Pivot Point Calculator
Generate classic, Woodie, and Fibonacci pivot points with R1–R3 and S1–S3 support and resistance levels from the previous period's high, low, and close.
Pivot Points — interactive calculator, computed instantly in your browser.
Pivot Points: Deriving Support and Resistance from One Candle
The Classic Pivot Ladder
Key Takeaway: The pivot is a weighted average of the previous period; every R and S level is that average stretched by the prior range. Zones of interest, never guarantees.
Pivot points turn yesterday’s (or last week’s) high, low, and close into a ladder of support and resistance levels used by floor traders since before screens existed. Because the inputs are public and fixed before the session opens, every trader watching the same pivots sees the same zones — which is exactly why price tends to react there.
1. Classic Pivot Formulas
- R1 = 2 x PP - Low and S1 = 2 x PP - High — the mirror of yesterday’s extremes around the average.
- R2 = PP + (High - Low) and S2 = PP - (High - Low) — one full range projected from the pivot.
- R3 = High + 2 x (PP - Low) and S3 = Low - 2 x (High - PP) — extended levels for breakout days.
- Inputs come from the completed prior period: prior day for intraday pivots, prior week for swing levels.
2. Woodie and Fibonacci Variants
Woodie pivots weight the close double: PP = (H + L + 2C) / 4, giving more authority to where price finished than where it wandered. Fibonacci pivots project fractions of the range instead of the full range — R1 at PP + 0.382(H-L), R2 at 0.618, R3 at 1.000 — producing tighter, more clustered levels that many day traders prefer on intraday charts.
3. Trading the Levels Without Worshiping Them
The pivot itself is a bias gauge: sustained trade above PP leans bullish, below leans bearish. R1/S1 mark first reactions, R2/S2 mark momentum continuation, and closes beyond R3/S3 signal trend days. Use them as decision zones — combine with session timing and fixed-risk sizing so a failed level costs one unit of risk rather than a grudge trade.
🔗 Levels & Money Cross-References
Pivots map where price may react — the 💰 Financial Hub tools map what a reaction does to the account once a level triggers an entry.
Treat R and S levels as decision zones, not guarantees: size every reaction with fixed risk so a failed level costs one unit of risk, never the account.
Frequently Asked Questions (Pivot Points)
The classic pivot is the average of the previous period’s high, low, and close: PP = (H + L + C) / 3. Support and resistance levels are then projected above and below that pivot using doubles of the pivot and the prior range, producing the R1-R3 and S1-S3 ladder.
Woodie pivots double-weight the close: PP = (H + L + 2C) / 4, so the closing price influences the levels twice as much as the high or low. Classic pivots treat all three inputs equally — Woodie levels shift toward where price actually finished the session.
They work wherever a liquid market has a defined prior period — daily pivots on forex and indices, weekly pivots for swing views. They are least reliable in thin, news-driven sessions where a single print can slice through several levels without reaction.
They are probability zones, not prophecy — levels matter because many participants act at the same prices, and that consensus can fail on strong trend days. Treat a level as a place to watch for reaction and define invalidation, never as a guarantee price will reverse.