Brooks detectors

Every Brooks pattern detector on the chart. 31 toggleable groups, 60 individual bull/bear detectors. Each entry cites the course chapter it ports from and deep-links to /chart with just that detector enabled so you can see the markers fire on a real symbol.

Related: Detector frequency lab → · Wisdom (verbatim Brooks quotes) →

Kill-gates

Patterns that should stop you from taking a trade. When one of these fires against your direction, sit out — the math has tilted.

  • Stairs (channel→range)

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 11d · gaps-v2 · 50c · scalping

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Stairs (bull → range)
      Fires when 2+ swing lows in the last 30 bars print lower than their predecessors — Brooks' 'channel evolving into trading range' warning.
    • Stairs (bear → range)
      Fires when 2+ swing highs in the last 30 bars print higher than their predecessors — bear channel cracking into a range.
  • Brooks course wave5_indicators.md (BPA code audit)

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Endless pullback (bull)
      Fires when 10+ bars print without a new swing high in a bull leg — 75% chance the next breakout is to the downside.
    • Endless pullback (bear)
      Fires when 10+ bars print without a new swing low in a bear leg — 75% chance the next breakout is to the upside.
  • Brooks course 47a · trading-in-trading-ranges

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Failed breakout (bull)
      Fires when a bar prints above the prior 20-bar high but closes back below it — 80% rule: trapped longs reverse.
    • Failed breakout (bear)
      Mirror — bar prints below 20-bar low but closes back inside.
  • Brooks course 11a-d · gaps-v2

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Exhaustion gap (bull)
      A body-gap up in a mature bull trend (≥20 bars since flip) — 60% chance the gap closes (reversal).
    • Exhaustion gap (bear)
      Mirror — body-gap down in a mature bear trend.

Probability lifts

With-trend confirmations. When one fires aligned with your direction, the same setup has a higher win-rate than the baseline.

  • Brooks course 09a-c · pullbacks-bar-counting

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Second-leg trap (bull)
      Fires when leg 2 of a counter-trend pullback is ≥1.2× leg 1 — ~60% reverses back with the original bull trend.
    • Second-leg trap (bear)
      Same as bull but on a bear pullback — leg 2 oversized; ~60% reverses with the bear trend.
  • Brooks course wave5_indicators.md (BPA code audit)

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Give-up bar (bull)
      Fires on a big bull bar that follows 3+ bear bars in the last 10 — shorts are giving up; short-term reversal flag.
    • Give-up bar (bear)
      Fires on a big bear bar that follows 3+ bull bars in the last 10 — longs giving up.
  • Brooks course 11a-d · gaps-v2

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Breakaway gap (bull)
      A body-gap up combined with an Always-In flip within 2 bars — high-conviction launch of a new bull trend.
    • Breakaway gap (bear)
      Mirror — body-gap down + fresh always-in-short flip.
  • Brooks course 08a-d · candles-setups-signal-bars

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Two-bar reversal (bull)
      Fires on a bear bar followed by a bull bar that takes back ≥50% of its body — classic reversal-bar pair.
    • Two-bar reversal (bear)
      Mirror — bull bar followed by a bear bar that takes back ≥50%.

Context primitives

Bar-geometric flags that describe the regime — what 'kind of market' we're in right now. Mostly silent (hover for tooltip); enable to learn the language.

  • Above/below MA bar

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course gap_bars.md (BPA knowledge)

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Above-MA bar (bull strength)
      Fires when the current bar's LOW is above EMA(20) — bull strength; precondition for many bull MTR setups.
    • Below-MA bar (bear strength)
      Fires when the current bar's HIGH is below EMA(20) — bear strength; precondition for bear MTR setups.
  • True gap (no overlap)

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course gap_bars.md (BPA knowledge)

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • True gap up (no overlap)
      Fires when the bar's low is strictly above the prior bar's high — zero overlap; strongest gap signal.
    • True gap down (no overlap)
      Fires when the bar's high is strictly below the prior bar's low — strong bear gap.
  • Brooks course 01 · terminology · 08a

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Inside bar
      Fires when a bar's high and low sit within (or equal to) the prior bar's range — consolidation / pending-breakout signal.
  • Brooks course 45e · broad-bull-channels

    Verified (SPY 5m)coinflipN=7,870

    Measured: 50.8% bull / 49.8% bear (at 1:1 R:R) · Brooks-claimed: 60%

    Don't use as a standalone trigger at 1:1. Combine with another gate (premise check, S/R cluster) or require ≥1.5:1 R:R minimum.

    • 50% bull pullback (entry zone)
      Fires when the bar's low sits within ±7% of the exact 50% retracement of the most recent bull leg — Brooks' canonical entry zone.
    • 50% bear pullback (entry zone)
      Mirror — bar's high within ±7% of the 50% retrace of the most recent bear leg.
  • Implied pullback (tail in trend)

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 10a · buying-selling-pressure

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Implied bull pullback (bottom tail in bull)
      Fires when the current bar has a prominent bottom tail (≥35% of its range) in a bull context — implies a smaller-timeframe pullback you can buy.
    • Implied bear pullback (top tail in bear)
      Mirror — prominent top tail in a bear context.
  • Magnet approach (vacuum to S/R)

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course 18e · support-resistance

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Magnet approach above (vacuum to resistance)
      Fires when price is within 0.5 ATR below the most recent swing high AND the last 3 bars are mostly bull — vacuum into resistance.
    • Magnet approach below (vacuum to support)
      Mirror — within 0.5 ATR above the most recent swing low with mostly-bear bars.
  • Microchannel (3+ chain)

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 17a · tight-channels

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Bull microchannel (3+ chain, tight up trend)
      Fires when the bull microchannel chain (bar.low ≥ prior.low) reaches 3 — tight up-trend, with-trend only.
    • Bear microchannel (3+ chain, tight down trend)
      Mirror — bear microchannel chain length ≥3.
  • Tight channel by size (17a)

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 17a · tight-channels

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Tight bull channel by size (17a)
      Fires when the largest counter-trend dip in the last 10 bars is < 2× the 20-bar average bar range — tight enough that counter-trend trades lose money.
    • Tight bear channel by size (17a)
      Mirror — largest counter-trend rally < 2× avg bar in a bear.
  • Limit-order market (overlap+tails)

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 50a · scalping

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Limit-order market (overlap+tails)
      Fires when the last 10 bars show ≥50% average bar overlap AND ≥40% average tail prominence — fade with limit orders, don't chase.

Structural breaks

Major-pivot and vacuum events that shift the bias. When a fresh-pivot break or vacuum fires, the prior trend is materially weaker than it looked.

  • Fresh MHL/MLH break

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 21a-c · reversals (MHL/MLH)

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Fresh MHL break
      Fires within 5 bars of price first breaking below a major higher low — bullish-trend integrity broken, shorts hot zone.
    • Fresh MLH break
      Mirror — within 5 bars of breaking above a major lower high; bear-trend cracked.
  • Brooks course 10a-b · buying-selling-pressure

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Sell vacuum
      Fires after 5+ consecutive bear bars with the pullback in the middle or bottom third of a measured leg — high-WR with-trend setup.
    • Buy vacuum
      Mirror — 5+ consecutive bull bars and the pullback sits in the upper third of the leg.

Trend exhaustion

Late-trend warnings — the trend has run long enough that reversal probabilities are climbing. Take profits, reduce size, watch for the turn.

  • Potential final flag (mature trend)

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course 23a · final-flags

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Potential final bull flag
      Fires in a mature bull trend (≥20 bars old) when the last 10 bars form a tight sideways consolidation with no clear new high — terminal flag.
    • Potential final bear flag
      Mirror — mature bear trend + 10-bar sideways consolidation.
  • Climactic run (4+ in a mature trend)

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course 29a · climactic-reversals

    Verified (SPY 5m)continuation-biasN=398

    Measured: 53.1% bull rev / 46.3% bear rev (within run magnitude) · Brooks-claimed: ~60%

    Bull climactic runs have a weak reversal edge. Bear climactic runs on SPY actually CONTINUE more often than they reverse — the asymmetry comes from put-buying flow (Brooks 29e). Treat bear-side as a continuation signal, not a reversal one.

    • Climactic bull run (4+ bull bars, mature trend)
      Fires on 4+ consecutive bull bars inside a mature bull trend (≥20 bars old) — parabolic exhaustion, reversal warning.
    • Climactic bear run (4+ bear bars, mature trend)
      Mirror — 4+ consecutive bear bars in a mature bear trend.
  • Climactic microchannel (15+)

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 17a · tight-channels

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Climactic bull microchannel (15+ chain)
      Fires when the bull-microchannel chain length reaches 15 — Brooks: 70% chance of a 10+ bar sideways-to-down reversal.
    • Climactic bear microchannel (15+ chain)
      Mirror — bear microchannel chain length ≥15.
  • Buy/sell-the-close climax run

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 24a · wedges

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Buy-the-close climax run (FOMO)
      Fires on 4+ consecutive bull bars where each closes higher than the prior AND in the upper 60% of its range, in a mature trend — FOMO buying.
    • Sell-the-close climax run (panic)
      Mirror — 4+ bear bars closing lower than prior AND in the bottom 60%.
  • TBTL correction (10 bars · 2 legs)

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 49b · swing-trading-examples

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • TBTL bull correction (10 bars · 2 down-legs)
      Fires when the last ~10 bars form a 2-legged DOWN correction (down-up-down) — bull trend likely resumes after the second down leg.
    • TBTL bear correction (10 bars · 2 up-legs)
      Mirror — 2-legged UP correction (up-down-up); bear trend resumes.

Classic reversal patterns

The named multi-pivot reversal shapes Brooks teaches. Most need swing pivots to confirm — generally daily-timeframe surfaces; intraday is too noisy.

  • Symmetric wedge (24c)

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course 24c · wedges

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Symmetric wedge top (24c)
      Fires when the last 3 swing highs form a rising wedge AND their pivot-spacing ratio is ≥0.33 — classic wedge top.
    • Symmetric wedge bottom (24c)
      Mirror — 3 falling swing lows with symmetric spacing.
  • Three-pushes wedge (45a)

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course 45a · broad-bull-channels

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Three-pushes wedge top (45a)
      Fires on any 3 consecutive higher swing highs — Brooks: trades as a wedge top even when the leg geometry isn't classic.
    • Three-pushes wedge bottom (45a)
      Mirror — 3 consecutive lower swing lows.
  • Expanding triangle (26b)

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course 26b · major-trend-reversals

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Expanding triangle top (26b)
      Fires when 3 swing highs are each higher than the last AND the 2 intervening swing lows are progressively lower AND the legs are growing — diverging top.
    • Expanding triangle bottom (26b)
      Mirror — 3 lower lows with 2 progressively higher intervening highs and expanding legs.
  • Head & shoulders (27a)

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course 27a · major-trend-reversals

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Head & shoulders top (27a, MTR)
      Fires when the last 3 swing highs print Left-Shoulder / Head (highest) / Right-Shoulder, shoulders within ±1 ATR of each other, in a mature bull regime.
    • Head & shoulders bottom (27a, MTR)
      Mirror — 3 swing lows with the middle one the lowest; shoulders within ±1 ATR; mature bear regime.
  • Double-top/bottom failed breakout

    Open on /chart SPY daily

    Brooks course 25b · double-tops-double-bottoms

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Double-top failed breakout (DT trap)
      Fires when 2 recent swing highs sit within 0.5 ATR of each other, a bar broke above them, AND the current bar closed back below — trap reversal.
    • Double-bottom failed breakout (DB trap)
      Mirror — 2 swing lows within 0.5 ATR, a bar broke below, current bar closed back above.

Noisier signal bars

Signal-bar confirmations that fire often. Useful in combination with the kill-gates but loud on intraday — opt in deliberately.

  • Second-entry signal

    Open on /chart SPY 5min

    Brooks course 08c · candles-setups-signal-bars

    No empirical study yet — Brooks-claimed probability is the only number we have on this group.

    • Second-entry signal (bull)
      Fires on a strong bull bar that follows a prior strong bull within 10 bars — +10-20 percentage points of win-rate boost.
    • Second-entry signal (bear)
      Mirror — strong bear bar following a recent strong bear within 10 bars.

Detectors are TypeScript ports of Brooks' price-action methodology as implemented in the BPA repo (regime/core/features.py). Each course citation points to a curated topic note in vendor/brooks-course/brooks_course/knowledge/ or a processed chapter deck under processed/<chapter>/deck.md. All detectors are off by default in the chart — opt in via the ƒx menu.

Verified probabilities come from scripts/verify_brooks_probabilities_v2.py in the BPA repo — SPY 5m RTH, ~43,500 bars (557 sessions, 2023-12-06 → 2026-02-27). The audit report is brooks_course/code_audits/probability_calibration_phase2.md. Several of Brooks' widely-quoted constants don't survive contact with the data — half-pullback is a coinflip at 1:1 R:R, climactic bear runs trend rather than reverse, strong-breakout probability collapses to ~55% at swing target. Where we have a verified number we cite it; where we don't, the page says so explicitly.