A blatantly overlooked concept is there is ALWAYS somebody on the other side of the trade.
IF party A, blinded by greed, buys the breakout, then.......party B is abandoning rather than holding out for higher prices.
As for volatility, it's more predictable than price. Quiet leads to noise/range expansion, noise leads to quiet.
More volume merely is a matter of magnitude.
The most reliable breakouts occur well before the apex of a simple triangle. Reflects urgency better than volume does.
(Message edited by efficiency on March 14, 2011)