Founded The Ticker and The Magazine of Wall Street
The magazine started in 1907 as The Ticker and changed its name in 1911, confirmed by several biographies and surviving printed issues
Famous Traders · Supply & Demand
Richard D. Wyckoff
Richard Wyckoff / The reader of big-money footprints
A 15-year-old office runner who grew into a brokerage owner, the founder of a financial magazine, and the teacher who laid down the principles of reading the market from price and volume. His accumulation and distribution schematics are still used on stocks, gold and crypto today. This page lets you try reading the market the Wyckoff way yourself.
THE TICKERVol. I · No. 1 · 1907
ACCUMULATIONPS · SC · AR · ST · SPRING · SOS · LPS
Started on Wall Street1888 · aged 15
Founded The Ticker1907
Laws of the market3 laws
Phases of a trading rangeA → E
CAREER46 yearsFrom office runner in 1888 to the trading course launched in 1931, before his death in 1934
THE METHOD3 · 5 · 93 laws, a 5-step stock selection process and 9 buying tests
SUBJECTIVE BY DESIGNNot a formulaWyckoff himself stressed that his method requires judgement and can’t be turned into a fixed formula
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ProfileQuick facts
Full nameRichard Demille Wyckoff
NationalityAmerican
Born2 Nov 1873
Died7 Mar 1934 · aged 60
Main marketUS stocks on Wall Street
RolesBroker, founder of The Ticker magazine (1907), later The Magazine of Wall Street, author and trading teacher
Best known forStudies in Tape Reading (1910) · How I Trade and Invest in Stocks and Bonds · the Wyckoff stock market course (1931)
Ideas that carry his nameWyckoff Method · the 3 laws · the Composite Man · Accumulation / Distribution
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Early lifeFrom office runner to magazine owner
Wyckoff started on Wall Street in 1888 at just 15. His first job was as a runner at a brokerage. In those days prices came through the ticker tape machine, and anyone who watched the tape all day began to see the traces large orders left behind.
He worked his way up to broker and opened his own firm before turning to publishing. The Ticker, the magazine he founded in 1907, became The Magazine of Wall Street and gave him the chance to talk with many famous speculators of the day.
TAPE LOG · 1873–1934Tap each year to follow his life
Born on 2 November 1873 in the United States, when Wall Street still received prices through the ticker tape machine
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In Wyckoff’s wordsSome people think they are studying the market, but they are really studying what others say about the market, not what the market says about itself
Paraphrased from text published by the Wyckoff Stock Market Institute
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Publisher & teacherBroker, editor and teacher: which stories hold up?
Wyckoff’s reputation comes from his publishing and teaching more than his trading record. We sort the stories often retold into three levels, by the weight of the evidence found
Interviewed W. D. Gann
The December 1909 issue of The Ticker published an article on Gann’s results that is still quoted today, although its figures can’t be verified
The most widely read financial magazine
Wikipedia says that at one point its circulation overtook The Wall Street Journal, but we found no original circulation figures to confirm it
Studied the methods of Livermore, Morgan and Keene
This comes from Wyckoff’s own writing. He also wrote a book on Jesse Livermore’s trading methods, but details of personal meetings can rarely be checked against independent sources
The Twin Lindens mansion at Great Neck
Wyckoff claimed he bought land and built a mansion worth $250,000 at the time, but some sources say it belonged to his father or his wife
The Wyckoff Method is guaranteed to profit
Wyckoff himself said his method requires judgement and can’t be turned into a fixed mathematical formula. No research has been found confirming that it systematically outperforms other methods
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Three lawsThe 3 laws at the root of the Wyckoff method
Law of supply and demand
When buying exceeds selling, price rises; when selling exceeds buying, price falls. It sounds simple, but Wyckoff taught to look for evidence in actual price and volume, not in news or opinions
Law of cause and effect
The longer and wider price builds within a range (the cause), the further the move after it leaves the range tends to go (the effect). Wyckoff used Point & Figure charts to count the size of the cause and estimate price targets
Law of effort vs result
Volume is the effort and the distance price moves is the result. If the effort is large but price doesn’t go far, someone on the other side is absorbing it. This kind of divergence is often the first sign of a trend change
THE COMPOSITE MAN
See the market as if one big player is planning it
Wyckoff suggested imagining that all price movement is planned by a single person he called the Composite Man. This person quietly accumulates while others are afraid, marks prices up so the public wants to buy, distributes to those chasing, then lets prices fall. This imaginary figure helps you always ask: what would the big player want us to do now?
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Schematic labLab: the accumulation and distribution schematics
The heart of the Wyckoff method is the schematic of the range where big players accumulate and distribute, divided into 5 phases, A to E. Switch between the two, then tap each event or press next to step through them with volume
COURSE PLATE · made-up dataAccumulation
Scroll the schematic left and right →
Phase APSPreliminary Support
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- Phase AStopping the trend
- Phase BBuilding the cause
- Phase CTesting
- Phase DNew trend begins
- Phase EClear trend
The schematic is an idealised example for learning. Real markets rarely show every event, and a Spring or UTAD may not happen at all
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Tape drillPractise effort vs result: 6 scenarios
Wyckoff trained students to look bar by bar at whether effort (volume) and result (how far price moved, and where it closed within the bar) agree. Decide for yourself which side has the edge in each scenario
The bars at the bottom of each chart are volume; dark orange bars are unusually high volume. For Forex, think of tick volume, which represents trading activity, not the real volume of the whole market
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Scenario 1 / 6A long downtrend, then this bar
A long red bar on the highest volume (big effort), but it closed well off the low and the next bar’s volume was lighter. Someone is absorbing below: a Selling Climax
Scenario 2 / 6A long uptrend, then a volume spike at the top
The bar with the highest volume barely moved up (big effort, little result), then price started making lower lows on still-high volume. Sellers are waiting above: a Buying Climax
Scenario 3 / 6A breakout, then a pullback
A wide bar on high volume broke out (effort matches result), then pulled back on light volume. Sellers aren’t following through; buyers are still in control
Scenario 4 / 6A brief break of support
Price broke below support, then closed back inside the range immediately, and volume on the next pullback was very light. This is a Spring that runs stop losses before moving higher
Scenario 5 / 6A bounce in a downtrend
The bounce had small bars and steadily lighter volume (No Demand). When selling returned, volume rose at once. Sellers are still in control
Scenario 6 / 6Tight range, normal volume
Price moves in a tight range with similar volume on every bar. There is no sign yet of which side has the edge. Wyckoff would wait for the market to reveal itself before acting
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Cause & effectCount the cause with Point & Figure and find a price target
Point & Figure charts ignore time and only track price movement. X columns are rising prices and O columns are falling prices. Every box is the same size, and a new column starts when price reverses by the set number of boxes. Wyckoff counted the columns in an accumulation range (the cause) to estimate how far price could go after leaving the range (the effect)
POINT & FIGURE · 1 point per box · 3-box reversalThe same schematic as the lab, as Point & Figure
The orange band shows the columns counted as the cause. Adjust the column count in the calculator and watch the band change
CAUSE → EFFECT CALCULATORPrice target = base + columns × box size × reversal boxes
Conservative target (from the range low)
Full target (from the LPS)
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Five steps · Nine tests5 steps and 9 tests before buying
Wyckoff’s course sums up stock selection in 5 steps, with 9 tests to check whether an accumulation range is ready to rise. We adapted the examples for Forex and gold trading. Pick a range you’re watching and tick the tests it passes
- 1See the big picture
Is the overall market in an uptrend, downtrend or range, and where is it likely to go next?
Forex / gold: check the US Dollar Index (DXY) before trading the major pairs and gold - 2Choose instruments in step with the market
In an uptrend, choose ones stronger than the market; in a downtrend, ones weaker
Forex / gold: compare currency strength, e.g. EUR vs GBP when the dollar is weak - 3Choose ones with enough cause
The accumulation range must be wide and long enough for the target to justify the risk
Forex / gold: count the range on the Daily or H4 chart so the target is at least 3x the stop - 4Check readiness
Use the 9 tests below to check whether the range is ready to break out
Forex / gold: use tick volume instead of real volume, and watch out around big news - 5Time it with the overall market
Enter when the main index starts turning the same way
Forex / gold: wait for DXY or the gold price to confirm direction before adding size
NINE BUYING TESTSTick the tests your range passes
Nothing ticked yet
The tests are for uptrends. To look for a sell, reverse each one, e.g. lower highs, selling volume rising as price falls
TEST No. 9REWARD ≥ 3 × RISK
- COST
- Trading costs are part of your risk
- BROKER
- XM
- REBATE
- Up to 90% of the IB commission on every lot
1TRADER is a partner (IB) and earns a commission when you open an account through our link · % is the share of IB commission returned to you · How to get rebates
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LessonsLessons for Forex and gold traders
Your checklist
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Read price before reading the news
Wyckoff taught to look at what the market does, not what others say. The same news can push price up or down, but price and volume show where real money is flowing
Don’t chase price; wait for a test
Wyckoff’s favourite entry isn’t when price is running hard but when it pulls back to test on light volume, such as the Test after a Spring or an LPS, because the stop loss can be placed closer
Use tick volume in Forex with care
Spot Forex has no centralised volume. A broker’s tick volume is only a proxy. If you trade gold, compare it with gold futures volume as well
The profit target must justify the risk
Wyckoff’s last test is that expected profit must be at least 3 times the risk. Calculate your lot size from the stop loss distance before every trade
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Quiz5-question quiz
Question 1 / 5
How old was Wyckoff when he started working on Wall Street?
He started as a runner at a brokerage in 1888.
What does the law of effort vs result mean?
If effort is big but the result is small, someone on the other side is absorbing it.
In an accumulation range, what is a Spring?
A Spring runs the stop losses below support before the uptrend.
What kind of chart did Wyckoff use to count the cause and find a price target?
Count the columns in the range on a Point & Figure chart, then multiply by the box size and the number of reversal boxes.
What should you watch out for when using Wyckoff with spot Forex?
Tick volume represents trading activity, not the real volume of the whole market.
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Trade like WyckoffFollow in Wyckoff’s footsteps: read the market before acting
What you can use right away from Wyckoff is the habit of waiting for the market to reveal itself and entering on a test where the stop loss is clear. Here are tools on 1TRADER that help
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Further readingFurther reading
- Studies in Tape ReadingRichard D. Wyckoff (Rollo Tape) · 1910A classic on reading the price tape, explaining how market readers thought before computer charts
- The Three Skills of Top TradingHank Pruden · 2007By a professor who teaches the Wyckoff Method at university, explaining the accumulation and distribution schematics along with trading psychology
- Trades About to HappenDavid H. Weis · 2013Adapts Wyckoff’s method to modern charts, focusing on reading the relationship between price and volume bar by bar
Sources for this article
- Wikipedia: Richard Wyckoff
- Wyckoff Stock Market Institute: About Richard D. Wyckoff
- Wyckoff Analytics: The Wyckoff Method
- Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Newspapers.com): Richard D. Wyckoff, Stocks Expert, died March 7, 1934
- Google Books: Studies in Tape Reading (Rollo Tape)
- The Online Books Page: Wyckoff, Richard D. (1873–1934)
- Traders Log: William D. Gann interview by Richard D. Wyckoff (1909)
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FAQFrequently asked questions
What is the Wyckoff Method?
A way of reading the market from price and volume, built on 3 laws (supply and demand, cause and effect, effort vs result) and accumulation and distribution schematics divided into Phases A to E, to see whether big players are accumulating or distributing
Who is the Composite Man?
Not a real person, but an imaginary figure Wyckoff used to represent all the big money in the market. He taught to see price as if one person were planning to accumulate, mark up, distribute and mark down, to make the big players’ game easier to understand
Can Wyckoff be used with Forex and gold?
The thinking applies, but spot Forex has no centralised volume, so you have to use the broker’s tick volume, which is only a proxy. For gold you can also compare futures volume. Try it on a demo account before using real money
What is the difference between a Spring and a UTAD?
A Spring happens in accumulation: price briefly breaks below the range low and snaps back. A UTAD happens in distribution: price briefly breaks above the range high and falls back. Both are traps that run stop losses or pull people in the wrong direction before the real move
Where should I start studying Wyckoff?
Start with the 3 laws and the accumulation schematic. Try marking the SC, AR and ST on historical charts of the market you actually trade, then practise reading effort vs result bar by bar, and use the 9 tests as a checklist before entering a trade
Educational content, not investment advice. Some biographical details differ between sources. The schematics and examples on this page use made-up data for learning. · risk disclosure · Forex glossary