False breaks after quiet ranges
Compressed ranges invite liquidity grabs. Here is how our false-break clinic spots the setup before the trap springs.
Quiet ranges feel safe. They are often the opposite.
Compression
When the last eight to twelve bars shrink relative to the prior fortnight, stops cluster just beyond the high and low. A single impulsive print can clear both sides in an hour.
The tell
In clinic work we watch for: a break on thinner volume than the bar that started the range, an immediate opposite wick, and a close that returns inside. Two of those three is enough to mark the event as suspect.
The sit-out
Our avoidance protocol is blunt: size stays flat until a later bar reclaims the range with a close and holds a retest. Missed winners happen. Recycled stops happen more often for traders who skip this pause.