Traders are being pointed to three spots on any price chart where stop orders pile up — useful for anyone trying to avoid getting knocked out of a position.

• Three kinds of liquidity pools show up on every chart and every time frame.
• The first is simply prior highs and prior lows.
• The second is equal highs and equal lows — the clean double top everyone can see, so everyone puts their stop just past it.
• The third is round numbers, where orders cluster for no reason other than human habit, usually near the number rather than exactly on it.
• Those stacked-up stop orders grow into a pool, and big players who need liquidity go hunting for it.

Outlook: Expect price to keep getting dragged toward these obvious levels before moving in its real direction.