. 🌟
⸻
👤 Who Was Schabacker?
🔹 Richard Schabacker was one of the pioneers who authored seminal works on technical analysis.
🔹 He lived over 90 years ago and served as Editor-in-Chief of Financial World magazine.
🔹 His most notable book is:
Technical Analysis and Stock Market Profits
🔹 Published around 1932 in the United States.
🔹 Schabacker is often considered the “grandfather” of technical analysis, and much of the methodology traders use today can be traced back to his insights.
⸻
🟢 What Did He Teach?
🔹 Schabacker introduced a critical concept:
✅ The Congestion Zone
🌟 What Does It Mean?
When the market makes a strong move—either a sharp rally or a steep decline—price often becomes trapped in a range:
• Buyers at higher levels wait for further gains.
• Sellers at lower levels expect more downside.
But in reality, retail traders aren’t moving the market. Large institutions and funds—the so-called smart money—are in control.
👈 When these big players want to exit positions, they avoid selling everything at once to prevent a sudden collapse in price and to avoid revealing their hand.
✅ Their Playbook:
• Keep price contained within a narrow band between support and resistance.
• Gradually increase volume over time.
• Attract new buyers who believe the trend is still intact.
• Quietly distribute their holdings without alarming the market.
🌟 Why Do They Do This?
If they were to dump all at once:
• Price would drop rapidly.
• Everyone would realize a large seller was active.
• Institutions would get stuck, unable to exit at favorable prices.
🔻 So They Create Congestion and Distribution:
1️⃣ Sell discreetly over time.
2️⃣ Maintain the illusion that the trend is healthy.
3️⃣ Trap latecomers who buy into the range.
⸻
🟢 How Do You Recognize This on a Chart?
🎯 A Simple Example:
• Price climbs steadily from 3,000 to 3,300.
• Suddenly, it surges to 3,450.
✅ Most traders think the rally will continue.
🌟 What happens next:
• Price stalls between 3,380 and 3,450.
• Numerous candles form in this area.
• Volume remains elevated.
🔥 Inside this range:
1️⃣ Institutions sell into every upward move.
2️⃣ Early buyers remain committed, hoping for new highs.
3️⃣ New participants enter, unaware of the distribution.
🔻 What Do You See?
• Repeated candles oscillating within the same band.
• Failed breakouts above resistance.
• Sustained high volume.
✅ This is the classic Congestion Zone.
⸻
💡 How Can You Tell If It’s Distribution, Not Accumulation?
• Persistent high volume indicates steady selling.
• Price struggles to make fresh highs.
• Long upper wicks signal selling pressure.
• A Head and Shoulders pattern may start forming.
⸻
🎯 What Happens After Congestion?
• Institutions complete their distribution.
✅ Price breaks sharply below the range.
✅ The market drops quickly.
✅ Late buyers are forced to sell at losses.
⸻
🟢 Practical Illustration:
Visualize the range like this:
| |
| The Range |
| |
3380 ————> Resistance
| Multiple Candles |
| Multiple Candles |
| Multiple Candles |
3300 ————> Support and Neckline
✅ If price breaks below 3,300 on heavy volume:
• The distribution is complete.
• Price declines rapidly.
⸻
📌 Key Takeaway:
After any strong move, expect congestion as large players exit. Once they’re done, the trend often reverses.
⸻
🎯 Quick Tips:
✅ Never rush to buy inside congestion after a big rally.
✅ Watch volume—if it’s high, it’s likely distribution.
✅ Wait for a clear breakdown before shorting.
✅ Your target should at least match the size of the preceding move.
⸻
🔥 Let’s Cover the Head and Shoulders Pattern:
✅ What Is It?
A reversal pattern appearing after a strong uptrend, signaling the end of bullish momentum.
⸻
✅ Pattern Components:
1️⃣ Left Shoulder:
• Price makes a high.
• Pulls back.
2️⃣ Head:
• Rallies to a higher high.
• Declines again.
3️⃣ Right Shoulder:
• Attempts to rise but fails to exceed the head’s high.
4️⃣ Neckline:
• Connects the lows between the shoulders and the head.
🔻 When the Neckline Breaks Down:
It’s a strong sell signal. The market often drops decisively.
⸻
💡 Example in Numbers:
• Price moves from 3,200:
1️⃣ Up to 3,350 (Left Shoulder)
2️⃣ Down to 3,300
3️⃣ Up to 3,400 (Head)
4️⃣ Down to 3,300
5️⃣ Up to 3,350 (Right Shoulder)
6️⃣ Down to 3,300
✅ If price closes below 3,300 on strong volume, the pattern is confirmed.
🎯 Target Calculation:
• Head = 3,400
• Neckline = 3,300
• Distance = 100 points
• Target = 3,200
⸻
🟢 How To Trade It:
1️⃣ Don’t preemptively sell during the right shoulder.
2️⃣ Wait for a confirmed breakdown.
3️⃣ Enter a short position targeting 3,200.
4️⃣ Set your stop loss above the right shoulder.
⸻
🟢 Final Advice:
✅ The Head and Shoulders is powerful if confirmed by volume.
✅ Always wait for the neckline break—otherwise, it could be a false signal.
✅ Keep monitoring volume for confirmation.
⸻
🔥 Be disciplined in your analysis and decisive in your execution.
🔥 As Warren Buffett said:
“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”
⸻
If you found this valuable, let me know—I’d be glad to prepare more lessons. 🌟
Mohamed
THE Ichimoku MAN on the Nile
#traders4traders
you are welcome to join my Telegram channel, Ichimokuonthenile.
for GOLD follow this link: t.me/GOLDontheNILE
youtube youtube.com/@ICHIMOKUontheNILE
THE Ichimoku MAN on the Nile
#traders4traders
you are welcome to join my Telegram channel, Ichimokuonthenile.
for GOLD follow this link: t.me/GOLDontheNILE
youtube youtube.com/@ICHIMOKUontheNILE
Related publications
Disclaimer
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.
Mohamed
THE Ichimoku MAN on the Nile
#traders4traders
you are welcome to join my Telegram channel, Ichimokuonthenile.
for GOLD follow this link: t.me/GOLDontheNILE
youtube youtube.com/@ICHIMOKUontheNILE
THE Ichimoku MAN on the Nile
#traders4traders
you are welcome to join my Telegram channel, Ichimokuonthenile.
for GOLD follow this link: t.me/GOLDontheNILE
youtube youtube.com/@ICHIMOKUontheNILE
Related publications
Disclaimer
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.