Retest
Also called: Break and retest, Throwback, Level retest, Retest of the breakout, Retest (yeniden test), Yeniden test
A retest is price coming back to a broken support or resistance and testing it from the other side; it shows whether the level has switched roles.
4 min read · one puzzle on the page
What is a retest?
A retest is price returning to a level it just broke and testing it from the other side. If support broke, price slides lower, then climbs back and touches the old support from below. If resistance broke, the reverse: price dips back and leans on the old resistance from above.
The reason is simple. When support breaks, anyone who bought there is losing. When price returns to the level, many of them sell to get out at breakeven. Sellers who missed the break wait there for a better entry. Both sets of orders meet at the same place, and old support starts acting as resistance.
A retest answers one question: is the break real? If price comes back and gets pushed away, the level has switched roles. If it closes back inside with a body, the break did not hold, and what you have is a false breakout, not a retest.
How do you spot a retest on a chart?
First make sure the break was real. If support is 1.0850, you want a candle body closing clearly below it, around 1.0825. A candle that wicks below and closes back inside is not a break, so the move back up afterwards is not a retest either.
Then watch the return. A few candles later price climbs into the 1.0845 to 1.0855 band. What matters now is the closes. If candles poke above the level with wicks but close under 1.0850, sellers are defending it. The clearer the upper wicks, the clearer the rejection.
Treat the level as a band, not a line. Price may turn at 1.0846 without touching 1.0850, or overshoot by a few pips and close back below. Waiting for the exact pip is the easiest way to miss a retest.
A worked example: the retest candle's high is 1.0858. Selling at 1.0840, the stop goes a little beyond that high plus the spread, at 1.0866. That is 26 pips of risk, or 1R. If the next clear support is 1.0770, the target is 70 pips away and the trade is worth about 2.7R.
Try it on a chart
On this chart support has broken and, a while later, price has climbed back to the level. Look at where the candles coming up from below close, which way their wicks point, and beyond which point your stop would go if you entered.
Support broke; price retested the level from below and was rejected with upper wicks. What's your call?
No sign-up needed. Take a guess; when the chart opens, you'll see why.
The most common retest mistake
Entering the moment price touches the level. A retest is not a touch; it is a rejection. Sell before the candle closes and you have decided without knowing which side it closes on. What looks like a wick halfway through the candle can finish as a body above the level.
Second, putting the stop right above the level. On a retest price often pokes through by a few pips, and a stop at 1.0852 gets taken by that ordinary overshoot before price moves your way. The stop goes beyond the retest high, not the level. It is wider, so the size gets smaller.
Third, chasing after you miss it. If price was rejected and dropped fast, that entry is gone. Selling lower widens the stop, shrinks the distance to the target and wrecks the ratio. Waiting for the next structure is usually cheaper.
When a retest does not come, or misleads
Not every breakout gets a retest. Breaks driven by strong news, or ones that explode out of a long squeeze, can run away without ever coming back. Waiting for a retest means missing those. What you get in return is a tighter stop and a cleaner entry.
A retest can turn into a false breakout. Price returns, looks rejected at first, then a candle closes above the level with a body. At that point the sell idea is invalid, which is exactly why the stop sits beyond the retest high.
Levels wear out. The first retest means the most. When price comes back to the same level a third or fourth time, the orders there are thinning, and the next attempt to cross gets easier.
Time matters too. A return long after the break may not be a retest at all. If the market has built a new low and high in between, the old level may have lost its meaning and price should be read against the new structure.
Frequently asked questions
What does retest mean in trading?
A retest is price coming back to a level it broke and testing it from the other side. Broken support now acts as resistance, broken resistance as support. If price returns and gets pushed away, the break held. If it closes back inside the level with a body, the retest failed and the picture becomes a false breakout.
How long after a breakout does a retest happen?
There is no fixed time. Sometimes it comes two or three candles after the break, sometimes dozens later, sometimes never. What matters is not the time but whether new structure formed in between. If price made a new low and high after the break, a return to the level should be read against that new structure.
What is the difference between a retest and a false breakout?
The close. In a retest price comes back to the level but stays on the breakout side: the wick reaches the level, the body closes outside it. In a false breakout price closes back inside with a body and stays there. For the first few candles the two can look identical, so the decision comes after the candle at the level closes.
