A double top is a high, a pullback, and a second push that FAILS at (or slightly beyond) the same area. The first high proved sellers exist; the second proves buyers can't beat them even with a running start. The pattern completes when price breaks the pullback low between the two tops — that's the neckline, and only then is the reversal real.
Trading it honestly
- The second top sweeping slightly ABOVE the first (then failing) is the strongest version — it took the stops first (see Fakeouts).
- Entry options: aggressive at the second rejection with stop above; conservative on the neckline break or its retest.
- Measured expectation: the pattern's height projected from the neckline — a target zone, not a prophecy.
A double top that never breaks its neckline is just a range forming. The pattern is the BREAK, not the shape — don't sell every second test of a high.