Free lessons › Liquidity Sweep Reversal › The Sweep Anatomy
Stop hunt vs. real breakdown
The 90-second checklist to tell them apart.
10 min · Intermediate · Free lesson
What you'll learn
- Distinguish a stop hunt from a real breakdown using closes, volume and time.
- Apply a five-question checklist within about 90 seconds of a level breaking.
- Decide whether a broken level calls for a reversal plan, a continuation plan or no trade.
The idea
When price breaks below a key level, two very different things can be happening. In a stop hunt, price pokes through, triggers the stops sitting below, and snaps back inside. In a real breakdown, price breaks through and stays there because sellers are truly in control.
From the outside, the first few seconds look the same. The difference shows up in what price does next: where the candle closes, how volume behaves, and how long price stays on the other side. You do not need to guess. You need a short, repeatable way to read the evidence.
Think of a smoke alarm. Burnt toast and a real fire both set it off. You do not run out of the house every time, and you do not ignore it either. You check a few things quickly, then act. That is what the 90-second checklist is for.
How it works
Once price breaks a level, run these five questions. You can answer all of them in about 90 seconds on a 1-minute or 5-minute chart.
- Did it close beyond the level, or only wick? A wick below support with a close back above is a hunt signature. A full-bodied close below is a breakdown signature.
- How far did it go? A small overshoot (a few cents to a few tenths on a large cap) and a quick return is typical of a sweep. A move that extends far beyond the level is not.
- What did volume do? A hunt often shows a volume spike on the pierce, then fading selling as price comes back. A breakdown shows steady or rising volume on candles that keep closing lower.
- How much time outside? Back inside within one to three candles points to a hunt. Staying outside for many candles means the market is accepting the new prices.
- What happens on the retest? In a breakdown, price comes back up to the level and fails there — old support becomes resistance. In a hunt, price reclaims the level and holds above it.
Add one piece of context: check SPY or QQQ. A sweep that fights a market in free fall is much less reliable.
Worked example
Hypothetical NVDA with clear support at $120.00, tested twice yesterday.
Scenario A — stop hunt. At 10:05 a.m., NVDA drops to $119.55. The 1-minute volume spikes to three times normal, then fades. The 5-minute candle closes at $120.30, back above support. The next candle holds above $120.00. SPY is flat. Checklist: wick, small overshoot, spike-then-fade, back inside in one candle, holding above. This is a hunt. You would move to a reversal plan (covered in the next lessons).
Scenario B — real breakdown. NVDA closes a 5-minute candle at $119.40, then the next candle at $119.10, both on above-average volume. Price bounces to $119.95, fails to close above $120.00, and the candle closes at $119.50. SPY is also red. Checklist: full-bodied closes below, sustained volume, time outside, failed retest. This is a breakdown.
If you trade Scenario B as a short: entry $119.50 on the failed-retest close, stop $120.25 above the retest high, risk $0.75 per share. The next support is $118.00, a reward of $1.50 — exactly 2R. With a $10,000 account risking 1% ($100), size is $100 / $0.75 = 133 shares. That is about $15,900 of stock, and shorting already requires a margin account, so confirm your buying power covers it.
Common mistakes
- Reacting to the first tick through the level — you sell the low of a hunt — wait for at least one candle close before deciding.
- Ignoring volume — you miss whether sellers are fading or pressing — compare the pierce volume to the follow-up candles.
- Calling a slow grind below the level a sweep — acceptance below is not a hunt — use the one-to-three-candle rule for time outside.
- Trading against a collapsing market — even good reclaims fail when SPY is dumping — check the index before acting.
Checklist
- Did the candle close beyond the level, or only wick?
- Was the overshoot small and quickly rejected?
- Did volume spike and fade, or keep pressing?
- Is price back inside within one to three candles?
- Did the retest reclaim or fail?
- Does SPY or QQQ support my read?
Practice: Run the 90-second checklist
- In Simulation Lab, choose a liquid stock and turn on hidden-candle mode.
- Mark one clear support or resistance level before advancing any candles.
- When price breaks the level, pause and answer the five checklist questions in your Trade Journal.
- Label your call as hunt, breakdown or unclear, then advance ten candles to see the outcome.
- Repeat for five breaks and ask AI Coach to review which of the five questions you got wrong most often.
Key takeaways
- Stop hunts and real breakdowns look the same at first; the next candles tell them apart.
- Closes, overshoot size, volume, time outside and the retest are the five tells.
- A quick close back inside with fading volume points to a hunt.
- Sustained closes outside and a failed retest point to a real breakdown.
- Always check the broader market before trusting a reversal read.
Glossary
- Stop hunt — A quick move through a level that triggers resting stops and then returns inside the level.
- Breakdown — A break below support that holds, with price accepting lower levels.
- Acceptance — Price spending time and closing repeatedly beyond a level, showing the market agrees with the new prices.
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