False breaks and pattern counts
Breaks and false breaks
Lesson 1 of 3 · about 7 minutes
3 questions, each checked the moment you answer it.
6 steps · about 7 minutes
The interactive lesson walks these ideas one screen at a time and checks your answers as you go. The text below covers the same ground for reading.
A break is a close beyond the level
Learn to identify a close beyond a price level and recognise when price returns across it. For this lesson, a break requires a candle to close beyond the level. The level on this drawing sits near 1.1040.
The closing price is the only price the test reads
Here are the same two candles enlarged, drawn to one price scale. The label marked Close is the price each candle finished at. On the first, that price is above the level even though the wick went under it, so no break is confirmed. On the second, the closing price is below the level, so the break is confirmed.
A false break is a break that price returns across
Real EUR/USD from February 2026. A ceiling at about 1.1849 turned price back twice on wicks, with both of those candles closing back below it. Then two candles decided it.