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Classic Pivots — Structure & sessions, on the price chart.
What Classic Pivots measures
The levels follow the canonical floor-trader formulas: P = (H + L + C) / 3, R1 = 2P − L, S1 = 2P − H, R2 = P + (H − L) and S2 = P − (H − L), the same definitions ATAS and Sierra Chart publish. C is the close of the last bar of the previous session, not a settlement price supplied by the exchange. Every completed session projects one set of levels onto the next and never recomputes them afterwards. The earliest session in the loaded history has no predecessor, so it receives no pivots rather than a set derived from an assumption.
The formula, as implemented
This is not how the indicator is usually defined elsewhere — it is what the shipped code computes, documented next to the implementation:
Pivots floor classiques depuis H/L/C de la session PRÉCÉDENTE : P = (H + L + C) / 3 R1 = 2P − L S1 = 2P − H R2 = P + (H − L) S2 = P − (H − L) (formules floor-trader canoniques, parité ATAS/Sierra). C = close de la DERNIÈRE barre de la session précédente. Chaque session passée projette ses pivots sur la SUIVANTE ; la première session chargée n'a pas de précédente → rien n'est inventé.
How to read it
- All five levels are fixed before the session begins: they describe the previous day's range, not what is happening now.
- The width of the R2–S2 band is twice the previous session's range, so a violent prior day produces distant outer levels and a quiet one produces levels price may cross repeatedly.
- An open that gaps beyond R2 or S2 leaves the whole set behind price; treat that as information about the gap rather than as an immediate target.
- Where a pivot coincides with a session extreme or a prior VWAP, more than one reference sits at the same price — the confluence is worth noting, the outcome is not predetermined.
- Use the footprint at the moment price reaches a level: the level is a coordinate, the order flow there is the evidence.
What it does not show
These levels are static and know nothing about the current session's volume, news or participation. Because R2 and S2 widen mechanically with the previous range, their distance from price says more about yesterday than about today's likely amplitude. The close used is the last bar close present in the loaded history, so a session with truncated data produces a shifted pivot set. Nothing in the formula uses volume or the aggressor side, and whether other participants watch a given level is not something the indicator can measure.
Related indicators
- Session High/Low — Structure & sessions
- Opening Range — Structure & sessions
- IB Extensions — Structure & sessions
- Camarilla Pivots — Structure & sessions
- Naked POC — Structure & sessions
- Session Mid — Structure & sessions
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Frequently asked questions
- How are classic pivot points calculated?
- The central pivot P is the average of the previous session's high, low and close. R1 is 2P minus the low and S1 is 2P minus the high, while R2 is P plus the previous range and S2 is P minus that range. All five are derived from three numbers and stay fixed for the whole session.
- Why do my pivot levels differ from another platform's?
- Two inputs commonly differ: where the session starts and which close is used. This implementation anchors sessions to the 17:00 CT open and takes the close of the last bar of the previous session, while some platforms use regular-hours boundaries or the exchange settlement price, which shifts every level.
- Do pivot points update during the trading day?
- No. The set is computed once from the completed previous session and stays on the chart unchanged until the next session open. Any level that appears to move is the chart advancing into a new session, which brings a newly computed set.