--- title: "Scanning Technique: Reading the Tape" canonical: https://thestrat.ai/docs/scanning-technique/ updated: 2026-10-25 author: Alex Sopa (AlexsOptions) source: TheStrat docs (https://thestrat.ai/docs/) --- Tools for AI agents: https://mcp.thestrat.ai — see https://thestrat.ai/agents/ # Scanning Technique: Reading the Tape By [Alex Sopa (AlexsOptions)](https://thestrat.ai/docs/alex-sopa/) · Updated October 25, 2026 **Definition** The scanning technique assembles the market read without charts: count who is taking out prior highs vs. prior lows on each timeframe, then check how concentrated the list is by sector. The market must trade [in the direction of the most 2s](https://thestrat.ai/docs/price-trades-in-the-direction-of-the-most-2s/), so the side with the concentration is the read. **Why it works:** a high concentration of names breaking the same direction is a [simultaneous break](https://thestrat.ai/docs/simultaneous-breaks/): evidence of institutions buying or selling across the board rather than picking individual names. From the course: “I can tell you what’s going on without looking at any charts.” ## The monthly scan **When:** the start of each new month. **Scan:** who is taking out last month’s highs, sorted by volume (not because volume is a signal, but to surface the big names and reveal sector concentration). Then flip it: who is taking out last month’s lows. Heavy concentration on the high side plus “a who’s-who of nobody” on the low side means the month is going up, and the sector of the breakout names tells you *what* is being bought. Monthly simultaneous breaks are the preferred ones because there is all month to go after them. ## Daily and weekly: confirm or negate the month Once the monthly picture is set, the days and weeks constantly [confirm or negate](https://thestrat.ai/docs/confirming-negating/) it. **Scan:** who is taking out the previous day’s highs vs. lows. A high concentration on one side is the simultaneous break. Continuity changes when the next bar prints a [2-2 reversal](https://thestrat.ai/docs/2-2-reversal/) or a 2 going 3; a cluster of names doing it in one sector is a sector-level simultaneous break, not a one-off, so check the rest of the group. **Weekend scan:** sort for [inside weeks](https://thestrat.ai/docs/inside-bar/) and names close to taking out a high or low. Those set up 2-1-2 simultaneous breaks and show what is loaded for Monday. [Figure: SPY, December 2024: once the monthly picture is set, the weeks confirm or negate it: week 1 confirms, week 2 prints the 2-2 reversal that changes continuity, and December follows it lower.] ## The after-a-down-day tell After a directional down day, run “who is taking out yesterday’s highs.” Names reclaiming yesterday’s highs take out yesterday’s shorts, which is [pivot machine gun](https://thestrat.ai/docs/pivot-machine-gun/) fuel. When many names *fail* to take out yesterday’s highs, the power is absent, and that is the tell that a rally is weakening. ## Intraday scans **Up/down the most from the open:** the primary intraday filter, tied to the [opening price](https://thestrat.ai/docs/opening-price/). Raw percentage change misleads: a name up 30% but down 5 cents from the open is doing nothing, while a name up $7 from the open and near the high of day was opened and kept getting bought, and that is the one that matters. **Up/down the most by percentage:** usable, but check volume to avoid being faked out by a thin print. Sector concentration applies on any timeframe (60-minute, daily, monthly) and intraday reads interact with [the flip](https://thestrat.ai/docs/the-flip/) at the bottom of the hour. **Related reads while scanning:** a 2-up day followed by a day that takes the low back can be a [compound 3](https://thestrat.ai/docs/compound-3/) the chart is not drawing; ETF breaks are read through their concentration. See [know your ETFs](https://thestrat.ai/docs/know-your-etfs/). ## Frequently asked ### What counts as a simultaneous break in a scan? A high concentration of names breaking the same side: taking out yesterday’s (or last week’s, last month’s) highs or lows together. When roughly 90% of names do the same thing at once, it is very difficult to turn around, and it signals institutions acting across the board. **Related:** [Simultaneous Breaks](https://thestrat.ai/docs/simultaneous-breaks/) · [Scan Recipes](https://thestrat.ai/docs/scanner-recipes/) · [Direction of the Most 2s](https://thestrat.ai/docs/price-trades-in-the-direction-of-the-most-2s/) · [Confirming & Negating](https://thestrat.ai/docs/confirming-negating/) · [Know Your ETFs](https://thestrat.ai/docs/know-your-etfs/) **Back to:** [Universes →](https://thestrat.ai/docs/universes/) TheStrat was developed by Rob Smith. These docs are written by Alex Sopa (AlexsOptions) and quote his teaching.