Triple top and triple bottom

A triple top and a triple bottom are reversal chart patterns that form when a stock tests the same price level three separate times without breaking through, before finally reversing direction. They are close relatives of the double top and double bottom, differing only in that the price makes one additional attempt at the same level, which many traders view as an even stronger sign that the level represents genuine, durable resistance or support.

A triple top forms after an uptrend, when a stock rallies to roughly the same high on three separate occasions, pulling back each time without managing to break through. Each failed attempt suggests sellers are consistently strong enough to cap the advance at that level, and the pattern is generally considered complete once the stock breaks down below the low points between the three peaks, confirming that buyers have finally been overwhelmed. A triple bottom is the mirror image, forming after a downtrend when a stock falls to roughly the same low three separate times without breaking through, with the pattern confirmed once the stock breaks up above the high points between the three troughs, signaling that sellers have been exhausted.

Because the pattern requires three distinct tests of the same level rather than just two, it typically takes longer to form and is generally read as a higher-conviction reversal signal once confirmed, since the level has proven its significance repeatedly rather than just once. As with double tops and double bottoms, volume is often used as a secondary confirmation, with the breakout ideally accompanied by a noticeable pickup in trading activity, and traders generally wait for that confirmed break rather than acting on the third touch alone, since a stock can sometimes test the same level a third time and still fail to reverse.