When a trend runs out
A double top is two failed attempts at the same high — buyers can't push past resistance; a double bottom is the mirror. A head-and-shoulders is three peaks, the middle highest, that signals an uptrend losing control.
None of these count until the 'neckline' breaks on volume. An unconfirmed head-and-shoulders is just three bumps — most of them never complete. Patience for the confirmation is the whole edge.
Anatomy of a head-and-shoulders
The textbook top is three peaks — a higher middle peak (the head) between two lower ones (the shoulders) — connected by a 'neckline' along the intervening lows. A double top is the simpler version: two failed pushes at the same ceiling. Both say the same thing: the trend tried to make progress and couldn't.
Nothing counts until the neckline breaks
Most possible reversal patterns never complete — anticipating them means fighting a trend that isn't done. Wait for the neckline to break, ideally on volume, then use the pattern's height projected from the break as a rough target. And respect the flip: a reversal pattern that breaks then reclaims its level traps a crowd and often fuels a hard move the other way.