All patterns

Smash day

Price action · Intermediate · Daily bars · Popularized by Larry Williams

A day closes beyond the prior extreme, then gets rejected next day — fade the failed breakout.

A day closes beyond the prior extreme like a decisive breakout — then gets rejected the very next session. You're fading the trap, not chasing the close.

How to trade it (bullish)

  1. Setup: Identify a smash day: price closes beyond the previous day's low (or high for the short side).
  2. Entry: Next day, place a buy stop above the smash day's high. You only enter if the rejection is immediate.
  3. Stop and exit: Stop at the smash day's low. Target, trail, or exit on an opposite smash.

How to trade it (bearish)

  1. Setup: Identify an up-smash day: price closes beyond the previous day's high (closes strong).
  2. Entry: Next day, place a sell stop below the smash day's low. You only enter if the rejection is immediate.
  3. Stop and exit: Stop at the smash day's high. Target, trail, or exit on an opposite smash.

Why it works

The strong close beyond the extreme sucks in breakout traders and triggers stops. When price immediately reverses back through the smash day's high, that breakout is exposed as a trap — everyone who chased the close is trapped, and failed breakouts unwind hard.

Watch out for

Requires the rejection to come quickly (next bar). If several bars pass, the setup is stale. Don't confuse it with a hidden smash day — a smash day does take out the prior extreme.

Pairs well with

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Popular markets for this pattern: Gold, Silver, Wheat, Soybeans, Oats, Lumber, Copper, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, SPY, QQQ