Definition
A throwback is a brief decline that follows an upside breakout. After price breaks above a resistance level, it often does not rise in a straight line — instead it drifts back down toward the broken level, hovers near it, and then resumes the advance. That return-and-resume sequence is the throwback.
It is the mirror image of a pullback, which is the same behavior following a downside breakout. The distinction in Bulkowski's terminology is strict: throwbacks belong to upward breakouts, pullbacks to downward ones.
Why it matters
How it works
After an upside breakout, buyers are not alone in the market: profit-takers, late sellers, and traders who doubt the move can briefly push price back down. That dip typically finds a floor at the former resistance level, which now acts as support — the role reversal that defines the behavior. When the dip holds, the original uptrend continues.
For a trader, a throwback offers a second, lower-risk entry near the broken level, but it is also a sign the breakout met selling — a clean break that climbs away immediately is often the stronger move.