Direct Answer
A Bump-and-Run Reversal (BARR) forms in three phases: a lead-in phase where price advances or declines gently along a measurable ~30-45 degree trendline; a bump phase where price breaks away from that trendline at roughly twice its slope, accelerating to an extreme; and a run phase where price breaks back through the lead-in trendline projected forward and reverses hard. It's confirmed only on that trendline break, not merely when the bump phase stalls.
Key Takeaways
- Three phases define the pattern: lead-in, bump, and run, not just an accelerating move and a reversal.
- The lead-in trendline is the reference: the bump phase breaks away from it, and the run phase later breaks back through it (projected forward).
- The Top variant is a bearish reversal after an uptrend; the Bottom variant is its mirror image, a bullish reversal after a downtrend.
- Confirmation is the trendline break itself, not the point where the bump phase visibly stalls or slows.
- A new close beyond the bump phase's extreme (peak for the Top, trough for the Bottom) invalidates the reversal read.
What Is a Bump-and-Run Reversal?
The Bump-and-Run Reversal is a chart pattern popularized by technical analyst Thomas Bulkowski that identifies when an accelerating, unsustainable trend gives way to a sharp reversal. Unlike a generic "blow-off top" description, it's defined with a measurable reference line: the lead-in trendline drawn from the gentler trend that preceded the acceleration. The bump phase is only meaningful relative to that line, a move that accelerates without a comparably gentle lead-in phase first doesn't fit the pattern's definition.
The pattern exists in two mirror-image forms: the Bump-and-Run Reversal Top, a bearish reversal that follows an accelerating uptrend, and the Bump-and-Run Reversal Bottom, a bullish reversal that follows an accelerating downtrend.
Bump-and-Run Reversal Top
Lead-in phase: price rises gently, at roughly a 30-45 degree angle, along a trendline connecting the rising lows. Bump phase: price breaks away above that trendline, advancing at roughly double the lead-in slope into a peak. Run phase: price closes back below the lead-in trendline projected forward from the lead-in phase, and the reversal accelerates lower.
Confirmation: a close below the projected lead-in trendline. Invalidation: a new closing high above the bump phase's peak. Common false positive: the bump phase stalls or pulls back without actually closing below the projected trendline, then resumes higher, the stall alone isn't confirmation.
Bump-and-Run Reversal Bottom
The mirror image after a downtrend. Lead-in phase: price declines gently along a trendline connecting the falling highs. Bump phase: price breaks away below that trendline, declining at roughly double the lead-in slope into a trough. Run phase: price closes back above the lead-in trendline projected forward, and the reversal accelerates higher.
Confirmation: a close above the projected lead-in trendline. Invalidation: a new closing low below the bump phase's trough. Common false positive: the decline merely slows without closing back above the projected trendline, then the bump phase's decline resumes.
Comparing the Top and Bottom Variants
| Variant | Prior trend | Bump direction | Confirmation | Typical bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bump-and-Run Reversal Top | Uptrend | Accelerates higher | Close below projected lead-in trendline | Bearish |
| Bump-and-Run Reversal Bottom | Downtrend | Accelerates lower | Close above projected lead-in trendline | Bullish |
Trading a Bump-and-Run Reversal
Because the bump phase is by definition an unsustainable acceleration, entries taken during the bump itself carry outsized risk, the trend can extend further than expected before it breaks. Waiting for the run-phase confirmation (the close through the projected lead-in trendline) means a worse entry price but more evidence the reversal is real. A stop above the bump phase's peak (for the Top) or below its trough (for the Bottom) matches the pattern's own invalidation point, so position size can be set from that distance using standard risk-per-trade rules rather than an arbitrary percentage.
Bump-and-Run Reversal Checklist
- A measurable lead-in trendline exists, at a gentle, roughly consistent slope.
- The bump phase clearly accelerates away from that trendline, not just a marginally steeper drift.
- Price has actually closed through the lead-in trendline projected forward, not merely stalled near the bump's extreme.
- The invalidation level (bump peak or trough) is identified before entry.
- Position size matches the account's risk-per-trade limit given the distance to invalidation.
The Phase Boundaries Are a Judgement, and That Matters
This pattern is defined by three phases whose boundaries are drawn by the person reading the chart. Where the lead-in ends and the bump begins is a decision, not a measurement, and two analysts working from the same data will place those lines differently. Any conclusion drawn from the pattern inherits that variability.
The workable response is to state the boundaries explicitly before drawing conclusions. Write down which bars constitute the lead-in, what slope the trend line uses and what would count as the run phase beginning. Doing this in advance prevents the boundaries being adjusted later to make the pattern fit what price subsequently did.
The failure mode is a steep advance being labelled a bump because it was steep. Sharp moves occur regularly without any reversal following, and the pattern requires the preceding lead-in to establish a baseline that the bump departs from. Without that baseline the identification is describing enthusiasm, not structure.
The pattern also has no mechanism for distinguishing a bump that resolves downward from one that consolidates and continues. Both begin identically, and the difference is only visible once the run phase has developed enough to be named, at which point the information has largely been spent.
Bump-and-Run Reversal FAQs
What are the three phases of a Bump-and-Run Reversal?
The lead-in phase, a gentle trend of roughly 30-45 degrees that establishes the trendline; the bump phase, where price breaks away from that trendline at roughly twice its slope; and the run phase, where price breaks back through the lead-in trendline (projected forward) and reverses hard.
Is the Bump-and-Run Reversal the same as a blow-off top?
They're related but not identical. A blow-off top is any climactic, accelerating move followed by a sharp reversal. A Bump-and-Run Reversal specifically requires a measurable lead-in trendline and a bump phase breaking away from it at roughly double the slope, with confirmation defined as a close back through that projected trendline.
How is a Bump-and-Run Reversal confirmed?
It confirms when price closes back through the lead-in trendline projected forward from the lead-in phase -- not merely when the bump phase stalls. A stall or pullback that doesn't break the projected trendline hasn't confirmed the reversal.
What invalidates a Bump-and-Run Reversal Top?
A new closing high above the bump phase's peak invalidates the bearish reversal read -- it suggests the bump phase is still in control rather than exhausted.
How steep does the lead-in trendline need to be for a bump-and-run to qualify?
The pattern's original description uses a lead-in advance of roughly thirty to forty-five degrees on an arithmetic chart, with the bump phase rising at least twice as steeply. Because the angle depends on the chart's scaling, the more portable version of the test is the ratio between the two slopes rather than an absolute degree measurement. The bump has to represent a visible acceleration away from the prior pace, not merely a continuation of it.
Does the bump-and-run reversal have a bullish equivalent?
The inverted form appears after a declining lead-in phase, with an accelerated drop forming the bump and a break above the lead-in trendline signalling the run phase. It appears less often in descriptions of the pattern than the topping version, partly because the emotional dynamic it describes, a rush of speculative buying followed by exhaustion, has no exact mirror in selling. Treat the inverted version as less well documented rather than as equally established.
What distinguishes the bump phase from an ordinary acceleration in a trend?
The bump is defined by both a sharper slope and a subsequent failure to hold it, so an acceleration that continues is simply a strong trend rather than a bump. The pattern only exists once the price has returned toward the lead-in trendline, which means it cannot be identified while the bump is still rising. Anyone labelling a bump in real time is anticipating the return rather than observing the pattern.
Where do traders typically place the target for a bump-and-run reversal?
The conventional projection uses the distance from the lead-in trendline to the bump's peak, applied downward from the break point, which is the same measured-move logic used across most chart patterns. Some approaches use the lead-in trendline itself as an initial objective and the pattern's starting price as a second. None of these is a forecast, and the projection is best read as a way to judge whether the trade offers enough distance to be worth the risk.
How does volume typically behave through the three phases?
Descriptions of the pattern generally expect volume to expand during the bump as speculative participation increases, then contract as the price stalls, then expand again on the break of the lead-in trendline. Volume that stays flat through the bump weakens the reading, because the phase is supposed to represent a change in participation rather than a change in price alone. Volume behaviour is corroborating evidence rather than a requirement.