--- title: "Double Top Pattern (the M Pattern) - Get Funded Now" description: "A double top, or M pattern, is two peaks at a similar level with a trough between. How it is confirmed, the measured move and why many never complete." url: "https://getfundednow.com/learn/double-top" language: "en" last_modified: "2026-09-22" publisher: "Get Funded Now (getfundednow.com)" translations: es: "https://getfundednow.com/es/learn/double-top" pt-BR: "https://getfundednow.com/pt-br/learn/double-top" fr: "https://getfundednow.com/fr/learn/double-top" it: "https://getfundednow.com/it/learn/double-top" de: "https://getfundednow.com/de/learn/double-top" disclosure: "All trading at Get Funded Now is simulated. 'Funded' means a simulated or virtual account; GFN is not a broker and does not hold client funds." --- Chart patterns # The double top: two peaks, and the line between them. A double top, often called an M pattern, is two peaks at roughly the same level separated by a trough. It is read as a possible end to an advance, because price tried twice and failed to go higher. It is confirmed only by a close below the trough between the peaks. The double bottom, or W pattern, mirrors it. [All trading lessons](https://getfundednow.com/learn) · [Read the trading rules →](https://getfundednow.com/rules) ## The shape and the confirmation line After an advance, price makes a high, pulls back to a trough, rallies to about the same high, and turns down again - the M shape. The trough is the confirmation line: until price closes below it, the two peaks are just a range. Most two-peak shapes never confirm. Price often breaks above the second peak instead, which is why traders wait for the close below the trough. ## The measured move The common convention measures from the peaks to the trough and projects that distance down from the break. As with every pattern target, it is a planning guide, not a price forecast. ## The double bottom, or W pattern The mirror image forms after a decline: two lows at a similar level, a peak between, and confirmation on a close above that peak. The two peaks or troughs sit at an obvious level, which also makes them the [support or resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) that stops cluster behind. Step by step ## How to identify it Draw the pattern only once both peaks and the trough are in place. 1. Confirm there was an advance before the first peak. 2. Mark two peaks at a similar level, with a clear trough between them. 3. Draw the confirmation line through the trough. 4. Wait for a close below it before treating the pattern as confirmed. 5. Note where the idea fails - a close above the peaks. Worked example ## The concept, walked through ### An M pattern, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. 1. 1. First peak After rallying from 90, price peaks at 110 and falls to 103. 2. 2. Second peak It rallies to 109.6, fails, and turns down. 3. 3. Confirmation A candle closes at 102.5, below the 103 trough. The measured-move convention would suggest roughly 96. The pattern described two failed advances and a broken level; it did not say price would reach 96. Common mistakes ## Where traders go wrong ### Selling the second peak Before the trough breaks, it is a range; many second peaks become breakouts. ### Accepting peaks far apart in price The logic is a failure at the same level. Very different peaks are a different shape. ### Ignoring the prior trend Without an advance before it, a double top is not a reversal pattern. Limitations ## What it cannot tell you No chart concept predicts price. These are the limits worth keeping in view. - Pattern identification is subjective, and most candidate double tops do not confirm. - Published statistics are for particular markets and periods and may not apply to what you trade. In an evaluation ## Using it on a simulated account On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. Very fast entries on the confirmation candle must still respect GFN's 2 minutes minimum hold time. - [What is the daily loss limit?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) - Trading rule - The ceiling on a day's losses - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step. - [Can I scalp?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/scalping) - Trading rule - Short-term trading is allowed, with a 2 minutes minimum hold. - [What is maximum drawdown?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/max-drawdown) - Trading rule - The overall floor beneath the account. Questions ## Asked about this concept Another name for the double top: two peaks at a similar level with a trough between, read as a possible reversal once price closes below the trough. A double top forms after an advance and confirms below its trough. A double bottom forms after a decline and confirms above its peak. Keep learning ## Related lessons - [Chart and candlestick patterns](https://getfundednow.com/learn/inverse-head-and-shoulders) - Inverse Head and Shoulders Pattern - Three troughs with the lowest in the middle, a neckline across the rallies between them, and a break above it - the pattern and its limits. - [Chart and candlestick patterns](https://getfundednow.com/learn/ascending-wedge) - Ascending Wedge (Rising Wedge) Pattern - Two rising, converging trendlines that are usually read as a weakening advance - how a wedge differs from a triangle, and how it resolves. - [Price action and market structure](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) - Support and Resistance, Explained - The levels where price has repeatedly stalled or turned - how to draw them as zones, why broken levels flip roles, and what they cannot tell you. - [Chart and candlestick patterns](https://getfundednow.com/learn/doji-candle) - Doji Candle: Meaning and Types - The candle with almost no body - what it shows about the session, the common types, and why a doji on its own says very little. - [Chart and candlestick patterns](https://getfundednow.com/learn/reversal-patterns) - Reversal Chart Patterns, Explained - The chart patterns traders read as a possible end to a trend - how they compare, what each needs to confirm it, and why most candidates fail. Sources ## What this page relied on 1. [Double top and double bottom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_top_and_double_bottom) - Wikipedia. Retrieved 23 September 2026. The definition of the double top, its confirmation below the intervening trough, and the measured move. 2. [Double tops](https://thepatternsite.com/dt.html) - Thomas Bulkowski, ThePatternSite. Retrieved 23 September 2026. Identification guidelines and the importance of waiting for confirmation; statistics there are not repeated here. Educational content only, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade. Chart concepts describe what price has done; none of them predicts what it will do, and trading any strategy can lose money. Get Funded Now accounts are simulated and trade virtual funds. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. Ready when you are ## Your capital stays yours. The risk is ours. One evaluation fee, no time limits and up to 90% of simulated profits. 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