Woodie Pivots

What are Woodie Pivots?

Woodie pivots are a variant of the classic pivot-point set, named for the trader Ken Wood (Woodie), that changes the weighting of the central pivot. Where floor pivots average the prior period's high, low, and close equally, the most widespread Woodie formulation double-weights the close: pivot = (prior high + prior low + 2 x prior close) / 4. The surrounding levels follow the familiar structure: R1 = 2 x pivot minus the prior low, S1 = 2 x pivot minus the prior high, with R2 and S2 adding or subtracting the prior high-low range.

Definitions vary by source. Implementations closer to the original convention substitute the current session's open for the close, so the pivot absorbs the overnight gap and the whole ladder shifts to reflect where today actually opened. Both versions coexist on charting platforms, which is why two Woodie overlays can disagree on the same chart; check which input yours uses.

How traders use it

• As an intraday S/R ladder: like other pivot sets, the levels are computed once from the prior period and left in place, with the central pivot read as the session's bias line (trade above it favors longs, below it favors shorts).
• When gaps matter: the open-based variant is favored by traders who want the overnight gap priced into the levels rather than anchoring everything to yesterday's close.
• In multi-set comparisons: some traders overlay Woodie, Camarilla, and Fibonacci pivots and give extra weight to prices where several calculations agree.