The Reclaim explained: why every reversal is not valid

A Reclaim forms when price breaches the previous candle's high or low and the body closes back through the breached boundary. Simple rule, strict application: geometry without location is noise, and location without confirmation is still just a candidate.

The rule

Two observations, judged only at the close:

1. Price trades beyond the previous candle's extreme.
2. The body closes back through that breached level.

Bullish: through the prior low, close back above it. Bearish: through the prior high, close back below it.

The rule is color-agnostic: a green candle can be a bearish Reclaim. Until the candle closes, an apparent reclaim can still become a breakout. A continuation closure (body finishing beyond the level, acceptance outside the range) is the opposite verdict from the same excursion.

New to the breach itself? Start with breaches explained.

The location requirement

Markets print breach-and-reclaim candles all day inside ordinary ranges. Qualification follows a strict precedence:

1. Confirmed swing high or low. Established structure, a visible open level.
2. Active directional gap. When no qualifying swing applies.
3. The immediately breached opposing reference candle. A fallback only, when neither higher-order location exists.
4. The trailing 20-model-candle range extreme. FMP+'s final fallback for a trend-colored blow-off top or bottom when no higher-priority structure exists.

The fourth test is an FMP+ operational rule rather than a published source rule. The qualification belongs to the original breach. A delayed confirmation can never search forward for a better location to rescue an invalid closure.

Confirmation: the trigger close

Mark the open of the last same-direction run into the reversal. That is the trigger line. Confirmation is the chart timeframe's body close through it, above it for bullish setups and below for bearish. A wick is not confirmation, and a zone touch is not confirmation.

Confirmation can print while the model candle is still forming (the NOW state); the model-timeframe close later finalizes the record. NOW describes timing; it never relaxes the body-close rule. Full rule: the trigger close explained.

The operating order

1. Directional bias
2. Model-timeframe structure and location
3. Reclaim breach-and-close geometry
4. The trigger close
5. Objective, invalidation, risk

Skip the first two and this becomes pattern hunting.

Validation checklist

• Anchor. Its exact high or low defined?
• Breach and closure. Body closed back through the breached level?
• Location. Confirmed swing, active gap, opposing-candle fallback, or the final FMP+ range fallback at the original breach?
• Trigger close. Chart timeframe closed through the run open?
• Invalidation and risk. Written down before entry?

Common mistakes

• Counting the second candle on screen as the Reclaim. Designation comes from role, not order.
• Accepting a wick or an unfinished candle as a closure.
• Attaching a new location after the fact.
• Using candle color as confirmation.
• Treating a NOW state as a finalized record.

FAQ

Does the Reclaim need to be the opposite color of the Anchor?

No. Direction comes from the side breached and where the body closes.

Can the trigger close arrive after the Reclaim closes?

Yes. Delayed confirmation is allowed in the permitted next window, but it keeps the original breach's geometry and location.

Why did a valid Reclaim fail?

Validity means the rules were met, not that the outcome was owed. Well-defined setups fail; that is what invalidation is for.

Closures organize information; they do not predict outcomes. Define maximum loss before entry. Stops can fill at worse prices in fast markets. What follows a valid Reclaim: the four-candle fractal model.