How to read Gann Bot

Gann Bot reads a chart the way W.D. Gann did, whether it’s a crypto coin or a US stock. It measures price and time from the market’s biggest turning point and marks the levels where price tends to react. This guide explains every term it uses, in plain words.

Support and resistance

These are the two words that matter most.

• Support is a level below today’s price, where a fall may slow down or bounce.
• Resistance is a level above today’s price, where a rise may stall.

Gann Bot always says which one a level is and how far it is from today’s price. None of these levels is a guarantee. They are places to watch, not predictions.

The pivot: where everything starts

By default, every level is measured from the market’s all-time low, its lowest price ever. Gann called this starting point the pivot. On Bitcoin, for example, it’s the October 2011 low of $2.22. A single bad price tick far below the rest of a candle is ignored, so the pivot is always a real low.

Choosing your own pivot

The all-time low is Gann’s classic starting point, but it isn’t the only one. Many traders measure from the most recent major low or high instead, and Gann Lab lets you do both.

• Square of 9: open its settings and choose the pivot: All-Time Low, All-Time High, or Manual. With Manual, type a price, or tap “Pick on chart” and tap near a high or low: the pivot snaps to that candle’s exact high or low.
• Gann Square: open its settings, set Anchor to Manual, and tap near a pivot low. The pivot snaps to that candle’s low (the Gann Square always starts from a low). Tap “Pick again” to change it, or press Esc to cancel. Press “Save this square” to keep it for that chart on any device.

Every level from that tool is then measured from your pivot, and Gann Bot reads them from there too. Loading a different coin or stock goes back to the all-time low.

The 45-degree line (1x1)

From the all-time low, Gann drew a line that rises at a steady pace. On the chart it climbs at 45 degrees, and it’s called the 1x1. It is the most important line in Gann analysis.

• Price above the 1x1: the market is rising faster than its long-term pace. Gann saw this as a strong position.
• Price below the 1x1: the market is weaker than its long-term pace.
• A weekly close on the other side of the 1x1 is one of the biggest signals Gann Bot will mention.

The other angles

Other lines fan out from the same low, steeper or flatter than the 1x1. 2x1 rises twice as fast, 1x2 half as fast, and so on, from 8x1 (steepest) to 1x8 (flattest).

When Gann Bot says “price sits between the 1x1 and the 2x1”, the 1x1 is the support underneath and the 2x1 is the resistance above.

The Gann Square

The square is a box drawn from the all-time low, sized so the market’s whole price history fits inside it. The angles above fan out from its bottom corner.

• Grid lines (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%) split its height into equal parts. Each one is a level price often reacts to.
• Arcs are curves drawn out from the low. Where an arc crosses today’s date, it gives another support or resistance price, for example “the 80% arc at 82,400”.
• The top of the square is its upper edge, usually the last resistance.

The Square of 9

This is a separate Gann tool: a spiral of numbers that produces a ladder of price levels above and below the pivot. It can also be measured down from the all-time high.

• One full turn of the spiral is a cycle. “27 cycles above the pivot” means 27 full turns up from the all-time low.
• Full cycles are the strongest Square of 9 levels, then half cycles, then quarter turns, then minor eighths.
• Square of 9 levels are prices only, so they are the same on every timeframe.

Gann levels (the rule of eighths)

Gann split every big move into eighths. In Gann Lab you draw Gann levels with the G tool, from a major low to a major high (or high to low), and a line appears at every eighth.

• 4/8, the halfway point, is the strongest level. 3/8 and 5/8 come next.
• To project eighths above a high, draw from the high down to the low.
• Gann Bot names them by the eighth, for example “the 4/8 Gann level at 64,200”, and tells you which one price is holding and which it’s pushing against.

Fibonacci retracement

The fib tool marks the classic retracement levels of a swing: 0.236, 0.382, 0.5, 0.618 and 0.786. Extensions (1.272 up to 4.236) project levels beyond the swing, and 0.702 and 0.886 can be added too.

• On Gannbot, draw fibs from a major high down to a major low: click the high first, then the low.
• Gann Bot names the fib levels just above and below price, for example “the 0.618 fib at 100,090”.
• A fib level within about 1.5% of a Gann level is confluence, and the strongest kind.

Cycle Fib: the previous cycle

The Cycle Fib button above the chart draws a Fibonacci on the previous market cycle for you. It finds the cycle’s high and the lowest point after it, puts 0 at the cycle low and 1 at the cycle high, and draws 0.236 to 0.886 in between and every extension from 1.272 up to 4.236 above the high. The 0.786 and 0.886 are drawn in red: the deep retracement of the cycle.

• How it finds the cycle: the high before the deepest fall of the last 5 years, then the lowest point after that high, going right. On Tesla’s weekly chart that is the November 2021 high and the January 2023 low. A falling knife, a chart whose all-time low is from the last 12 months (SQQQ, for example), runs from the all-time high to the all-time low instead.
• Always automatic: the Cycle high and Cycle low dots show what it found. Look back in its card changes how many years it searches. For a fib on your own high and low, use the Fib retracement tool: click the high, then the low.
• Reading it: 1 is the old cycle’s high, the big level the new cycle has to clear. Holding above 0.786 and 0.886 keeps a recovery strong. Once price closes above 1, the extensions are the next levels above.
• Gann Bot reads every Cycle Fib level as support or resistance, for example “the 0.886 cycle fib at 353.19”. A Cycle Fib level within about 1.5% of a Gann level is confluence.

Anchored VWAP (AVWAP)

The anchored VWAP is the average price everyone has paid since a candle you choose, weighted by volume. Click a candle with the AVWAP tool to anchor it, usually on the all-time low or a major turning point.

• Price above the AVWAP: buyers since the anchor are in profit and tend to defend it, so the line acts as support.
• Price below the AVWAP: those buyers are under water and often sell into it, so the line acts as resistance.
• A close back through the AVWAP is a real change of control. A wick through it that closes back on the same side is a test that held.
• Bands sit around the line at 1, 2 and 3 standard deviations (σ). Inside ±1σ is normal trading around fair value, ±2σ is stretched, and ±3σ is extreme and rarely holds for long. Each band is a level like any other.
• A rising AVWAP means buyers since the anchor are in control. A flat one means balance.

Gann Bot names it by its anchor, for example “the anchored VWAP from the 2022 low at 39,800” or “the +1σ band at 71,300”.

Trend lines and arrows

Draw a trend line with two clicks. Gann Bot mentions it only when price is near it.

Arrows work the same way: click where the arrow starts, then where it points. Pick their color and width in Drawing options. Arrows are your own notes on the chart, so Gann Bot doesn’t read them as levels.

The Ichimoku Cloud

Gann Lab can also show the Ichimoku Cloud, a separate Japanese indicator, with the same settings as TradingView. Gann Bot uses it as a second opinion: where the cloud, the conversion line or the base line sits near a Gann level, that area matters more.

• Price above the cloud is bullish, below it bearish, and inside it undecided.
• The cloud’s edges act as support and resistance. A thick cloud is stronger than a thin one.
• The conversion line above the base line shows short-term strength.
• The cloud drawn ahead of price shows the coming trend.

Bollinger Bands

Bollinger Bands draw a moving average (the basis, 20 bars by default) with an upper and a lower band two standard deviations away.

• The basis acts as support or resistance, and so do the bands.
• Narrow bands, called a squeeze, often come before a big move.
• Price walking along one band is a strong trend.

Gann Bot names them like levels, for example “the Bollinger basis at 64,200”, and points out when one sits close to a Gann level.

Moving averages and the Bull Market Support Band

The MA tool draws the 50, 100 and 200-bar moving averages, the average closing price over that many candles. It can also show the Bull Market Support Band: the 20-bar simple average and the 21-bar exponential average drawn together, with the space between them filled.

• Price above a rising average is strength. Price below a falling one is weakness.
• In a bull market, price tends to hold above the band. A weekly close below it is a warning.
• A golden cross (the 50 rising above the 200) is bullish. A death cross (the 50 falling below the 200) is bearish.
• The averages use the candles on screen, so a 50 on the weekly chart is the 50-week average.

Gann Bot reads every line as support or resistance, for example “the 200 SMA at 58,400”.

The Volume meter

The Volume meter sits at the bottom left of the chart and tells you how much trading is behind a candle.

• “1.8× avg” means 80% more volume than the average of the previous 20 candles. A candle still in progress is measured by its pace.
• The rank compares the candle with every other candle on that timeframe, for example “bigger than 91% of weekly bars”.
• The Buy / Sell bar shows which side was more active. It’s real data where the exchange provides it; otherwise it’s estimated from where the candle closed in its range and marked est.
• For stocks, today’s volume is added once the day is complete, so the meter shows the last finished day, or the finished days so far this week or month.
• Gold, oil and the other commodities have no volume, so the meter doesn’t apply to them.

A breakout on strong volume (1.5× average or more) is more trustworthy. A move on light volume is suspect. Volume is never a support or resistance level by itself; it tells you how much to trust one.

Earnings warnings

On US stocks, a gold button appears above the chart a few days before the company reports. It shows the report date and how much the stock usually moves after earnings, measured from its last eight reports.

• That usual move is shaded on the chart as the earnings range, above and below today’s price.
• Where an edge of the range lines up with another level, such as an arc or a moving average, the edge glows. That’s confluence.
• Click the button to hide or show the range.

The range comes from the stock’s own history, not a forecast. It shows how far the stock has typically moved, not where it will go.

The full picture

Gann Bot gives a bullish or bearish read once three tools are on the chart: the Gann Square, the Square of 9 and the Ichimoku Cloud. Until then it reads what’s on screen and tells you which tool to switch on next. Bollinger Bands, moving averages, the Volume meter and your own drawings add detail on top.

A new chart opens with only the Gann Square on. Save your own setup with the bookmark button next to the star, and that ticker opens with your tools every time.

Log and linear

Charts can be drawn two ways, and the Gann levels differ between them.

• On a linear chart, equal price steps look equal: $10,000 to $20,000 is the same height as $20,000 to $30,000.
• On a log chart, equal percentage moves look equal: every doubling is the same height. Long-term charts, of coins and stocks alike, are usually read on log.

Gann Bot tells you which one it means when it matters. When the nearest levels are far away on one axis, the other axis can give closer, more precise ones.

Confluence

When levels from different tools sit close together, within about 1.5%, that zone is called confluence. For example, a Square of 9 level right next to the 60% grid line, or a fib level on top of an anchored VWAP band. A confluence zone is stronger than any single line.

Monthly, weekly and daily

Away from Gann Lab, Gann Bot reads the weekly chart unless you ask about the monthly or daily one. On Gann Lab, it reads the timeframe on your screen. A close above or below a level counts for more than a quick move through it, and a weekly close counts more than a daily one.

The small box under the price on the right of the chart shows how long until the current candle closes. Crypto candles close at midnight UTC (the week on Sunday night), and US stocks at 4 pm New York time (the week on Friday).

Reading an answer

Here’s a typical Gann Bot answer, and what each line tells you.

Gann’s rules lean bullish: Bitcoin is holding above its main 45-degree line.
Support: the 45-degree line (1x1) at 75,993, about 8% below today’s price.
Resistance: a Square of 9 level and the 60% grid line together at 83,800 to 84,069, about 2% above.
A weekly close below 75,993 would change the picture.

1. The first line is the verdict, in one sentence.
2. Support is the most important level underneath, and how far away it is.
3. Resistance is the most important level above. Here it’s a confluence zone, two tools agreeing.
4. The last line is what would change the picture.

On Gann Lab, Gann Bot also circles the key levels it names on your chart. Press Esc to clear them.

Tips

When a tool’s nearest support and resistance are both more than 10% from price, Gann Bot may add a short tip after its answer, such as trying the other price axis, ticking the Square of 9’s half cycles, moving down a timeframe, or drawing a fib or Gann levels on a smaller swing. You’ll get at most one tip per answer. Questions about what something means or how it works get a plain answer, with no tip.

Asking good questions

• Name the coin or stock: “Is SOL above its 1x1?” or “Where’s support on AAPL?” Gann Bot works out the levels itself, from any page. US stocks are part of the Crypto + Stocks and Stocks Only memberships.
• Some tickers are both a coin and a stock, like LINK. Gann Bot works out which one you mean from your question (“LINK earnings” is the stock, “Chainlink” is the coin) or from how you opened it in Gann Lab. If it can’t tell, it asks. You can always say “LINK stock” to be sure.
• Ask for the daily chart if you want it: “ETH support on the daily chart.”
• Ask for more: “Give me the full detail” returns every level, on both log and linear.
• Ask without a ticker and Gann Bot reads the first charts on your Gann Lab watchlist.
• On the Gann Lab page, ask about your own chart, including any change you made to the 45-degree line, your fibs, Gann levels and anchored VWAPs.
• Ask how a tool works: “What does price per bar do?” or “What do all the AVWAP settings mean?” Gann Bot explains every tool, setting and button in plain words.
• If you’ve moved the pivot, ask “What changed with my new pivot?” and Gann Bot will compare.

Quick legend

Gann levels show where price may react, not what it will do. Nothing here or in Gann Bot’s answers is financial advice.