Fakeout

A fakeout is a break of a key level that fails almost immediately, trapping the traders who entered on the move and stopping out the ones positioned against it. Price pokes through resistance or support just far enough to trigger orders, then reverses back inside the range.

The tell is what happens in the first few minutes after the break. A real breakout holds the level on the retest; a fakeout loses it fast, often on the same elevated volume that made the break look convincing. Traders who wait for the level to hold as new support give up a few cents of entry for a much better fill rate.