Is there an ideal time period that the cup portion should take to develope? Does it matter if it takes weeks versus months to form? ER
I see them on a 15 minute chart as well. They, like most chart patterns appear in most time frames IMO. I look at chart patterns like Broccoli. It looks the same no matter how how you break it off. A tiny little bunch looks just like the entire stalk you brought home. Or any size in between for that matter. To me, there really is no magic time frame. I like to use multiple time frames. When they all converge,....press it.
As the last post mentions: Cup/handle works in every time frame. The more convergence the better. BUT: a) Watch your overhead trend line: If there is resistance above the breakout on a larger timeframe, (like a descending trend line), it acts like a bull trap and will fail. Usually quite brutally. b) If you're trading it and you know you want a piece of that stock, look to buy at the lower piece of the handle -- close above the low of the handle w/ a stop at the low. (Intraday that can be hard to do because all the traders see the handle and spike it back to the top). This way: a) you get a better return and b) if the breakout aborts you still get out clean. Good luck w/ it!
Realized you asked about the 'time frame' -- I guess you mean # of bars to form? Mostly, the shorter, the better. Because I don't want to watch it form all day/week/month/year long. On a DAILY, it should form the CUP portion in about 2 weeks (10 trading days) to attract max attention. Usually the 'top' of the cup hits a new 52-week (or, at least) 20-day high before the 'end of day' folks see it. Then, they prep all their orders to buy the handle. If it takes more than 10-days, it probably won't make the cup pattern any time soon. Then, you get into 'big w's' and all that ilk... As for saucers: I don't usually trade them. Too slow as a pattern. They are quite dynamic once they get moving but who knows when that will happen. Take a look at AN for an interesting cup/handle. It's forming on the Monthly, weekly, and will likely form up on the daily, shortly. As for time frames -- it's a bit long for me but AN isn't a real 'day traded' stock. It's like a 'natural' c-cup vs. the stuff you see on steriods/implants on NASDAQ / QQQ.