Breaker Block Strategy
- Home /
- Trading Academy /
- Trading Strategies /
- Smart Money /
- Breaker Block
What Is the Breaker Block Strategy?
The Breaker Block Strategy focuses on identifying failed support or resistance zones that smart money later reuses as powerful entry points. Instead of treating a broken level as useless, this strategy teaches you to look at it differently — as a future zone of interest.
Once a support zone is broken and then respected as resistance (or vice versa), that zone becomes a breaker block. When price revisits it with confirmation, it becomes one of the highest-probability reversal entries you can find.
Why the Breaker Block Strategy Works
Retail traders often expect price to respect support or resistance forever. But in reality, when price breaks through those zones with force, it signals something deeper — a shift in order flow.
Institutions may break a level intentionally to induce traders, take out stops, or trigger momentum. Then, instead of ignoring that level, they use it again — this time from the opposite side. The result is a breaker block, a zone where smart money re-enters with power and conviction.
This strategy works because it’s built on structure, price action, and smart money logic — all combined into one clear setup.
Tools and Conditions to Use
To spot breaker blocks clearly, keep your chart clean and structure-focused. Here’s what to look for:
- A clear support or resistance level that held multiple times
- A clean break through that level with strong momentum
- A pullback to the same zone from the opposite side
- Confirmation through a wick rejection or engulfing candle
- Use 15-minute, 1-hour, or 4-hour charts for clarity
When structure flips and price reacts, that’s your entry window.
Step-by-Step Guide to the Breaker Block Strategy
Step 1: Identify the Key Support or Resistance Zone
First, locate a level that price has respected more than once.
- Look for swing highs or swing lows that held firm
- Make sure the zone is obvious and clean
- This level should have acted as a barrier previously — not a one-off touch
The stronger the level, the more meaningful the breaker block will be later.
Step 2: Watch for the Break
Now, observe how price behaves when it returns to that zone.
- If price breaks through with strength, note the structure shift
- A breaker block is only valid if the level is broken with momentum
- Ignore weak breaks or indecisive candles — those don’t count
The more aggressive the break, the more likely the block will be respected later.
Step 3: Mark the Breaker Block Zone
Next, you’ll want to define the breaker block area.
- Use the body or wick of the candle that caused the break
- For bullish setups, the breaker block acts as new support
- For bearish setups, it becomes resistance
Mark it clearly so you’re ready when price returns.
Step 4: Wait for the Retest
Now comes the patience part. Wait for price to pull back into the breaker block.
- Don’t jump in just because price is close
- Let it fully tap the zone and show signs of rejection
- A wick, engulfing candle, or inside bar can confirm the reversal
Let price reveal intent before reacting.
Step 5: Enter on Confirmation
Once price reacts, plan your entry.
- Enter on the close of the confirmation candle
- Or drop to a lower timeframe and enter after a structure break
- Use limit orders only if rejection is extremely clear and sharp
Precision matters here — only enter after rejection is confirmed.
Step 6: Place a Smart Stop Loss
Your stop loss should sit just beyond the zone.
- For long trades, place it below the breaker block wick
- For short trades, place it above the breaker block
- Don’t place it too tight — price might retest with a deeper wick
Structure-based stops keep you protected while giving the trade room to breathe.
Step 7: Set a Realistic Take Profit
Once you’re in, focus on your exit.
- Use the previous swing high or low as a first target
- Look for a 1:2 or 1:3 risk-to-reward setup
- Trail your stop behind market structure if momentum builds
- Don’t get greedy — let structure guide your take profit zone
A clean setup deserves a clean exit plan.
Risk Management Tips
- Don’t assume every broken level becomes a breaker block
- Confirm the break and the retest with clean price action
- Avoid overtrading this setup during consolidation periods
- Stick to one timeframe until you fully understand how it behaves
- Use fixed risk per trade and focus on A+ setups only
Managing risk is what allows this strategy to thrive.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Trading the level before it’s clearly broken
- Entering without a rejection or confirmation signal
- Using sloppy or unclear zones for breaker blocks
- Placing stops inside the block and getting wicked out
- Ignoring higher timeframe context
Keep things sharp, clean, and rule-based.
Quick Reference Table
What Comes Next?
The Breaker Block Strategy helps you flip what most traders see as failure into opportunity. Once a support or resistance level is broken, the game changes — and now you know how to trade the flip with confidence.
