Bullish vs bearish order blocks: how to tell them apart

Every order block has a side. Getting the side right matters, because a bullish block is watched as possible support and a bearish block as possible resistance. If you are new to the idea, start with what is an order block.

The bullish order block

• How it forms: price falls, then one strong move up closes above the recent highs. The last red candle before that move is the block.
• Where it sits: below the current price.
• What traders watch: price returning down into the zone, and whether buyers defend it.
• When it breaks: a later candle closes below the block's low.

The bearish order block

• How it forms: price rises, then one strong move down closes below the recent lows. The last green candle before that move is the block.
• Where it sits: above the current price.
• What traders watch: price returning up into the zone, and whether sellers defend it.
• When it breaks: a later candle closes above the block's high.

Side by side

	Bullish order block	Bearish order block
The block candle	last down candle	last up candle
The move that confirms it	strong close above the recent highs	strong close below the recent lows
Usually sits	below price	above price
Watched as	possible support	possible resistance
Broken when a candle closes	below its low	above its high
On Live Flow	green box	red box

Active and broken blocks

A block is active until price closes through its far side. After that it is broken: it no longer counts as a support or resistance zone, though some traders still watch broken blocks because the old zone can flip roles.

On Live Flow charts, active blocks are solid boxes that run to the latest candle; broken blocks are faded and stop at the candle that broke them.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up the side. A green box above price is not resistance and a red box below price is not support. The side comes from the move that followed the candle, not from where price is now.
• Treating every block equally. Blocks on bigger time frames cover more and take longer to form. A 1-hour block and a 1-minute block in the same place mean different things.
• Ignoring the trend. In a strong down day, bullish blocks break more often, and the reverse on a strong up day. Market breadth helps here: see market breadth and sectors.
• No exit plan. If you trade around a zone, decide first where you are wrong. For a bullish block that is usually a close below its low.

Both sides on Live Flow

On the order block alerts page you can show All, Bullish or Bearish blocks and switch on Active only. Each card names the side, its time frame and the minute it formed.

Next: how Live Flow finds order blocks.