The stop run: hunting the stops

A stop run (a stop hunt, or sweep) is a fast move that pierces an obvious level, triggers the stops hiding there, then comes back to the other side of the level. You have known the mechanics since module 3: below an obvious low sleep the buyers' stops; when price gets there, they turn into a cascade of market sells. The stop run is what happens when that cascade finds nobody to carry it further.

It is one of the most expensive traps for a beginner, who suffers it twice: their stop is triggered at the worst price, and they often sell the “breakout” at the exact moment it fails.