THESTRAT / DOCS

The 1-3-2: A One-Bar Rev-Strat Goes Two-Bar

By · Updated

Definition The 1-3-2 is a 1-3-[hammer/shooter]-2: an inside bar, then an outside bar that makes a round trip: breaks one way, reverses through the other side (a 1-bar rev-strat in progress), then recovers back to near its own open, closing as a hammer or shooter. Then the 2 that completes the two-bar rev-strat. Trigger: the 3’s extreme. Magnitude: the first candle’s extreme.

The round trip: the inside bar breaks (a 1-2), then the 3 counters through the other side. At that moment it is a 1-bar rev-strat. Then price recovers back to near the bar’s open: the 1-bar rev-strat failed, the bar closes with a long rejection wick, a hammer (bullish) or shooter (bearish), and the next bar through the 3’s extreme completes a 2-bar rev-strat. That stacks two trapped groups: the inside bar’s breakers, then the 3’s counter-traders.

Bullish 1-3-2: the 3 closes as a hammer

Bullish 1-3-2: inside bar, an outside bar that breaks up, reverses deep through the low, then recovers to close as a hammer, then a 2u through the 3’s high Magnitude — the motherbar’s high Level of reclaim — the motherbar’s low Trigger — the 3’s high 2d 1 3 hammer 2u Bullish 1-3-2 — the round trip closes as a hammer TheStrat.AI
The 3’s path: breaks the inside bar’s high (1-2u), reverses deep through its low (a bearish 1-bar rev-strat in progress), then recovers back to near its open, closing in the top third of its range: a hammer with both sides of the 1 taken. The 2u through the 3’s high completes the two-bar rev-strat. Magnitude: the first bar’s high.

Bearish 1-3-2: the 3 closes as a shooter

Bearish 1-3-2: inside bar, an outside bar that breaks down, reverses high, then falls back to close as a shooter, then a 2d through the 3’s low Magnitude — the motherbar’s low Level of reclaim — the motherbar’s high Trigger — the 3’s low 2u 1 3 shooter 2d Bearish 1-3-2 — the round trip closes as a shooter TheStrat.AI
The mirror: the 3 breaks the inside bar’s low (1-2d), reverses through its high (a bullish 1-bar rev-strat in progress), then falls back to near its open, closing in the bottom third: a shooter. The 2d through the 3’s low is the trigger. Magnitude: the first bar’s low.

Execution rules

Entry: the last sale through the 3’s extreme, the hammer’s high (bullish) or the shooter’s low (bearish), exactly as on the 1-2-2 this pattern completes into. Stop: one penny beyond the low (bullish) or high (bearish) of the entry bar, never the far side of the 3, which is a broadening formation. Target: the magnitude (the motherbar’s far side); two trapped groups are being forced out together, so with FTFC it frequently runs to the next levels of reclaim. Good ones just go. Full treatment: Types of Reversals.

Frequently asked

How is a 1-3-2 different from a 1-3?

In a 1-3 the reversal completes inside the outside bar: it closes with the reversal and you trade the 3’s own break. In a 1-3-2 that 1-bar rev-strat fails: price recovers back to near the 3’s open, the bar closes as a hammer or shooter, and the next bar does the reversing, a two-bar rev-strat off the 3’s extreme.

Related: 1-Bar Rev-Strat · The 1-2-2 · Hammer · Shooter · The Compound 3 · Not All Indexes Break: the 1-3
Back to: Actionable Signals →

TheStrat was developed by Rob Smith. These docs are written by Alex Sopa (AlexsOptions) and quote his teaching. Work in progress: spotted an error? Tell Alex.

For AI agents: free TheStrat tools (MCP and REST) at thestrat.ai/agents.