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Motherbar Reclaim

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Definition A motherbar reclaim: price is stuck inside a motherbar, takes out one side of it, and comes back inside. On the reclaim, target the other side of the motherbar. The reclaim does not have to come first: an actionable signal can be the thing that causes it.

Why it works

Inside the motherbar, buyers and sellers agree on price. That is equilibrium. When the buyers buy up or the sellers sell down, price breaks the equilibrium. If that break is rejected, the rejection is usually more powerful than the breakout, because everyone who took the break is now trapped on the wrong side of the range. The reclaim is the signal that the break failed, and the other side of the motherbar is the target.

The trade

Entry: any actionable signal that takes price back inside the motherbar, or the reclaim itself. Three entry ideas follow the example.
Stop: the extreme of the failed break.
Target: the other side of the motherbar. Beyond it, the measured move of the motherbar’s range (the compound 3 magnitude).

Example: MU, September 22, 2026

Motherbar reclaim on MU, 60-minute bars, September 21 and 22, 2026. Monday’s 9:30 hour is the motherbar, 1,030.68 to 1,064.49; the next six hours all print inside it. Tuesday’s 9:30 hour dips to 1,030.02, 0.66 below the motherbar low, reclaims it and runs through the motherbar high to 1,082.25 in the same hour. Measured move 1,098.30 Motherbar reclaim on $MU, 60-minute: out the bottom, back in, out the top Monday’s 9:30 hour is the motherbar (1,030.68 to 1,064.49). Six hours print inside it. Tuesday’s 9:30 hour takes the low by 0.66, reclaims it, and runs through the top. Mon 9:30 motherbar 10:30 11:30 12:30 1:30 2:30 3:30 Tue 9:30 3 10:30 11:30 12:30 1:30 2:30* six hours inside the motherbar: a compound 1 motherbar high 1,064.49 motherbar low 1,030.68 = the level of reclaim measured move 1,098.30 = motherbar high + the motherbar’s range (33.81) low 1,030.02: took the motherbar low, failed the reclaim hour closes at 1,080.79, above the motherbar high; the 2:30 hour has reached 1,095.19 against the measured move of 1,098.30 real data, $MU 60-minute bars, September 21 to 22, 2026 · * 2:30 bar still forming when drawn · each candle is one regular-session hour TheStrat.AI
MU 60-minute. Monday’s first hour is the motherbar, 1,030.68 to 1,064.49, and six hours print inside it. Tuesday gaps down at the New York open, takes the motherbar low at 1,030.02, and reclaims it. Target: the other side at 1,064.49, then the measured move at 1,098.30.
Motherbar reclaim on MU, 1-minute bars, September 22, 2026, 9:30 to 9:52. The 9:30 minute opens inside the motherbar, dips to 1,030.02 under the motherbar low of 1,030.68, and closes back inside at 1,042.11. The 9:31 minute goes 2u through 1,044.79 with the day above its open. Stop 1,030.02. The motherbar high, 1,064.49, is hit at 9:50 The entry on the 1-minute: gap down under the motherbar, 2-2 reversal back through the day open 9:30 takes the motherbar low at 1,030.02 and reclaims it. 9:31 goes 2u: the 2-2 reversal back through the day open. Entry at the open, stop under the failed break. 9:30 9:32 9:34 9:36 9:38 9:40 9:42 9:44 9:46 9:48 9:50 9:52 target 1: motherbar high 1,064.49, hit 9:50 1-minute 2u 1,044.79: the 2-2 reversal fires entry: the day open 1,032.85, reclaimed motherbar low 1,030.68: the level of reclaim stop 1,030.02: the failed break 9:30: takes the motherbar low, reclaims it 2u target hit entry 1,032.85 at the day open, stop 1,030.02 (2.83 risk), target 1,064.49 hit 9:50 (+31.64, 11.2R); measured move 1,098.30 (23.1R) real data, $MU 1-minute bars, September 22, 2026, 9:30 to 9:52 ET · the day open is the session’s official opening print TheStrat.AI
MU 1-minute, 9:30 to 9:52. The gap down under the motherbar low is a gap-down buy: the 9:30 minute takes 1,030.02 and reclaims the range, the 9:31 minute is the 2-2 reversal back through the day open at 1,032.85. Entry at the reclaim, stop under 1,030.02, tight. The other side of the motherbar at 1,064.49 is hit at 9:50.

That is entry idea 1 below. Any later actionable signal inside the range, on the 5-minute or 15-minute, is also a valid entry with the same target.

Entry ideas

1. Red to green, stop at the low of day. Best on a gap down buy under the motherbar (or a gap up sell above it). Enter when the day crosses back above its open, stop at the low of day.

Entry idea 1: the day gaps down under the motherbar low, goes red to green, and the entry is the cross back above the day open with the stop at the low of day. Target: the motherbar high. 1. Red to green, stop at the low of day (the gap down buy) motherbar high = target motherbar low gap down day open 98.6 stop: low of day red to green: entry The gap opens below the range, the day turns green through its open, the shorts are trapped. Mirror: a gap up above the motherbar high that goes green to red, stop at the high of day. TheStrat.AI
The gap opens below the motherbar. The day turns green through its open, that is the entry, and the stop is the low of day.

2. A 2-2 reversal on any timeframe back through the motherbar. A 2d breaks the motherbar low, the next bar goes 2u through the 2d bar’s high. Entry at the trigger, stop at the 2d bar’s low. The signal causes the reclaim.

Entry idea 2: a 2-2 reversal on any timeframe back through the motherbar. A 2d breaks the motherbar low, the next bar goes 2u through the 2d bar’s high and back inside the range. Entry at the 2u trigger, stop at the 2d bar’s low, target the motherbar high. 2. A 2-2 reversal back through the motherbar, any timeframe motherbar high = target motherbar low 2d 2u: entry trigger: the 2d bar’s high stop: the 2d bar’s low Works on the 1-minute, 5-minute, 15-minute or 60-minute. The signal itself causes the reclaim: the 2u takes price back through the motherbar low. TheStrat.AI
The 2u takes price back through the motherbar low. Entry at the 2d bar’s high, stop at its low, target the motherbar high.

3. The reclaim of the compound 1. The inside bars made a lowest low before the bar that took out the motherbar. Price back through that low is the entry, with a tight stop under it.

Entry idea 3: the reclaim of the compound 1. Price is stuck inside the motherbar for several bars and makes a lowest low. A bar then takes out the motherbar low. When price comes back up through the compound 1 low, that is the entry, with a tight stop under it. Target the motherbar high. 3. The reclaim of the compound 1 motherbar high = target motherbar motherbar low reclaim compound 1: inside the motherbar compound 1 low 102.6 = level of reclaim = entry stop: tight, just under the reclaim takes out the motherbar The level is the lowest low the inside bars made before the bar that took out the motherbar. Price back through that low is the entry, the stop sits tight under it, the target is the other side. TheStrat.AI
The level is the compound 1 low, the lowest low the inside bars traded before the break. Entry on the reclaim of that level, stop tight under it.

Frequently asked

Why is the reclaim stronger than the breakout?

The breakout leaves equilibrium with one side committed. The rejection traps that side, and they have to exit back through the range while the other side buys or sells the reclaim.

Related: Motherbar Problems · The Gap Up Buy · 2-2 Reversal · Levels of Reclaim · Compound 3
Back to: Motherbar Problems →

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