Floor 1: Structure
What is a break of structure (BOS)?
A break of structure (BOS) is a candle that closes beyond the last confirmed swing in the direction of the existing trend: above the latest swing high in an uptrend, below the latest swing low in a downtrend. SMC traders read it as continuation. A wick through the level does not count; only the close does.
How to spot it
In an uptrend, each push eventually exceeds the previous peak. The moment a candle closes above that peak is a break of structure: the trend has made a new higher high and, by the SMC reading, is still intact. In a downtrend the same thing happens in mirror image when a candle closes below the latest swing low.
Three things have to be true. There must be a trend to continue, which comes from market structure. There must be a specific level: the last confirmed swing in the direction of the trend that has not already been broken. And a candle must close beyond that level. The close is the whole test.
The reason for insisting on a close is that wicks through old highs and lows are extremely common and mean something else. A candle that trades above a swing high and closes back below it has taken the stops resting there without holding the ground. SMC traders call that a liquidity sweep, and they read it as a possible reversal, the opposite of a BOS.
The rule ForexLens uses
The rule ForexLens uses: a BOS is a candle that closes beyond the last confirmed, unbroken swing in the direction of the trend. A close exactly on the level is not a break, and a wick beyond the level never breaks structure. The first break on a chart, when no trend has been set yet, is counted as a BOS.
Step by step
- Establish the trend from the labelled swings: higher highs and higher lows, or lower highs and lower lows.
- Find the last confirmed swing in the direction of the trend that price has not yet closed beyond: the latest swing high in an uptrend, the latest swing low in a downtrend.
- Watch the candle that reaches the level. Ignore how far its wick goes.
- Read the close. Strictly beyond the level is a break of structure. On the level or back inside is not.
- After the break, the pullback that follows will set a new swing, and the next BOS is measured from the new extreme.
BOS vs CHoCH vs a sweep
The same candle shape can be any of the three. What separates them is where the candle closed and which side of the trend the level was on. That is why the game on this topic shows a level being approached and asks for a decision only when the candle has closed.
- BOS: a close beyond the last swing with the trend. Read as continuation.
- CHoCH: a close beyond the last swing against the trend. Read as a possible turn.
- Sweep: a wick beyond a swing with the close back at or inside it. Structure has not broken at all.
Worked example
The simulated chart below has an established trend and then a push into the last swing. Before opening the Lens, find that swing yourself and note its exact price. Then look at the candle that reaches it and compare two numbers: how far the wick went, and where the body closed.
The Lens draws the broken level from the swing to the candle that closed beyond it, and labels the event. The generated walk-through gives the prices, so you can check the margin between the close and the level. On harder charts that margin shrinks to about one pip, which is why reading the close precisely matters more than the overall look of the candle.
GBP/USD, 15-minute candles, simulated
Reading the chart, step by step
- Before the break the trend is up: higher highs and higher lows.
- The level that matters is the last confirmed swing high: 1.27266, made on candle 13.
- Candle 20 closes at 1.27411, which is 14.5 pips above the level. It is the close that counts. A wick through the level would not.
- The close is in the direction of the trend, so the rule calls it a break of structure (BOS): continuation.
These numbers come from the generated chart above. Change the seed and the prices change; the rule does not.
Takeaway: A break of structure is decided by one number, the close, measured against one level, the last unbroken swing with the trend.
Common mistakes
- Calling a wick a break. A spike through the high that closes back under it has not broken structure under this rule. Treating it as a BOS means buying exactly where a sweep reading would expect a reversal.
- Measuring from the wrong swing. The level is the last confirmed, unbroken swing in the direction of the trend. An older high that was already exceeded, or a peak that has not been confirmed yet, is not it.
- Deciding before the candle closes. A candle can be well beyond the level with a minute left and still close back inside. Until the close there is no event to name.
- Assuming a BOS means the move will continue. A break of structure records that the trend made a new extreme. Many trends make one more extreme and then turn. The label is a description of the past candle.
Does it work? An honest note
A break of structure is a renamed breakout to a new high or low within a trend. As a description it is exact: either a candle closed beyond the swing or it did not. The body-close condition is a sensible filter, because it removes the many brief spikes that reverse within the same candle.
What is not established is that a BOS predicts continuation well enough to trade on by itself. Breakouts fail often, in every market, and a close just beyond a level is weak evidence about what the next ten candles will do. Teachers also disagree on the rule: some accept a wick break, some require a close on a higher timeframe, and each choice changes which events exist on the chart. A concept that changes shape with the teacher is a vocabulary, not a law.
Used honestly, the BOS gives you a consistent way to say "the trend is still making new extremes" and a precise place where that statement stops being true. For what the wider evidence says, read does SMC work? Nothing here is a signal, and most retail traders lose money.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between BOS and CHoCH?
Direction relative to the trend. A BOS is a close beyond the last swing in the same direction as the trend, such as a close above the latest swing high in an uptrend. A CHoCH is a close beyond the last swing against the trend, such as a close below the latest higher low in an uptrend. BOS is read as continuation, CHoCH as a possible reversal.
Does a wick count as a break of structure?
Not under the rule used here, and not for most SMC teachers. The candle has to close beyond the swing. A wick beyond the level with a close back inside is treated as a liquidity sweep. Some traders do accept wick breaks, so always check which convention a chart or course is using.
Is a break of structure bullish or bearish?
It can be either. A bullish BOS is a close above the last swing high in an uptrend. A bearish BOS is a close below the last swing low in a downtrend. The term only says the existing trend extended; the direction comes from the trend itself.
What happens after a break of structure?
Nothing is certain. SMC traders often expect a pullback into the leg that caused the break, toward a fair value gap or an order block, and then look for the trend to resume. Sometimes price continues without pulling back, and sometimes the break fails and price reverses through the level.
Practise it
Reading about a rule is not the same as applying it. These games generate a fresh chart each round, ask you to find it first, and grade you against the same rule.
BOS or CHoCH
A level breaks. Continuation or change of character? A wick is not a body close.