From the classic book, “Technical Analysis of the Futures Market” by John Murphy, he gives an example of a symmetrical triangle trade.
My plan dictates I can trade these. My experience is one of many failures. They usually do not go according to plan. After the break out they tend to linger around.
Let us look at the SP500. The moment it broke out it went right back to test the trend line.
Another case is the Dow.
The Dow more closely fits with classic charting since it has the 6 touches required. I don’t plan on trading this even though my plan dictates I can. What most likely will happen to the Dow is the same thing that happened to the SP500.
Symmetrical triangles usually do not break the trend line and go right to its target. Additionally, the further it goes into the apex the less likely it will wind up being a symmetrical triangle.
I prefer trading ascending and descending triangles.