Welcome to the CycleGuard™ Wyckoff Docs
This in-app documentation explains how CycleGuard™ maps the
Wyckoff market cycle to stages and emotions, and how
you can use that context for educational entry/exit guardrails.
CycleGuard analyzes price and trend structure and labels the market with:
- Stage – Accumulation, Markup, Distribution, Markdown
- Emotion – Fear, Capitulation, Optimism, Euphoria, Anxiety, etc.
This is meant to be a co-pilot for thinking, not an
autopilot for trading. Nothing here is financial advice.
Wyckoff Cycle Basics
The classic Wyckoff cycle breaks a market into four structural phases:
1. Accumulation
After a major decline, strong hands quietly accumulate from weak hands.
Price usually chops in a range. Sentiment: fear, exhaustion, boredom.
2. Markup
Demand overwhelms supply. Price starts a clear uptrend with higher highs
and higher lows. Sentiment improves from hope → optimism → belief.
3. Distribution
Smart money distributes (sells) into strength near or after big rallies.
Price may form a choppy top or sideways range at elevated levels.
Sentiment: complacency, euphoria, “this can’t go down.”
4. Markdown
Supply overwhelms demand. The trend turns down and rallies are sold.
Sentiment: anxiety, fear, capitulation, blame, despair.
CycleGuard overlays this structure with an estimated dominant emotion so
you can quickly see where we are in the story.
Entries & Exits (Educational Only)
Below are educational guardrails often used with
Wyckoff cycles. They are not recommendations.
Potential Entry Zones
-
Early Accumulation (primary “sweet spot”)
- Market has already gone through a major Markdown / bear phase.
- Selling pressure slows; price trades in a range instead of free-fall.
- Sentiment is fearful, exhausted, or bored.
Idea: long-term investors often like to build positions here.
-
Late Markdown → Early Accumulation
- New lows show weaker follow-through.
- Big down days get stronger rebounds.
- Selling looks tired instead of aggressive.
Idea: scale in gradually (e.g. DCA) with strict risk limits.
-
Late Accumulation / Early Markup
- Breakout above the Accumulation range.
- Higher highs and higher lows begin.
- Sentiment shifts from despair → cautious optimism.
Tradeoff: more confirmation, less favorable pricing.
Potential Exit / Profit Zones
-
Distribution (early & late)
- Momentum slows after a big uptrend.
- Rallies stall near prior highs or form choppy tops.
- Sentiment is euphoric or complacent; FOMO is high.
Idea: de-risk, scale out, tighten stops.
-
Early Markdown
- Trend has turned down; rallies get sold quickly.
- Sentiment shifts to anxiety and fear.
Idea: focus on capital preservation if you stayed in too long.
Late/vertical parts of Markup (“blow-off” moves) are typically
high risk for new entries, because even small bad news
can trigger violent reversals.
Risk Zones & Crowd Emotions
CycleGuard’s emotion labels hint at crowd psychology.
Some emotions are associated with potential opportunity, others with
elevated risk:
Opportunity-Heavy Emotions
- Fear / Capitulation / Despair – often late Markdown / early Accumulation.
- Boredom / Apathy – markets forgotten by the crowd, frequently in quiet Accumulation.
Risk-Heavy Emotions
-
Euphoria / Complacency
- “It only goes up” narratives.
- Common near Distribution tops and late Markup.
-
Anxiety / Denial
- “It’s just a small dip, it’ll bounce.”
- Often seen as Distribution transitions into Markdown.
The key idea: extreme emotions on either side are warnings. CycleGuard
surfaces those states so you can apply your own risk rules more
consistently.
Workflow: Using Wyckoff with CycleGuard
-
Check Stage & Emotion
Look at the latest CycleGuard output for your asset:
Stage: Distribution (early) – Emotion: Euphoria/Complacency
or
Stage: Accumulation (early) – Emotion: Capitulation/Boredom
-
Map to the playbook
- Accumulation / late Markdown → potential build/accumulate zone (educational).
- Distribution / early Markdown → potential harvest/de-risk zone.
-
Apply your own risk framework
- Time horizon, position sizing, max risk per trade.
- Invalidation levels (technical or fundamental).
- Portfolio-level exposure and diversification.
-
Treat CycleGuard as a co-pilot
CycleGuard provides context (where we are in the cycle,
crowd emotion). You still control if and how you act.
API Reference (Summary)
The backend exposes a small, focused HTTP API that powers all tabs in
the app. The index below is fetched from
/api/v1/docs.
Disclaimers
CycleGuard and this Wyckoff Playbook are for
informational and educational purposes only.
- They do not constitute investment, trading, legal, tax, or financial advice.
- Markets are risky and can be extremely volatile.
- You are solely responsible for your own decisions and outcomes.
-
Consider consulting a licensed financial professional before making
investment decisions.
By using CycleGuard, you acknowledge that you understand and accept
these limitations.