I would like a pcf for an uptrending stock (above 20 SMA) that currently has a 2-3 month bull flag that is tightning in the last 5 days and has in effect created a bull flag within a bull flag. The new bull flag is bumping up against 2-3 month old resistance line and bouncing off of the new support line. The 20 SMA catches up with the new support line and a floor is established.

Please put your best men on this. :)

I have asked the rest of customer training to see if they have any different ideas, but I think I must be misunderstanding the request somehow.

You have defined an uptrending stock as being above the 20 period simple moving average but also indicate that it is currently in a 2-3 month bull flag pattern.

My understanding is that it is a continuation pattern where the symbol was/is in a longer term uptrend but that it is now consolidating in a narrower range that has a slight downward angle.

Price is pretty much going to be below its 20 day moving average if it has been in even a slight downtrend if that downtrend extends to 42 to 63 days.

thanks Bruce,

how about a high, tight 2 week flag pattern with previous 100% vertical move up (flagpole)?

Let's look at just checking for the 100% move up prior to the most recent 2 weeks on its own. Let's say we define that as being the high of 10 bars ago being at least 100% greater than the lowest low in the 20 bars ending 10 bars ago.

H10 > 2 * MINL20.10

With no other modifications, I currently only get 10 results out the 6133 items in the US Common Stocks WatchList. Even though most of these aren't going to be followed by a "tight 2 week flag pattern", there aren't all that many stocks to look at.

Changing the 20 to allow the runup to have happened over more than four weeks or decreasing the required percentage increase would increase the number of stocks.

So then the question becomes how to define a "tight 2 week flag pattern" (assuming it is worth doing so when there are only 10 symbols meeting the initial requirements). If we define it as all of the prices in the most recent 10 days being within 40% of each other, we would narrow down the list to 6 symbols (some of which you might think look like flags while other don't).

H10 > 2 * MINL20.10 AND MAXH10 <= 1.4 * MINL10

40% is actually a pretty big range. It is only narrow relative to the 100% runup. You could try setting this to something lower, but you already don't have very many charts to look at.

You may wish to review the following for information on pattern recognition in TC2000 (focusing on topics mentioning flags, wedges and pennants).

Falling wedge
Cup with a handle formation
PCF for cup with a handle
Scanning for Chart Patterns
Scanning for Stocks Printing a Double or Triple Bottom
PCFs for pennants and flags
PCF's for Triangles
Does TeleChart support Elliott Wave indicators?
Double top/bottom trend
Finding Double Tops and Double Bottoms
CUP AND HANDLE AGAIN
Finding Continuation Triangles And Wedges With Telechart
Cup & Handle PCF
Double tops and bottoms
Flag wedge and pennant pcf
05/01/2012 Webinar: Trading the Flag and Pennant Patterns
Head and shoulders
TC 2000 Bull flags, Bear Flags
PCF for rounded bottom trading

That said, I personally do not think complex pattern recognition is practical in TC2000 using formulas and Scans.

They are at the very least beyond my abilities to help you create without a specific unambiguous objective definition of what you are attempting to identify. It can't be an I know it when I see it type of definition or be based entirely on an image.

This is true of pattern recognition in general with the exception of fixed size candlestick patterns, which are fairly straightforward as long as the pattern is well defined. The first topic referenced in the post has formulas for candlestick patterns.

The following topic has has Condition Formulas to identify candlestick patterns in TC2000.

Boolean PCFs for Candlestick Patterns