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Head & Shoulders pattern

A Head & Shoulders is a bearish reversal chart pattern with three peaks: a higher middle peak (the head) flanked by two lower peaks (the shoulders). A break below the neckline connecting the lows signals a top and a likely move lower.

Historical performance

Head & Shoulders historical win-rate

Follow-through rate — how often price moved in the predicted direction within each window — across 1,576 historical occurrences on 20+ exchanges. Computed July 2026.

Head & Shoulders: historical follow-through win-rate by horizon (n = 1,576).
HorizonHistorical win-rate
1 hour57%
4 hours63%
24 hours56%
7 days55%
Sample size1,576 occurrences

This is a historical follow-through rate, not a trade simulation, and does not guarantee future results. See methodology →

How the head & shoulders pattern forms

After an uptrend, price forms a left shoulder, a higher head, then a lower right shoulder, with a neckline drawn across the two intervening lows. Declining volume into the head and right shoulder is a classic tell.

How traders use the head & shoulders pattern

Traders short the neckline break, stop above the right shoulder, and target the distance from the head to the neckline projected down from the break.

CryptoPatterns’ scanner detects the head & shoulders live across 20+ exchanges and every timeframe, tagging each occurrence with the historical win-rate above so you can weigh it in context. See how the scanner works →

FAQ

Head & Shoulders — common questions

Is head and shoulders bullish or bearish?

Bearish. The standard head and shoulders marks a top; its mirror image, the inverse head and shoulders, marks a bottom and is bullish.

How reliable is the head and shoulders pattern?

It is among the most-watched reversal patterns and tends to be reliable on a confirmed neckline break with volume. Reliability falls if you anticipate the break before it happens.

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