If you’ve ever sat there staring at your chart thinking, “Where the hell is this thing going?” — welcome to the club. That’s why traders lean on pivot points. They’re not crystal balls. They’re not insider tips from some guy who “knows a guy.” They’re just math.
But here’s the thing: math works. Pivots give you a framework for where the market might slam on the brakes, do a U-turn, or gun it like a teenager in dad’s Camaro. They’re not guarantees. They’re guideposts. And if you’re trading without them, you’re basically running through a minefield in flip-flops.
The Mother Pivot
Everything starts with the Pivot Point (PP) itself. Think of it as the gravitational center of yesterday’s chaos:PP=High+Low+Close3PP=3High+Low+Close
That’s it. No secret sauce. Just the average of the high, low, and close. The market’s way of saying, “Here’s the middle ground — now let’s fight about it.”
The Resistance & Support Gang
Once you’ve got your pivot, you spin off the levels that traders live and die by:
- R1 (Resistance 1):
R1=(2×PP)−LowR1=(2×PP)−Low
- S1 (Support 1):
S1=(2×PP)−HighS1=(2×PP)−High
- R2:
R2=PP+(High−Low)R2=PP+(High−Low)
- S2:
S2=PP−(High−Low)S2=PP−(High−Low)
- R3:
R3=High+2×(PP−Low)R3=High+2×(PP−Low)
- S3:
S3=Low−2×(High−PP)S3=Low−2×(High−PP)
Call them “levels,” call them “lines in the sand.” I call them the places you’ll regret ignoring when price slaps you in the face.
The Midpoints — Because Humans Hate Waiting
Traders are impatient. That’s why I also plot the midpoints — the halfway houses between the big levels:
- M1: Between S1 and S2
- M2: Between S1 and PP
- M3: Between PP and R1
- M4: Between R2 and R3
They don’t get as much hype, but they matter. Markets often pause there, like they’re catching their breath before the next sprint.
Same Formula, Different Flavor
Here’s the beauty (or the horror, depending on how you see it): the formulas don’t change. Only the timeframe does.
- Daily pivots (DPP, DR1, DS1, etc.) → previous day’s OHLC
- Weekly pivots (WPP, WR1, WS1, etc.) → previous week’s OHLC
- Monthly pivots (MPP, MR1, MS1, etc.) → previous month’s OHLC
That’s it. Pivots are universal. Same math, different battlefield.
Or Skip the Math (Because Life Is Short)
If you’d rather not do the arithmetic every night like some medieval accountant, I’ve got you covered. I built a simple spreadsheet where you just plug in the open, high, low, and close. It spits out all the pivots for you — daily, weekly, monthly.
👉 Grab it here and make a copy
Use it. Abuse it. Just don’t blame me if you ignore the levels and get steamrolled.
The Bottom Line
Pivot points won’t make you a genius. They won’t turn your $500 account into a Lambo. But they will give you a reliable map — one that the market respects often enough to keep them on my charts every single session.
Trading without pivots? That’s like skydiving without checking the parachute. Sure, you might be fine… until you’re not.
See you in the streams. Bring your helmet.
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