Breakout
A breakout is a close beyond a level that had been holding price back, with follow-through. The close is what counts, not the poke through.
In depth
Resistance at 100 has held three times. On the fourth try a candle closes at 100.40 and the next one holds above. That is a breakout. Buying the candle while it prints puts you at the top of its own range. You are far from any sensible stop, so the geometry usually fails.
The entry is the pullback after the break. Price often returns to the level it just cleared and holds it. Now that level is support. Your stop sits just under it, close to your fill. A target at the level above pays several times your risk. Some breaks never come back, and that cost is real.
Why it matters
Entry distance decides whether a correct call makes money. Buy at 100.10 with a stop at 99.75. You risk 35 cents to reach 101, a target worth 90. Chase the same idea at 100.70 and you risk 95 cents for 30. Same view of the market, two very different trades.
TraderLog shows each trade on a TradingView chart with your fills marked. You can see how far above the level you actually got in. Tag your break entries and your pullback entries separately. The By tag table tells you which one has been paying.
Frequently asked questions
A candle closing beyond the level on your timeframe. Then volume behind the move, and a retest that holds.
Usually not. Your stop ends up far below your entry. Waiting for the pullback keeps the risk small and the target the same.
Keep your Breakout trades on the record in TraderLog
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