Wyckoff spring
In the Wyckoff method, a spring is a brief move below the support of a trading range that quickly returns inside it, read as a final test of supply before a markup. Order flow asks what the spring was made of: heavy selling absorbed by bids, little selling at all, or a real breakdown that happened to reverse.
Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026
The idea in Wyckoff's framework
Richard D. Wyckoff described markets in terms of accumulation, markup, distribution and markdown, read through price and volume. In an accumulation range, a spring is a move that takes price below the range's support, shakes out holders and triggers sell stops, then fails to continue and returns inside the range. Its mirror in a distribution range is the upthrust. The spring is interpreted as a test: if supply below support is exhausted or absorbed, the range is resolved upward.
Two very different springs
| Observation below support | Reading | What to check next |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy aggressive selling, price barely extends, bids absorb | Supply met by demand | Return inside the range with acceptance |
| Light volume, thin prints below support | No real supply at those prices | Whether buyers step in on the return |
| Heavy selling, price extends, then a slow return | A breakdown that failed later | Whether the return holds or is sold again |
A worked example
A future has traded between 4,980.00 and 5,010.00 for three sessions. Price breaks below 4,980.00 and reaches 4,976.50. In that move, about 2,300 contracts are sold aggressively between 4,977.00 and 4,979.75, yet the low extends only two points and the footprint shows large bid volume at those prices with price holding. The bar closes at 4,983.00, back inside the range, with a delta far more negative than the price change would suggest. That combination, effort without result below support followed by a return, is the absorption version of a spring. If price then fails to hold above 4,980.00, the reading is withdrawn.
In Senzoukria
The footprint's Bid × Ask cells show the volume traded below support and on which side. Absorption Markers flag a price where one side's volume reaches a set share of the bar's volume while the bar's extreme stays within a tolerance, and Delta Divergence marks a bar that closes up on negative delta or down on positive delta. Effort vs Result measures contracts per tick of range, which is high on an absorbed spring. The application has no Wyckoff phase detector; the range, the support and the interpretation stay with the reader.
Related
In the same section
- Z-score
- Working order
- Zero gamma
- Withdrawn vs executed
- Zomma
- Win rate
- Why dashboards disagree
- Weekly options
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Frequently asked questions
- Is every false break below support a spring?
- No. A spring in Wyckoff's sense occurs in the context of accumulation and is followed by evidence of demand, such as a return inside the range that holds and later strength. A false break in a downtrend that is sold again is simply a failed reversal. The context and the follow-through define the pattern.
- What volume should a spring have?
- Both readings exist: a low-volume spring shows that little supply remained below support, while a high-volume spring with absorption shows supply that was met by strong demand. What matters is the relation between volume and the price result, which is what effort versus result measures.