A Break of Structure is a continuation through a prior swing in the direction of trend. How to confirm one properly, and why closes matter more than wicks.
A Break of Structure is a close beyond a prior swing point in the same direction as the existing trend. In an uptrend, a close above the most recent swing high is a BOS: the trend has extended and the structure has stepped up.
A wick through a level proves only that price traded there briefly. A close beyond it means the move survived the auction for the duration of that candle. Confirming on wicks produces a large number of breaks that immediately reverse, which is usually what people mean when they say structure analysis does not work for them.
BOS and CHoCH are the same test — a close beyond a prior swing — distinguished only by trend context. Without an established sequence of higher highs and higher lows, or lower highs and lower lows, a break is neither: it is simply a breakout with no structural meaning yet.
Trend state is derived from confirmed pivots with a lookback on both sides, so no break is classified using information that was not available at the time. Every break is measured for displacement using range against ATR and body against range, and breaks that occur without a trend state are labelled as breakouts rather than forced into a category.
WHICH ONE COSTS YOU MONEY? Most traders leak money the same way twice. Five questions, thirty seconds, no email — find out which way is yours. TAKE THE READ →