• Research has found five primary base patterns that are reliable forecasters of future gains when correctly interpreted: the cup with handle, flat base, saucer with handle, double bottom and ascending base.
   
• The cup with handle basically consists of a cup-shaped consolidation followed by a shorter, less pronounced correction (the handle). The majority of the greatest winning stocks have traced this pattern before they made their huge gains.
   
• In a flat base, the stock slips only 8% to 12% from peak to low point. Unlike other bases, it can form over periods as short as five weeks.
   
• The saucer with handle is similar to the cup with handle, except its "cup" portion is more shallow and runs longer. Because market volatility has increased in recent years, this pattern has become increasingly scarce.
   
• The double bottom resembles a "W" and may include a handle in some cases. The second bottom in the pattern should dip below the first bottom.
   
• The ascending base usually forms on charts of stocks that manage to make some advances during short- to intermediate-term market corrections or bear markets.
   
• Each of these patterns have a distinct "pivot point" that represents the point of least resistance, when a stock has the greatest probability of starting a significant new price advance.

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