Pivot points and their levels
The levels on a real chart
InteractiveClick any session on the chart: the page works out its levels from the session before and writes them here.
Where a pivot point comes from
A pivot point is not measured on the chart: it is calculated. It takes three numbers from the session that has just closed — the high, the low and the close — and one division by three. The result is the price the following day is watched around.
Fig. 1 · From yesterday's session to today's levels
- The pivot is the average of three prices: the high, the low and the close of the session that has just ended, added up and divided by three. Nothing else.
- It always falls inside the session it comes from. It is the average of three of its prices: it cannot sit above the high or below the low.
- The other six levels come from there, three above and three below, built with the range of the session — high minus low.
The other six levels are built with the range of the session — high minus low. There is nothing mysterious about the names: they are additions and subtractions written down once and for all.
Fig. 2 · The ladder of seven levels
- R2 and S2 sit exactly one range away from the pivot, the previous session's: if yesterday the stock covered three dollars, R2 sits three dollars above the pivot.
- R1 stands above the pivot by as much as yesterday's low stands below it. The ladder is symmetric by construction: it is a reflection, not an estimate.
The arithmetic, step by step
Below are the first three sessions of the Caterpillar window, with prices to two decimals: they are the ones the page shows, and the sum takes ten seconds to redo by hand.
| Session | High | Low | Close | The pivot calculation | R1 | S1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $476.07 | $468.89 | $475.78 | ($476.07 + $468.89 + $475.78) / 3 = $473.58 | $478.27 | $471.09 | |
| $482.54 | $469.79 | $479.44 | ($482.54 + $469.79 + $479.44) / 3 = $477.26 | $484.73 | $471.97 | |
| $494.56 | $482.80 | $489.16 | ($494.56 + $482.80 + $489.16) / 3 = $488.84 | $494.88 | $483.13 |
The high, low and close are those of the previous session: today's pivot is already known before the market opens, and it does not change during the day.
Fig. 3 · Narrow session, narrow levels
- Yesterday's range decides how far apart the levels sit. The same arithmetic on a narrow session and on a wide one gives very different ladders.
- After a quiet day the levels tighten, after a busy one they spread out. That is why two days running never have the same ladder.
How to read the pivot
The pivot is used as the fulcrum of the day: it is the price that splits the session in two. Above and below are not a signal to buy or to sell: they are two different situations to look at with different eyes.
Fig. 4 · The pivot as the fulcrum of the day
- With price above the pivot, R1 and R2 are the first levels met on the way up: that is where a lot of orders are sitting.
- With price below it, the first levels met on the way down are S1 and S2. The reading is the same, turned upside down.
- The pivot stays put all day. It does not update as price moves: it only changes at the next session, with today's prices.
The levels are not walls. They are prices a lot of traders have marked on their charts, which is why price sometimes stalls there and sometimes goes straight through. What a page can tell you is where they are and how they were built, not what price will do when it gets there.
The three families of levels
The same pivot, three different ways of building the levels around it. The distances change, the idea does not: it always starts from the previous session.
Fig. 5 · The three families on the same session
- The starting prices are the same in all three families: yesterday's high, low and close. Only the way the levels are built around them changes.
- Camarilla levels come from the close, not from the pivot, and sit far tighter: they were meant for days when price moves little.
1Classic
- The pivot is the average of the three prices; R1 and S1 are its mirror image around the low and the high.
- R2 and S2 sit a full range away from the pivot. These are the levels almost every platform draws.
2Fibonacci
- Same pivot, but the distances are the Fibonacci fractions of the range: 0.382, 0.618 and 1.
- The levels land closer to the pivot than the classic ones, and the ladder stays symmetric.
3Camarilla
- It starts from the close rather than the pivot, and uses the range multiplied by 1.1.
- The first levels are very tight: they were meant for days when price moves little.
There are others — Woodie gives more weight to the open, DeMark starts from the comparison between open and close. The principle does not change: three prices from yesterday, a little arithmetic, seven lines on the chart.
Work one out yourself
This is the Caterpillar session of . Use its three prices to work out the levels for the next session, the one on .
| High | Low | Close |
|---|---|---|
| $536.91 | $525.70 | $532.52 |
1. What is the pivot for the next session?
2. And R1, the first resistance?
Pick an answer: the page tells you whether it is right and why.
What pivot points are not
They are not a forecast. They are the result of a division done on three prices from yesterday. The arithmetic is always correct, and that says nothing about where price is going.
They are not special levels of the market. They are levels a lot of people watch, which is a different thing: a price where many orders pile up behaves in a particular way for as long as those orders are there, and not a minute longer.
They are not enough on their own. A level says where, never when or how much: the people who use them read them alongside what the chart shows — the direction of the move, the volume, the distance from recent highs and lows.
Deeper dives: support and resistance · the trend · the stop loss · trading volume · the moving average · candlestick charts.
Where to go from here
The indicators · Levels and chart shapesThe other lessons in the guide
What is technical analysis
- the study of price and volume to recognise the trend and the levels
- three premises: price discounts everything, trends, history repeats
- exercise: uptrend, downtrend or sideways on three real charts
Candlestick chart
- the four prices of a session: body and shadows
- green and red, long and short bodies, long shadows, the doji
- find the candle on a real chart: the judge says yes or no with the numbers
Uptrend: higher highs and higher lows
- higher highs and higher lows: how to recognize an uptrend
- swing points, and the two signals that end a trend
- mark the higher lows yourself on a real chart
Support and resistance
- the level where the decline stopped, and the one where the rise stopped
- touches, time and volume: how much a level counts; once broken, it switches roles
- find the level yourself on a real chart: the judge counts the touches
Frequently asked questions
How is a pivot point calculated?
Add the high, the low and the close of the previous session and divide by three: P = (high + low + close) / 3. From there the resistances R1, R2, R3 and the supports S1, S2, S3 are built using the range of that session.
How often do the levels change?
Once a day. Today's levels are worked out from yesterday's session and stay put all day: they do not update as price moves. Traders working on longer horizons use the week or the month in place of the day.
What is the difference between classic, Fibonacci and Camarilla pivots?
The pivot itself is the same in all three. What changes is the distance of the levels around it: the classic ones mirror the high and the low, the Fibonacci ones use 0.382 and 0.618 of the range, and the Camarilla ones start from the close and sit far tighter.
Do pivot points tell you where to buy or sell?
No. They are numbers worked out from three prices of the day before: they say where certain levels are, not what price will do when it meets them. This page explains how they are built and how they are read; it contains no recommendations.
Method and sources
| Source |
|---|
| John L. Person, Candlestick and Pivot Point Trading Triggers |
| Mark B. Fisher, The Logical Trader |
The Caterpillar prices used on this page run from to : they are real sessions from our archive, cut to a fixed window so the lesson always stays the same. This guide explains how the tools work: it does not contain investment recommendations and promises no returns. Our method · license · report an error.
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