Backtesting & Trading Engine [PineCoders]The PineCoders Backtesting and Trading Engine is a sophisticated framework with hybrid code that can run as a study to generate alerts for automated or discretionary trading while simultaneously providing backtest results. It can also easily be converted to a TradingView strategy in order to run TV backtesting. The Engine comes with many built-in strats for entries, filters, stops and exits, but you can also add you own.
If, like any self-respecting strategy modeler should, you spend a reasonable amount of time constantly researching new strategies and tinkering, our hope is that the Engine will become your inseparable go-to tool to test the validity of your creations, as once your tests are conclusive, you will be able to run this code as a study to generate the alerts required to put it in real-world use, whether for discretionary trading or to interface with an execution bot/app. You may also find the backtesting results the Engine produces in study mode enough for your needs and spend most of your time there, only occasionally converting to strategy mode in order to backtest using TV backtesting.
As you will quickly grasp when you bring up this script’s Settings, this is a complex tool. While you will be able to see results very quickly by just putting it on a chart and using its built-in strategies, in order to reap the full benefits of the PineCoders Engine, you will need to invest the time required to understand the subtleties involved in putting all its potential into play.
Disclaimer: use the Engine at your own risk.
Before we delve in more detail, here’s a bird’s eye view of the Engine’s features:
More than 40 built-in strategies,
Customizable components,
Coupling with your own external indicator,
Simple conversion from Study to Strategy modes,
Post-Exit analysis to search for alternate trade outcomes,
Use of the Data Window to show detailed bar by bar trade information and global statistics, including some not provided by TV backtesting,
Plotting of reminders and generation of alerts on in-trade events.
By combining your own strats to the built-in strats supplied with the Engine, and then tuning the numerous options and parameters in the Inputs dialog box, you will be able to play what-if scenarios from an infinite number of permutations.
USE CASES
You have written an indicator that provides an entry strat but it’s missing other components like a filter and a stop strategy. You add a plot in your indicator that respects the Engine’s External Signal Protocol, connect it to the Engine by simply selecting your indicator’s plot name in the Engine’s Settings/Inputs and then run tests on different combinations of entry stops, in-trade stops and profit taking strats to find out which one produces the best results with your entry strat.
You are building a complex strategy that you will want to run as an indicator generating alerts to be sent to a third-party execution bot. You insert your code in the Engine’s modules and leverage its trade management code to quickly move your strategy into production.
You have many different filters and want to explore results using them separately or in combination. Integrate the filter code in the Engine and run through different permutations or hook up your filtering through the external input and control your filter combos from your indicator.
You are tweaking the parameters of your entry, filter or stop strat. You integrate it in the Engine and evaluate its performance using the Engine’s statistics.
You always wondered what results a random entry strat would yield on your markets. You use the Engine’s built-in random entry strat and test it using different combinations of filters, stop and exit strats.
You want to evaluate the impact of fees and slippage on your strategy. You use the Engine’s inputs to play with different values and get immediate feedback in the detailed numbers provided in the Data Window.
You just want to inspect the individual trades your strategy generates. You include it in the Engine and then inspect trades visually on your charts, looking at the numbers in the Data Window as you move your cursor around.
You have never written a production-grade strategy and you want to learn how. Inspect the code in the Engine; you will find essential components typical of what is being used in actual trading systems.
You have run your system for a while and have compiled actual slippage information and your broker/exchange has updated his fees schedule. You enter the information in the Engine and run it on your markets to see the impact this has on your results.
FEATURES
Before going into the detail of the Inputs and the Data Window numbers, here’s a more detailed overview of the Engine’s features.
Built-in strats
The engine comes with more than 40 pre-coded strategies for the following standard system components:
Entries,
Filters,
Entry stops,
2 stage in-trade stops with kick-in rules,
Pyramiding rules,
Hard exits.
While some of the filter and stop strats provided may be useful in production-quality systems, you will not devise crazy profit-generating systems using only the entry strats supplied; that part is still up to you, as will be finding the elusive combination of components that makes winning systems. The Engine will, however, provide you with a solid foundation where all the trade management nitty-gritty is handled for you. By binding your custom strats to the Engine, you will be able to build reliable systems of the best quality currently allowed on the TV platform.
On-chart trade information
As you move over the bars in a trade, you will see trade numbers in the Data Window change at each bar. The engine calculates the P&L at every bar, including slippage and fees that would be incurred were the trade exited at that bar’s close. If the trade includes pyramided entries, those will be taken into account as well, although for those, final fees and slippage are only calculated at the trade’s exit.
You can also see on-chart markers for the entry level, stop positions, in-trade special events and entries/exits (you will want to disable these when using the Engine in strategy mode to see TV backtesting results).
Customization
You can couple your own strats to the Engine in two ways:
1. By inserting your own code in the Engine’s different modules. The modular design should enable you to do so with minimal effort by following the instructions in the code.
2. By linking an external indicator to the engine. After making the proper selections in the engine’s Settings and providing values respecting the engine’s protocol, your external indicator can, when the Engine is used in Indicator mode only:
Tell the engine when to enter long or short trades, but let the engine’s in-trade stop and exit strats manage the exits,
Signal both entries and exits,
Provide an entry stop along with your entry signal,
Filter other entry signals generated by any of the engine’s entry strats.
Conversion from strategy to study
TradingView strategies are required to backtest using the TradingView backtesting feature, but if you want to generate alerts with your script, whether for automated trading or just to trigger alerts that you will use in discretionary trading, your code has to run as a study since, for the time being, strategies can’t generate alerts. From hereon we will use indicator as a synonym for study.
Unless you want to maintain two code bases, you will need hybrid code that easily flips between strategy and indicator modes, and your code will need to restrict its use of strategy() calls and their arguments if it’s going to be able to run both as an indicator and a strategy using the same trade logic. That’s one of the benefits of using this Engine. Once you will have entered your own strats in the Engine, it will be a matter of commenting/uncommenting only four lines of code to flip between indicator and strategy modes in a matter of seconds.
Additionally, even when running in Indicator mode, the Engine will still provide you with precious numbers on your individual trades and global results, some of which are not available with normal TradingView backtesting.
Post-Exit Analysis for alternate outcomes (PEA)
While typical backtesting shows results of trade outcomes, PEA focuses on what could have happened after the exit. The intention is to help traders get an idea of the opportunity/risk in the bars following the trade in order to evaluate if their exit strategies are too aggressive or conservative.
After a trade is exited, the Engine’s PEA module continues analyzing outcomes for a user-defined quantity of bars. It identifies the maximum opportunity and risk available in that space, and calculates the drawdown required to reach the highest opportunity level post-exit, while recording the number of bars to that point.
Typically, if you can’t find opportunity greater than 1X past your trade using a few different reasonable lengths of PEA, your strategy is doing pretty good at capturing opportunity. Remember that 100% of opportunity is never capturable. If, however, PEA was finding post-trade maximum opportunity of 3 or 4X with average drawdowns of 0.3 to those areas, this could be a clue revealing your system is exiting trades prematurely. To analyze PEA numbers, you can uncomment complete sets of plots in the Plot module to reveal detailed global and individual PEA numbers.
Statistics
The Engine provides stats on your trades that TV backtesting does not provide, such as:
Average Profitability Per Trade (APPT), aka statistical expectancy, a crucial value.
APPT per bar,
Average stop size,
Traded volume .
It also shows you on a trade-by-trade basis, on-going individual trade results and data.
In-trade events
In-trade events can plot reminders and trigger alerts when they occur. The built-in events are:
Price approaching stop,
Possible tops/bottoms,
Large stop movement (for discretionary trading where stop is moved manually),
Large price movements.
Slippage and Fees
Even when running in indicator mode, the Engine allows for slippage and fees to be included in the logic and test results.
Alerts
The alert creation mechanism allows you to configure alerts on any combination of the normal or pyramided entries, exits and in-trade events.
Backtesting results
A few words on the numbers calculated in the Engine. Priority is given to numbers not shown in TV backtesting, as you can readily convert the script to a strategy if you need them.
We have chosen to focus on numbers expressing results relative to X (the trade’s risk) rather than in absolute currency numbers or in other more conventional but less useful ways. For example, most of the individual trade results are not shown in percentages, as this unit of measure is often less meaningful than those expressed in units of risk (X). A trade that closes with a +25% result, for example, is a poor outcome if it was entered with a -50% stop. Expressed in X, this trade’s P&L becomes 0.5, which provides much better insight into the trade’s outcome. A trade that closes with a P&L of +2X has earned twice the risk incurred upon entry, which would represent a pre-trade risk:reward ratio of 2.
The way to go about it when you think in X’s and that you adopt the sound risk management policy to risk a fixed percentage of your account on each trade is to equate a currency value to a unit of X. E.g. your account is 10K USD and you decide you will risk a maximum of 1% of it on each trade. That means your unit of X for each trade is worth 100 USD. If your APPT is 2X, this means every time you risk 100 USD in a trade, you can expect to make, on average, 200 USD.
By presenting results this way, we hope that the Engine’s statistics will appeal to those cognisant of sound risk management strategies, while gently leading traders who aren’t, towards them.
We trade to turn in tangible profits of course, so at some point currency must come into play. Accordingly, some values such as equity, P&L, slippage and fees are expressed in currency.
Many of the usual numbers shown in TV backtests are nonetheless available, but they have been commented out in the Engine’s Plot module.
Position sizing and risk management
All good system designers understand that optimal risk management is at the very heart of all winning strategies. The risk in a trade is defined by the fraction of current equity represented by the amplitude of the stop, so in order to manage risk optimally on each trade, position size should adjust to the stop’s amplitude. Systems that enter trades with a fixed stop amplitude can get away with calculating position size as a fixed percentage of current equity. In the context of a test run where equity varies, what represents a fixed amount of risk translates into different currency values.
Dynamically adjusting position size throughout a system’s life is optimal in many ways. First, as position sizing will vary with current equity, it reproduces a behavioral pattern common to experienced traders, who will dial down risk when confronted to poor performance and increase it when performance improves. Second, limiting risk confers more predictability to statistical test results. Third, position sizing isn’t just about managing risk, it’s also about maximizing opportunity. By using the maximum leverage (no reference to trading on margin here) into the trade that your risk management strategy allows, a dynamic position size allows you to capture maximal opportunity.
To calculate position sizes using the fixed risk method, we use the following formula: Position = Account * MaxRisk% / Stop% [, which calculates a position size taking into account the trade’s entry stop so that if the trade is stopped out, 100 USD will be lost. For someone who manages risk this way, common instructions to invest a certain percentage of your account in a position are simply worthless, as they do not take into account the risk incurred in the trade.
The Engine lets you select either the fixed risk or fixed percentage of equity position sizing methods. The closest thing to dynamic position sizing that can currently be done with alerts is to use a bot that allows syntax to specify position size as a percentage of equity which, while being dynamic in the sense that it will adapt to current equity when the trade is entered, does not allow us to modulate position size using the stop’s amplitude. Changes to alerts are on the way which should solve this problem.
In order for you to simulate performance with the constraint of fixed position sizing, the Engine also offers a third, less preferable option, where position size is defined as a fixed percentage of initial capital so that it is constant throughout the test and will thus represent a varying proportion of current equity.
Let’s recap. The three position sizing methods the Engine offers are:
1. By specifying the maximum percentage of risk to incur on your remaining equity, so the Engine will dynamically adjust position size for each trade so that, combining the stop’s amplitude with position size will yield a fixed percentage of risk incurred on current equity,
2. By specifying a fixed percentage of remaining equity. Note that unless your system has a fixed stop at entry, this method will not provide maximal risk control, as risk will vary with the amplitude of the stop for every trade. This method, as the first, does however have the advantage of automatically adjusting position size to equity. It is the Engine’s default method because it has an equivalent in TV backtesting, so when flipping between indicator and strategy mode, test results will more or less correspond.
3. By specifying a fixed percentage of the Initial Capital. While this is the least preferable method, it nonetheless reflects the reality confronted by most system designers on TradingView today. In this case, risk varies both because the fixed position size in initial capital currency represents a varying percentage of remaining equity, and because the trade’s stop amplitude may vary, adding another variability vector to risk.
Note that the Engine cannot display equity results for strategies entering trades for a fixed amount of shares/contracts at a variable price.
SETTINGS/INPUTS
Because the initial text first published with a script cannot be edited later and because there are just too many options, the Engine’s Inputs will not be covered in minute detail, as they will most certainly evolve. We will go over them with broad strokes; you should be able to figure the rest out. If you have questions, just ask them here or in the PineCoders Telegram group.
Display
The display header’s checkbox does nothing.
For the moment, only one exit strategy uses a take profit level, so only that one will show information when checking “Show Take Profit Level”.
Entries
You can activate two simultaneous entry strats, each selected from the same set of strats contained in the Engine. If you select two and they fire simultaneously, the main strat’s signal will be used.
The random strat in each list uses a different seed, so you will get different results from each.
The “Filter transitions” and “Filter states” strats delegate signal generation to the selected filter(s). “Filter transitions” signals will only fire when the filter transitions into bull/bear state, so after a trade is stopped out, the next entry may take some time to trigger if the filter’s state does not change quickly. When you choose “Filter states”, then a new trade will be entered immediately after an exit in the direction the filter allows.
If you select “External Indicator”, your indicator will need to generate a +2/-2 (or a positive/negative stop value) to enter a long/short position, providing the selected filters allow for it. If you wish to use the Engine’s capacity to also derive the entry stop level from your indicator’s signal, then you must explicitly choose this option in the Entry Stops section.
Filters
You can activate as many filters as you wish; they are additive. The “Maximum stop allowed on entry” is an important component of proper risk management. If your system has an average 3% stop size and you need to trade using fixed position sizes because of alert/execution bot limitations, you must use this filter because if your system was to enter a trade with a 15% stop, that trade would incur 5 times the normal risk, and its result would account for an abnormally high proportion in your system’s performance.
Remember that any filter can also be used as an entry signal, either when it changes states, or whenever no trade is active and the filter is in a bull or bear mode.
Entry Stops
An entry stop must be selected in the Engine, as it requires a stop level before the in-trade stop is calculated. Until the selected in-trade stop strat generates a stop that comes closer to price than the entry stop (or respects another one of the in-trade stops kick in strats), the entry stop level is used.
It is here that you must select “External Indicator” if your indicator supplies a +price/-price value to be used as the entry stop. A +price is expected for a long entry and a -price value will enter a short with a stop at price. Note that the price is the absolute price, not an offset to the current price level.
In-Trade Stops
The Engine comes with many built-in in-trade stop strats. Note that some of them share the “Length” and “Multiple” field, so when you swap between them, be sure that the length and multiple in use correspond to what you want for that stop strat. Suggested defaults appear with the name of each strat in the dropdown.
In addition to the strat you wish to use, you must also determine when it kicks in to replace the initial entry’s stop, which is determined using different strats. For strats where you can define a positive or negative multiple of X, percentage or fixed value for a kick-in strat, a positive value is above the trade’s entry fill and a negative one below. A value of zero represents breakeven.
Pyramiding
What you specify in this section are the rules that allow pyramiding to happen. By themselves, these rules will not generate pyramiding entries. For those to happen, entry signals must be issued by one of the active entry strats, and conform to the pyramiding rules which act as a filter for them. The “Filter must allow entry” selection must be chosen if you want the usual system’s filters to act as additional filtering criteria for your pyramided entries.
Hard Exits
You can choose from a variety of hard exit strats. Hard exits are exit strategies which signal trade exits on specific events, as opposed to price breaching a stop level in In-Trade Stops strategies. They are self-explanatory. The last one labelled When Take Profit Level (multiple of X) is reached is the only one that uses a level, but contrary to stops, it is above price and while it is relative because it is expressed as a multiple of X, it does not move during the trade. This is the level called Take Profit that is show when the “Show Take Profit Level” checkbox is checked in the Display section.
While stops focus on managing risk, hard exit strategies try to put the emphasis on capturing opportunity.
Slippage
You can define it as a percentage or a fixed value, with different settings for entries and exits. The entry and exit markers on the chart show the impact of slippage on the entry price (the fill).
Fees
Fees, whether expressed as a percentage of position size in and out of the trade or as a fixed value per in and out, are in the same units of currency as the capital defined in the Position Sizing section. Fees being deducted from your Capital, they do not have an impact on the chart marker positions.
In-Trade Events
These events will only trigger during trades. They can be helpful to act as reminders for traders using the Engine as assistance to discretionary trading.
Post-Exit Analysis
It is normally on. Some of its results will show in the Global Numbers section of the Data Window. Only a few of the statistics generated are shown; many more are available, but commented out in the Plot module.
Date Range Filtering
Note that you don’t have to change the dates to enable/diable filtering. When you are done with a specific date range, just uncheck “Date Range Filtering” to disable date filtering.
Alert Triggers
Each selection corresponds to one condition. Conditions can be combined into a single alert as you please. Just be sure you have selected the ones you want to trigger the alert before you create the alert. For example, if you trade in both directions and you want a single alert to trigger on both types of exits, you must select both “Long Exit” and “Short Exit” before creating your alert.
Once the alert is triggered, these settings no longer have relevance as they have been saved with the alert.
When viewing charts where an alert has just triggered, if your alert triggers on more than one condition, you will need the appropriate markers active on your chart to figure out which condition triggered the alert, since plotting of markers is independent of alert management.
Position sizing
You have 3 options to determine position size:
1. Proportional to Stop -> Variable, with a cap on size.
2. Percentage of equity -> Variable.
3. Percentage of Initial Capital -> Fixed.
External Indicator
This is where you connect your indicator’s plot that will generate the signals the Engine will act upon. Remember this only works in Indicator mode.
DATA WINDOW INFORMATION
The top part of the window contains global numbers while the individual trade information appears in the bottom part. The different types of units used to express values are:
curr: denotes the currency used in the Position Sizing section of Inputs for the Initial Capital value.
quote: denotes quote currency, i.e. the value the instrument is expressed in, or the right side of the market pair (USD in EURUSD ).
X: the stop’s amplitude, itself expressed in quote currency, which we use to express a trade’s P&L, so that a trade with P&L=2X has made twice the stop’s amplitude in profit. This is sometimes referred to as R, since it represents one unit of risk. It is also the unit of measure used in the APPT, which denotes expected reward per unit of risk.
X%: is also the stop’s amplitude, but expressed as a percentage of the Entry Fill.
The numbers appearing in the Data Window are all prefixed:
“ALL:” the number is the average for all first entries and pyramided entries.
”1ST:” the number is for first entries only.
”PYR:” the number is for pyramided entries only.
”PEA:” the number is for Post-Exit Analyses
Global Numbers
Numbers in this section represent the results of all trades up to the cursor on the chart.
Average Profitability Per Trade (X): This value is the most important gauge of your strat’s worthiness. It represents the returns that can be expected from your strat for each unit of risk incurred. E.g.: your APPT is 2.0, thus for every unit of currency you invest in a trade, you can on average expect to obtain 2 after the trade. APPT is also referred to as “statistical expectancy”. If it is negative, your strategy is losing, even if your win rate is very good (it means your winning trades aren’t winning enough, or your losing trades lose too much, or both). Its counterpart in currency is also shown, as is the APPT/bar, which can be a useful gauge in deciding between rivalling systems.
Profit Factor: Gross of winning trades/Gross of losing trades. Strategy is profitable when >1. Not as useful as the APPT because it doesn’t take into account the win rate and the average win/loss per trade. It is calculated from the total winning/losing results of this particular backtest and has less predictive value than the APPT. A good profit factor together with a poor APPT means you just found a chart where your system outperformed. Relying too much on the profit factor is a bit like a poker player who would think going all in with two’s against aces is optimal because he just won a hand that way.
Win Rate: Percentage of winning trades out of all trades. Taken alone, it doesn’t have much to do with strategy profitability. You can have a win rate of 99% but if that one trade in 100 ruins you because of poor risk management, 99% doesn’t look so good anymore. This number speaks more of the system’s profile than its worthiness. Still, it can be useful to gauge if the system fits your personality. It can also be useful to traders intending to sell their systems, as low win rate systems are more difficult to sell and require more handholding of worried customers.
Equity (curr): This the sum of initial capital and the P&L of your system’s trades, including fees and slippage.
Return on Capital is the equivalent of TV’s Net Profit figure, i.e. the variation on your initial capital.
Maximum drawdown is the maximal drawdown from the highest equity point until the drop . There is also a close to close (meaning it doesn’t take into account in-trade variations) maximum drawdown value commented out in the code.
The next values are self-explanatory, until:
PYR: Avg Profitability Per Entry (X): this is the APPT for all pyramided entries.
PEA: Avg Max Opp . Available (X): the average maximal opportunity found in the Post-Exit Analyses.
PEA: Avg Drawdown to Max Opp . (X): this represents the maximum drawdown (incurred from the close at the beginning of the PEA analysis) required to reach the maximal opportunity point.
Trade Information
Numbers in this section concern only the current trade under the cursor. Most of them are self-explanatory. Use the description’s prefix to determine what the values applies to.
PYR: Avg Profitability Per Entry (X): While this value includes the impact of all current pyramided entries (and only those) and updates when you move your cursor around, P&L only reflects fees at the trade’s last bar.
PEA: Max Opp . Available (X): It’s the most profitable close reached post-trade, measured from the trade’s Exit Fill, expressed in the X value of the trade the PEA follows.
PEA: Drawdown to Max Opp . (X): This is the maximum drawdown from the trade’s Exit Fill that needs to be sustained in order to reach the maximum opportunity point, also expressed in X. Note that PEA numbers do not include slippage and fees.
EXTERNAL SIGNAL PROTOCOL
Only one external indicator can be connected to a script; in order to leverage its use to the fullest, the engine provides options to use it as either an entry signal, an entry/exit signal or a filter. When used as an entry signal, you can also use the signal to provide the entry’s stop. Here’s how this works:
For filter state: supply +1 for bull (long entries allowed), -1 for bear (short entries allowed).
For entry signals: supply +2 for long, -2 for short.
For exit signals: supply +3 for exit from long, -3 for exit from short.
To send an entry stop level with an entry signal: Send positive stop level for long entry (e.g. 103.33 to enter a long with a stop at 103.33), negative stop level for short entry (e.g. -103.33 to enter a short with a stop at 103.33). If you use this feature, your indicator will have to check for exact stop levels of 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 and their negative counterparts, and fudge them with a tick in order to avoid confusion with other signals in the protocol.
Remember that mere generation of the values by your indicator will have no effect until you explicitly allow their use in the appropriate sections of the Engine’s Settings/Inputs.
An example of a script issuing a signal for the Engine is published by PineCoders.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO ASPIRING SYSTEM DESIGNERS
Stick to higher timeframes. On progressively lower timeframes, margins decrease and fees and slippage take a proportionally larger portion of profits, to the point where they can very easily turn a profitable strategy into a losing one. Additionally, your margin for error shrinks as the equilibrium of your system’s profitability becomes more fragile with the tight numbers involved in the shorter time frames. Avoid <1H time frames.
Know and calculate fees and slippage. To avoid market shock, backtest using conservative fees and slippage parameters. Systems rarely show unexpectedly good returns when they are confronted to the markets, so put all chances on your side by being outrageously conservative—or a the very least, realistic. Test results that do not include fees and slippage are worthless. Slippage is there for a reason, and that’s because our interventions in the market change the market. It is easier to find alpha in illiquid markets such as cryptos because not many large players participate in them. If your backtesting results are based on moving large positions and you don’t also add the inevitable slippage that will occur when you enter/exit thin markets, your backtesting will produce unrealistic results. Even if you do include large slippage in your settings, the Engine can only do so much as it will not let slippage push fills past the high or low of the entry bar, but the gap may be much larger in illiquid markets.
Never test and optimize your system on the same dataset , as that is the perfect recipe for overfitting or data dredging, which is trying to find one precise set of rules/parameters that works only on one dataset. These setups are the most fragile and often get destroyed when they meet the real world.
Try to find datasets yielding more than 100 trades. Less than that and results are not as reliable.
Consider all backtesting results with suspicion. If you never entertained sceptic tendencies, now is the time to begin. If your backtest results look really good, assume they are flawed, either because of your methodology, the data you’re using or the software doing the testing. Always assume the worse and learn proper backtesting techniques such as monte carlo simulations and walk forward analysis to avoid the traps and biases that unchecked greed will set for you. If you are not familiar with concepts such as survivor bias, lookahead bias and confirmation bias, learn about them.
Stick to simple bars or candles when designing systems. Other types of bars often do not yield reliable results, whether by design (Heikin Ashi) or because of the way they are implemented on TV (Renko bars).
Know that you don’t know and use that knowledge to learn more about systems and how to properly test them, about your biases, and about yourself.
Manage risk first , then capture opportunity.
Respect the inherent uncertainty of the future. Cleanse yourself of the sad arrogance and unchecked greed common to newcomers to trading. Strive for rationality. Respect the fact that while backtest results may look promising, there is no guarantee they will repeat in the future (there is actually a high probability they won’t!), because the future is fundamentally unknowable. If you develop a system that looks promising, don’t oversell it to others whose greed may lead them to entertain unreasonable expectations.
Have a plan. Understand what king of trading system you are trying to build. Have a clear picture or where entries, exits and other important levels will be in the sort of trade you are trying to create with your system. This stated direction will help you discard more efficiently many of the inevitably useless ideas that will pop up during system design.
Be wary of complexity. Experienced systems engineers understand how rapidly complexity builds when you assemble components together—however simple each one may be. The more complex your system, the more difficult it will be to manage.
Play! . Allow yourself time to play around when you design your systems. While much comes about from working with a purpose, great ideas sometimes come out of just trying things with no set goal, when you are stuck and don’t know how to move ahead. Have fun!
@LucF
NOTES
While the engine’s code can supply multiple consecutive entries of longs or shorts in order to scale positions (pyramid), all exits currently assume the execution bot will exit the totality of the position. No partial exits are currently possible with the Engine.
Because the Engine is literally crippled by the limitations on the number of plots a script can output on TV; it can only show a fraction of all the information it calculates in the Data Window. You will find in the Plot Module vast amounts of commented out lines that you can activate if you also disable an equivalent number of other plots. This may be useful to explore certain characteristics of your system in more detail.
When backtesting using the TV backtesting feature, you will need to provide the strategy parameters you wish to use through either Settings/Properties or by changing the default values in the code’s header. These values are defined in variables and used not only in the strategy() statement, but also as defaults in the Engine’s relevant Inputs.
If you want to test using pyramiding, then both the strategy’s Setting/Properties and the Engine’s Settings/Inputs need to allow pyramiding.
If you find any bugs in the Engine, please let us know.
THANKS
To @glaz for allowing the use of his unpublished MA Squize in the filters.
To @everget for his Chandelier stop code, which is also used as a filter in the Engine.
To @RicardoSantos for his pseudo-random generator, and because it’s from him that I first read in the Pine chat about the idea of using an external indicator as input into another. In the PineCoders group, @theheirophant then mentioned the idea of using it as a buy/sell signal and @simpelyfe showed a piece of code implementing the idea. That’s the tortuous story behind the use of the external indicator in the Engine.
To @admin for the Volatility stop’s original code and for the donchian function lifted from Ichimoku .
To @BobHoward21 for the v3 version of Volatility Stop .
To @scarf and @midtownsk8rguy for the color tuning.
To many other scripters who provided encouragement and suggestions for improvement during the long process of writing and testing this piece of code.
To J. Welles Wilder Jr. for ATR, used extensively throughout the Engine.
To TradingView for graciously making an account available to PineCoders.
And finally, to all fellow PineCoders for the constant intellectual stimulation; it is a privilege to share ideas with you all. The Engine is for all TradingView PineCoders, of course—but especially for you.
Look first. Then leap.
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rainbow ema갤럭시님 이평선 토대로 JB가 에디트한 지수이평선 모음입니다. 편집하시면 일반 이평선으로도 사용이 가능합니다.
하나의 지표 추가 만으로 여러개의 지수이평선을 사용하실 수 있고, 제가 자주 사용하는 7,14,21,28,40,60,120,200,300선 넣어 놨습니다.
"Galaxy" made, JB edited EMA script. Editing is free for use if you swap ema to ma as a base setting.
You can use several ema lines by adding one indicator only, and I put 7,14,21,28,40,60,120,200,300 as a threshold which I frequently use.
It is made as an open source at any time possible, so that you are free for playing with it.
Gazua!!!!
Aggregate RSIAggregate RSI of the top 40 coins listed on CoinMarketCap.com on 25th of February, 2019, on USD or USDT pairs.
Because of requesting info about the prices of 40 coins using security(), this script is SLOW.
ADX +- DiThis Adx +-Di is just a complete version of what the ADX is supposed to signal.
So you have:
15 (contraction), 20 (threshold), 30 (expansion), 40 (resistance) levels.
Below 20 the price is not trending
Above 30 the price is trending
Below 15 price has been in contraction for too long
Between 20 and 30 price is in a "transition zone".
I finally added a "Resistance" level (40), which has to be adapted to best represent the historical levels where price usually encounters resistance, and where the price can be declared "overtrending", which means a return to lower levels is likely to happen.
I've chosen mild colors, and set the Adx Color to White, because I use black background, you can easily change that.
Enjoy
-Maurice
RSI|The Wave PrincipleThe Wave Principle | Modified RSI
30 green | 70 red = Strong Movement (Possible Impulse)
20 cyan | 80 Yellow = Strongest Movement
Support and Resistance Level (Trend Continuation)
Uptrend= 40
Downtrend = 60
Break+Retest = BR
Div = Divergence (Change in trend)
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This indicator has been modified from original RSI to fit Wave Principle characteristics:
Uptrend Impulsive Wave over 70 RSI it changes color to red, and > 80 yellow stronger impulse | Usually means continuation, at least once more.
Downtrend Impulsive Wave under 30 RSI it changes color to green, and < 20 cyan stronger impulse | Usually means continuation, at least once more.
Once RSI reached these levels, it doesn't mean trend reversal but a correction is expected. If it shows divergence along with an Ending Diagonal, it's a confirmation for trend reversal.
In a corrective wave, levels 40-60 represents support and resistance levels where price won't go further. Indicating Corrective Waves, not as strong as Impulsives.
Prices can breakout RSI trend lines and retest from the other side before continue the new trend as also described in the Wave Principle.
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breakout and swingA Price Action system that use swing point and breakout
above the black line (breakout) is long, below short
swing/support/resistance points (blue circles) are displayed after a top or botton, breaking it means an inversion
red circles try to guest a target after a top/bottom or after a swing break.
the main trend is made by the black line that is set on Day period suitable for 1h to 15m time frame , for small TF you can set a smaller period from setting command
By default a set a 40 period channel high/low (the highest and lowest 40 bar back) that is ok for 1 h or smaller tf , but look to long for daily tf, adjust it yourself
Net XMR Margin PositionTotal XMR Longs minus XMR Shorts in order to give you the total outstanding XMR margin debt.
ie: If 50,000 XMR has been longed, and 40,000 XMR has been shorted, then 50,000 has been bought, and 40,000 sold, leaving us with 10,000 XMR (net) remaining to be sold to give us an overall neutral margin position.
That isn't to say that the net margin position must move towards zero, but it is a sensible reference point, and historical net values may provide useful insights into the current circumstances.
Net BTC Margin PositionTotal BTCUSDLONGS minus the BTCUSDSHORTS in order to give you the total outstanding BTC margin debt.
ie: If there are 50,000 BTC longs, and 40,000 BTC shorts, then 50,000 has been bought, and 40,000 sold, leaving us with 10,000 BTC net remaining to be sold to give us an overall neutral margin position.
That isn't to say that the net margin position must move towards zero, but it is a sensible reference point, and historical net values may provide useful insights into the current circumstances.
(Anyone know what category this script should be in?)
Accumulation/Distribution Percentage (ADP) [Cyrus c|:D]Accumulation/Distribution Percentage ( ADP ) is used to measure money flow similar to Chaikin Money Flow ( CMF ) and Money Flow. It is the range-bound version of my previous indicator ADMF. This indicator can be used for analyzing momentum, buy/sell pressure, and overbought/oversold conditions. I believe that this indicator is more accurate than CMF and MFI (I will publish a TA about it one day!).
What to look for:
- When this indicator moves up, it means buy pressure is increasing and the other way around for sell pressure. Crossing 0 means that trend has changed in the given period (it is best to look for confirmation of buy/sell pressure in larger TFs)
- Overbought above 40 and oversold below -40 (these numbers vary depending on the security. Look for historical levels to determine overbought and oversold conditions of each security)
- Regular divergence shows that momentum of a trend is declining. Hidden divergence implies continuation of a trend. The non-bound mode should be more accurate for identifying divergence.
- Failure swings can detect potential reversals.
Please read Relative Strength Index and Money Flow for more information and similar disclaimers.
Recommendations:
- hlc3 (AKA typical price) as input source might be better than "close" as it captures more information. If you use hlc3 as a source, then change the chart type to line and set hlc3 as the source for identifying divergence.
- Use hybrid tickers e.g.(BITFINEX:BTCUSD+COINBASE:BTCUSD+BITSTAMP:BTCUSD)/3. Volume-based indicators are susceptible to wash trading/volume printing and hybrid tickers mitigate this issue.
- In non-bound mode, small TFs with longer length should be more accurate than larger TFs with standard length (same is true for many other indicators)
Background:
I have developed 4 indicators based on a simple but elegant concept of A/D ratio. A/D ratio is equal to (current close - previous close)/True Range (when there are no price gaps, True Range = High - Low)
1) What you see on ADV indicator as darker green and red is equal to A/D ratio x volume.
2) ADL indicator shows the summation of ADV
3) ADMF (or ADP in non-bound mode) shows Moving Average of ADV
4) ADP shows relative accumulation strength which is calculated as RMA (accumulations)/RMA(accumulation + distribution). ADP equation is based on RSI equation which is RMA(gains)/RMA(gains + losses). That is why these two indicators look quite similar.
PS: Please leave a like if you find these indicators useful. I am working on improvements on these and other indicators. I am trying my best to keep them as simple as possible. Please let me know in the comments if you want me to make future indicators even simpler.
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Complementary indicators based on the same concept:
ADL: a replacement for Chaikin's Accum/Dist, On Balance Volume, and Price Volume Trend
ADV: a replacement for regular volume indicator
ADP also has a scaled RSI and ADMF built in (ie ADMF is obsolete).
Better RSI with bullish / bearish market cycle indicator This script improves the default RSI. First. it identifies regions of the RSI which are oversold and overbought by changing the color of RSI from white to red. Second, it adds additional reference lines at 20,40,50,60, and 80 to better gauge the RSI value. Finally, the coolest feature, the middle 50 line is used to indicate which cycle the price is currently at. A green color at the 50 line indicates a bullish cycle, a red color indicators a bearish cycle, and a white color indicates a neutral cycle.
The cycles are determined using the RSI as follows:
if RSI is overbought, cycle switches to bullish until RSI falls below 40, at which point it becomes neutral
if RSI is oversold, cycle switches bearish until RSI rises above 60, at which point it becomes neutral
a neutral cycle is exited at either overbought or oversold conditions
Very useful, please give it a try and let me know what you think
Volume Range EventsChanges in the feelings (positive, negative, neutral) in the market concerning the valuation of an instrument are often preceded with sudden outbursts of buying and selling frenzies. The aim of this indicator is to report such outbursts. We can see them as expansions of volume, sometimes 10 times more than usual. and as extensions of the trading range, also sometimes 10 times more than usual (e.g. usual range is 10 cent suddenly a whole dollar.) The changes are calculated in such a way that these fit between plus and minus 100 percent, the bars are scaled in some sort of logarithmic way. The Emoline is the same as the one in the True Balance of Power indicator, which I already published
ONLY RISES ARE EVENTS
Sometimes analysts are tempted to give meaning to low volume or small ranges. These simply mean that the market has little interest in trading this instrument. I believe that in such cases the trader needs to wait for expansion and extension events to happen, then he can make a better guess of where the market is heading. As events often mark the beginning or ending of a trend, this indicator provides an early and clear signal, because it doesn’t bother us about non-events.
WHAT IS USUAL?
If the algorithm would use an average as a normal to scale volume or range events, then previous peaks will act as spoilers by making the average so high that a following peak is scaled too small. I developed a function, usual() , that kicks out all extremes of a ‘population of values’ and which returns the average of the non-extreme values. It can be called with any serial. This function is called by both algorithms that report volume and range peaks, which guarantees that the results are really comparable. As this function has a fixed look back of 8 periods, we might state that ‘usual’ is a short lived relative value. I think this doesn’t matter for the practical use of the indicator.
COLORING AND INTERPRETATION
I follow the categories in the ‘Better Volume Indicator’, published by LeazyBear, these are:
1. Climactic Volumes, event >40 % (this means peak is 1.5 X usual)
LIME: Climax Buying Volume, direction up, range event also > 30 %
RED: Climax Selling Volume, direction down, range event also > 30 %
AQUA: Climax Churning Volume, both directions, range event < 30%
2. Smaller Volumes, event <40 %
GREEN: Supportive Volume, both directions, if combined with range event
BLUE: Churning Volume, both directions, if not combined with range event (Professional Trading)
3. Just Range Events
BLACK histogram bars (Amateurish Trading)
RSI in Bull and Bear Market V2.0RSI oversold at 60/40 in bullish market
And Overbought at 40/60 in Bearish market
for more info of this Strategy
Advanced Seasonality Pro🎯 HOW TO USE THE ADVANCED SEASONALITY MODEL
📊 UNDERSTANDING THE COMPONENTS
1. MAIN SIGNALS
STRONG BUY (▲): Strong buy signal - Signal > 0.3
WEAK BUY (●): Weak buy signal - Signal 0.1 to 0.3
STRONG SELL (▼): Strong sell signal - Signal < -0.3
WEAK SELL (●): Weak sell signal - Signal -0.1 to -0.3
NEUTRAL: No clear signal
2. INFORMATION TABLE
text
SIGNAL : STRONG BUY ← Most important
MARKET : BULL/BEAR/SIDEWAYS
VOLATILITY : HIGH/LOW/NORMAL
PRICE LEVEL : NEAR RESIST/NEAR SUPPORT/MID-RANGE
RSI : Current RSI value
SIGNAL VALUE: 0.250 ← Signal strength
MONTH : Jan/Feb/... ← Monthly effect
CONFIDENCE : 75% ← Confidence level
🚀 TRADING STRATEGIES
A. FOR BEGINNERS
pinescript
// ONLY TRADE WHEN:
1. SIGNAL = STRONG BUY/STRONG SELL
2. CONFIDENCE > 50%
3. MARKET aligns (Bull market for BUY, Bear market for SELL)
4. Not near resistance (for BUY) or near support (for SELL)
B. FOR EXPERIENCED TRADERS
pinescript
// IDEAL CONDITIONS:
STRONG BUY + BULL MARKET + LOW VOLATILITY + RSI < 60 + NOT NEAR RESISTANCE
STRONG SELL + BEAR MARKET + HIGH VOLATILITY + RSI > 40 + NOT NEAR SUPPORT
⏰ BEST TRADING TIMES
Monthly Patterns:
Strong buys: January, October, December (January Effect, Santa Rally)
Strong sells: September (September Effect)
Caution: March-August (summer low volatility)
Daily/Weekly Patterns:
Week start (Monday): Stronger signals
Week end (Friday): Reduced strength
Month start (1st-5th): Positive bias
Month end (after 25th): Caution advised
📈 PRACTICAL ENTRY STRATEGIES
BUY ORDERS:
pinescript
// WHEN STRONG BUY APPEARS:
1. Wait for price pullback to SMA20 or support
2. Place BUY order with stop loss below recent low
3. Take profit at nearest resistance
4. Minimum risk reward ratio 1:2
SELL ORDERS:
pinescript
// WHEN STRONG SELL APPEARS:
1. Wait for price rally to near resistance
2. Place SELL order with stop loss above recent high
3. Take profit at nearest support
4. Minimum risk reward ratio 1:2
🛡️ RISK MANAGEMENT
Position Sizing:
pinescript
// FORMULA:
Risk per trade = 1-2% of account
Stop loss = 1-2% from entry point
Strong signal → 2% risk
Weak signal → 1% risk
CANCEL Conditions:
pinescript
1. Signal changes from STRONG to WEAK/NEUTRAL
2. RSI enters overbought/oversold zones (>70/<30)
3. Price breaks key levels
4. Sudden volatility spike
🔍 PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
Scenario 1: STRONG BUY
text
SIGNAL: STRONG BUY (0.35)
MARKET: BULL
VOLATILITY: LOW
PRICE LEVEL: MID-RANGE
RSI: 45
MONTH: January
CONFIDENCE: 80%
→ GOOD SIGNAL: Execute BUY order
Scenario 2: WEAK SELL
text
SIGNAL: WEAK SELL (-0.15)
MARKET: SIDEWAYS
VOLATILITY: HIGH
PRICE LEVEL: NEAR SUPPORT
RSI: 35
MONTH: September
CONFIDENCE: 25%
→ WEAK SIGNAL: DO NOT trade
📱 IMPORTANT NOTES
NEVER:
Trade against the signal
Skip stop loss orders
Trade when confidence < 30%
Trade multiple timeframes simultaneously
Let emotions influence decisions
ALWAYS:
Backtest strategy first
Paper trade before using real money
Combine with fundamental analysis
Monitor economic news
Review trades weekly
🎯 CONCLUSION
This model works BEST when:
Combined with other indicators (volume, trend lines)
Used on multiple timeframes
Applied with strict risk management
Patiently waiting for perfect setups
Only trade when at least 3/5 conditions are favorable! 🚀
💡 PRO TIPS
Use on 12H charts for optimal seasonality patterns
Combine with volume confirmation for higher accuracy
Adjust seasonal strength based on market conditions
Monitor economic calendars for news events
Keep trading journal to track performance
🔧 CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS
You can adjust these parameters in the script:
seasonalStrength: Increase/decrease seasonal influence
usePriceAction: Toggle price action filters
useMarketRegime: Toggle market condition filters
lookbackYears: Adjust historical data period
Remember: No strategy is 100% accurate. Always use proper risk management and never risk more than you can afford to lose!
GTI BGTI: RSI Suite (Standard • Stochastic • Smoothed)
A three-layer momentum and trend toolkit that combines Standard RSI, Stochastic RSI, and a Smoothed/“Macro” RSI to help you read intraday swings, trend transitions, and high-probability reversal/continuation spots.
All in one pane with intuitive coloring and optional divergence markers and alerts.
Why this works
* Stochastic RSI (K/D) visualizes fast momentum swings and timing.
* Standard RSI moves more gradually, helping confirm trend transitions that may span several Stochastic cycles.
* Smoothed RSI (Average → Macro) adds a second-pass filter and slope persistence to reveal the macro direction while suppressing noise.
Used together, Stochastic guides entries/exits around local highs/lows, while the RSI layers improve confidence when a small swing is likely part of a larger turn.
What you’ll see
* Standard RSI (yellow; pink above Bull line, aqua below Bear line).
* Stochastic RSI (K/D) with contextual colors:
* Greens when RSI is weak/oversold (bearish conditions → watch for bullish reversals/continuations).
* Reds when RSI is strong/overbought (bullish conditions → watch for bearish reversals/continuations).
* Smoothed (Macro) RSI with trend color:
* Red when macro is ascending (bullish),
* Aqua when macro is descending (bearish).
* Divergences (optional markers):
* Bearish: RSI Lower High + Price Higher High (red ⬇).
* Bullish: RSI Higher Low + Price Lower Low (green ⬆).
* No repaint: pivots confirm after the chosen right-bars window.
How to use it
* Bullish Reversal
* Macro RSI is reversing at a higher low after price has been in a overall downtrend
* Stochastic RSI is switching from green to red in an overall downtrend
* Bullish Oversold
* Macro RSI is reversing from a significantly low level after price has a short but strong dip during an overall uptrend
* Stochastic RSI is switching from green to red in an overall uptrend
* Bullish Continuation
* Macro RSI is ascending with a strong slope or forming a higher low above the 50 line
* Stochastic RSI is reaching a bottom but still painted red
* Bearish Reversal
* Macro RSI is reversing at a lower high after price has been in a overall uptrend
* Stochastic RSI is switching from red to green in an overall uptrend
* Bearish Overbought
* Macro RSI is reversing from a significantly high level after price has a short but strong jump during an overall downtrend
* Stochastic RSI is switching from red to green in an overall downtrend
* Bearish Continuation
* Macro RSI is descending with a strong slope or forming a lower high below the 50 line
* Stochastic RSI is reaching a top but still painted green
* Divergences: Use as signals of exhaustion—best when aligned with Macro RSI color/slope and key levels (e.g., Bull/Bear lines, 50 midline).
*** IMPORTANT ***
* Stack confluence, don’t single-signal trade. Look for:
* 1) Macro RSI color & slope (red = ascending/bullish, aqua = descending/bearish)
* 2) Standard RSI location (above/below Bull/Bear lines or 50)
* 3) Stoch flip + direction
* 4) Price structure (HH/HL vs LH/LL)
* 5) Divergence type (regular vs hidden) at meaningful levels
* Trade with the macro
* Prioritize longs when Macro RSI is red or just flipped up
* Prioritize shorts when Macro RSI is aqua or just flipped down
* Counter-trend setups = smaller size and faster management.
* Location > signal
* The same crossover/divergence is higher quality near Bull (~60)/Bear(~40) or extremes than in the mid-range chop around 50.
* Early vs confirmed
* Use the early pivot heads-up for anticipation, but scale in only after the confirmed pivot (right-bars complete). If early signal fails to confirm, stand down.
* Define invalidation upfront
* For divergence entries, place stops beyond the pivot extreme (LL/HH). If Macro RSI flips against your trade or RSI breaks back through 50 with slope, exit or tighten.
* Multi-timeframe alignment
* Best results come when entry timeframe (e.g., 1H) aligns with higher-TF macro (e.g., 4H/D). If they disagree, treat it as mean-reversion only.
* Avoid common traps
* Skip: isolated Stochastic flips without RSI support, divergences without price HH/LL confirmation, and serial divergences when Macro RSI slope is strong against the idea.
* Parameter guidance
* Start with defaults; then tune: confirmBars 3–7, minSlope 0.05–0.15 RSI pts/bar, pivot left/right tighter for faster but noisier signals, wider for cleaner but fewer.
* Alerts = workflow, not auto-trades
* Use Macro Flip + Divergence alerts as a checklist trigger; enter only when your confluence rules are met and risk is defined.
Key inputs (tweak to your market/timeframe)
* RSI / Stochastic lengths and K/D smoothing.
* Bull / Bear Lines (default 61.1 / 43.6).
* Average RSI Method/Length (SMA/EMA/RMA/WMA) + Macro Smooth Length.
* Trend confirmation: bars of persistence and minimum slope to reduce flip noise.
* Pivot look-back (left/right) for divergence confirmation strictness.
Alerts included
* Macro Flip Up / Down (Smoothed RSI regime change).
* RSI Bullish/Bearish Divergence (confirmed at pivot).
* Stochastic RSI continuation/divergence (optional).
Tips
* Level + Slope matter. High/low RSI level flags conditions; slope confirms impulse/continuation.
* Let Stochastic time the swing; let Macro RSI filter the trend.
* Tighten or loosen pivot windows to trade fewer/cleaner vs. more/faster signals.
Sinal de Shorts e Longs (OI + OBV + RSI)This indicator combines Open Interest (OI), On-Balance Volume (OBV), and RSI to identify potential short and long pressures in the market.
When OI increases, OBV decreases, and RSI > 40, it signals short entries and possible bearish pressure.
When OI increases, OBV also increases, and RSI < 60, it signals long entries and potential bullish reversals.
Visual signals (S and L) are displayed directly on the chart for quick interpretation.
Useful for tracking futures market sentiment and spotting shifts in trader positioning.
My Rate Of Change. Buy equities if crosses up from 0, Sell equities and switch to commodities like Gold if crosses down 40
Quantum Fluxtrend [CHE] Quantum Fluxtrend — A dynamic Supertrend variant with integrated breakout event tracking and VWAP-guided risk management for clearer trend decisions.
Summary
The Quantum Fluxtrend builds on traditional Supertrend logic by incorporating a midline derived from smoothed high and low values, creating adaptive bands that respond to market range expansion or contraction. This results in fewer erratic signals during volatile periods and smoother tracking in steady trends, while an overlaid event system highlights breakout confirmations, potential traps, or continuations with visual lines, labels, and percentage deltas from the close. Users benefit from real-time VWAP calculations anchored to events, providing dynamic stop-loss suggestions to help manage exits without manual adjustments. Overall, it layers signal robustness with actionable annotations, reducing noise in fast-moving charts.
Motivation: Why this design?
Standard Supertrend indicators often generate excessive flips in choppy conditions or lag behind in low-volatility drifts, leading to whipsaws that erode confidence in trend direction. This design addresses that by centering bands around a midline that reflects recent price spreads, ensuring adjustments are proportional to observed variability. The added event layer captures regime shifts explicitly, turning abstract crossovers into labeled milestones with trailing VWAP for context, which helps traders distinguish genuine momentum from fleeting noise without over-relying on raw price action.
What’s different vs. standard approaches?
- Baseline reference: Diverges from the classic Supertrend, which uses average true range for fixed offsets from a median price.
- Architecture differences:
- Bands form around a central line averaged from smoothed highs and lows, with offsets scaled by half the range between those smooths.
- Regime direction persists until a clear breach of the prior opposite band, preventing premature reversals.
- Event visualization draws persistent lines from flip points, updating labels based on price sustainment relative to the trigger level.
- VWAP resets at each event, accumulating volume-weighted prices forward for a trailing reference.
- Practical effect: Charts show fewer direction changes overall, with color-coded annotations that evolve from initial breakout to continuation or trap status, making it easier to spot sustained moves early. VWAP lines provide a volume-informed anchor that curves with price, offering visual cues for adverse drifts.
How it works (technical)
The process starts by smoothing high and low prices over a user-defined period to form upper and lower references. A midline sits midway between them, and half the spread acts as a base for band offsets, adjusted by a multiplier to widen or narrow sensitivity. On each bar, the close is checked against the previous bar's opposite band: crossing above expands the lower band downward in uptrends, or below contracts the upper band upward in downtrends, creating a ratcheting effect that locks in direction until breached.
Persistent state tracks the current regime, seeding initial bands from the smoothed values if no prior data exists. Flips trigger new horizontal lines at the breach level, styled by direction, alongside labels that monitor sustainment—price holding above for up-flips or below for down-flips keeps the regime, while reversal flags a trap.
Separately, at each flip, a dashed VWAP line initializes at the breach price and extends forward, accumulating the product of typical prices and volumes divided by total volume. This yields a curving reference that updates bar-by-bar. Warnings activate if price strays adversely from this VWAP, tinting the background for quick alerts.
No higher timeframe data is pulled, so all computations run on the chart's native resolution, avoiding lookahead biases unless repainting is enabled via input.
Parameter Guide
SMA Length — Controls smoothing of highs and lows for midline and range base; longer values dampen noise but increase lag. Default: 20. Trade-offs: Shortens responsiveness in trends (e.g., 10–14) but risks more flips; extend to 30+ for stability in ranging markets.
Multiplier — Scales band offsets from the half-range; higher amplifies to capture bigger swings. Default: 1.0. Trade-offs: Above 1.5 widens for volatile assets, reducing false signals; below 0.8 tightens for precision but may miss subtle shifts.
Show Bands — Toggles visibility of basic and adjusted band lines for reference. Default: false. Tip: Enable briefly to verify alignment with price action.
Show Background Color — Displays red tint on VWAP adverse crosses for visual warnings. Default: false. Trade-offs: Helps in live monitoring but can clutter clean charts.
Line Width — Sets thickness for event and VWAP lines. Default: 2. Tip: Thicker (3–5) for emphasis on key levels.
+Bars after next event — Extends old lines briefly before cleanup on new flips. Default: 20. Trade-offs: Longer preserves history (40+) at resource cost; shorter keeps charts tidy.
Allow Repainting — Permits live-bar updates for smoother real-time view. Default: false. Tip: Disable for backtest accuracy.
Extension 1 Settings (Show, Width, Size, Decimals, Colors, Alpha) — Manages dotted connector from event label to current close, showing percentage change. Defaults: Shown, width 2, normal size, 2 decimals, lime/red for gains/losses, gray line, 90% transparent background. Trade-offs: Fewer decimals for clean display; adjust alpha for readability.
Extension 2 Settings (Show, Method, Stop %, Ticks, Decimals, Size, Color, Inherit, Alpha) — Positions stop label at VWAP end, offset by percent or ticks. Defaults: Shown, percent method, 1.0%, 20 ticks, 4 decimals, normal size, white text, inherit tint, 0% alpha. Trade-offs: Percent for proportional risk; ticks for fixed distance in tick-based assets.
Alert Toggles — Enables notifications for breakouts, continuations, traps, or VWAP warnings. All default: true. Tip: Layer with chart alerts for multi-condition setups.
Reading & Interpretation
The main Supertrend line colors green for up-regimes (price above lower band) and red for down (below upper band), serving as a dynamic support/resistance trail. Flip shapes (up/down triangles) mark regime changes at band breaches.
Event lines extend horizontally from flips: green for bull, red for bear. Labels start blank and update to "Bull/Bear Cont." if price sustains the direction, or "Trap" if it reverses, with colors shifting lime/red/gray accordingly. A dotted vertical links the trailing label to the current close, mid-labeled with the percentage delta (positive green, negative red).
VWAP dashes yellow (bull) or orange (bear) from the event, curving to reflect volume-weighted average. At its end, a left-aligned label shows suggested stop price, annotated with offset details. Background red hints at weakening if price crosses VWAP opposite the regime.
Deltas near zero suggest consolidation; widening extremes signal momentum buildup or exhaustion.
Practical Workflows & Combinations
- Trend following: Enter long on green flip shapes confirmed by higher highs, using the event line as initial stop below. Trail stops to VWAP for bull runs, exiting on trap labels or red background warnings. Filter with volume spikes to avoid low-conviction breaks.
- Exits/Stops: Conservative: Set hard stops at suggested SL labels. Aggressive: Hold through minor traps if delta stays positive, but cut on regime flip. Pair with momentum oscillators for overbought pullbacks.
- Multi-asset/Multi-TF: Defaults suit forex/stocks on 15m–4H; for crypto, bump multiplier to 1.5 for volatility. Scale SMA length proportionally across timeframes (e.g., double for daily). Combine with structure tools like Fibonacci for confluence on event lines.
Behavior, Constraints & Performance
Live bars update lines and labels dynamically if repainting is allowed, but signals confirm on close for stability—flips only trigger post-bar. No higher timeframe calls, so no inherent lookahead, though volume weighting assumes continuous data.
Resources cap at 1000 bars back, 50 lines/labels max; events prune old ones on new flips to stay under budget, with brief extensions for visibility. Arrays or loops absent, keeping it lightweight.
Known limits include lag in extreme gaps (e.g., overnight opens) where bands may not adjust instantly, and VWAP sensitivity to sparse volume in illiquid sessions.
Sensible Defaults & Quick Tuning
Start with SMA 20, multiplier 1.0 for balanced response across majors. For choppy pairs: Lengthen SMA to 30, multiplier 0.8 to tighten bands and cut flips. For trending equities: Shorten to 14, multiplier 1.2 for quicker entries. If traps dominate, enable bands to inspect range compression; for sluggish signals, reduce extension bars to focus on recent events.
What this indicator is—and isn’t
This serves as a visualization and signal layer for trend regimes and breakouts, highlighting sustainment via annotations and risk cues through VWAP—ideal atop price action for confirmation. It is not a standalone system, predictive oracle, or risk calculator; always integrate with broader analysis, position sizing, and stops. Use responsibly as an educational tool.
Disclaimer
The content provided, including all code and materials, is strictly for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as, and should not be interpreted as, financial advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument, or an offer of any financial product or service. All strategies, tools, and examples discussed are provided for illustrative purposes to demonstrate coding techniques and the functionality of Pine Script within a trading context.
Any results from strategies or tools provided are hypothetical, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Trading and investing involve high risk, including the potential loss of principal, and may not be suitable for all individuals. Before making any trading decisions, please consult with a qualified financial professional to understand the risks involved.
By using this script, you acknowledge and agree that any trading decisions are made solely at your discretion and risk.
Do not use this indicator on Heikin-Ashi, Renko, Kagi, Point-and-Figure, or Range charts, as these chart types can produce unrealistic results for signal markers and alerts.
Best regards and happy trading
Chervolino
ProScalper📊 ProScalper - Professional 1-Minute Scalping System
🎯 Overview
ProScalper is a sophisticated, multi-confluence scalping indicator designed specifically for 1-minute chart trading. Combining advanced technical analysis with intelligent signal filtering, it provides high-probability trade setups with clear entry, stop loss, and take profit levels.
✨ Key Features
🔺 Smart Signal Detection
Range Filter Technology: Fast-responding trend detection (25-period) optimized for 1-minute timeframe
Medium-sized triangles appear above/below candles for clear buy/sell signals
Only most recent signal shown - no chart clutter
Automatically deletes old signals when new ones appear
📋 Real-Time Signal Table
Top-center display shows complete trade breakdown
Grade system: A+, A, B+, B, C+ ratings for every setup
All confluence reasons listed with checkmarks
Score and R:R displayed for instant trade quality assessment
Color-coded: Green for LONG, Red for SHORT
📐 Multi-Confluence Analysis
ProScalper combines 10+ technical factors:
✅ EMA Trend: 4 EMAs (200, 48, 13, 8) for multi-timeframe alignment
✅ VWAP: Dynamic support/resistance
✅ Fibonacci Retracement: Golden ratio (61.8%), 50%, 38.2%, 78.6%
✅ Range Filter: Adaptive trend confirmation
✅ Pivot Points: Smart reversal detection
✅ Volume Analysis: Spike detection and volume profile
✅ Higher Timeframe: 5-minute trend confirmation
✅ HTF Support/Resistance: Key levels from higher timeframes
✅ Liquidity Sweeps: Smart money detection
✅ Opening Range Breakout: First 15-minute range
💰 Complete Trade Management
Entry Lines: Dashed green (LONG) or red (SHORT) showing exact entry
Stop Loss: Red dashed line with price label
Take Profit: Blue dashed line with price label and R:R
Partial Exits: 1R level marked with orange dashed line
All lines extend 10 bars for clean alignment with Fibonacci levels
📊 Dynamic Risk/Reward
Adaptive R:R calculation based on market volatility
Targets adjusted for pivot distances
Minimum 1.2:1 to maximum 3.5:1 for scalping
Position sizing based on account risk percentage
🎨 Professional Visualization
Clean chart layout - no clutter, only essential information
Custom EMA colors: Red (200), Aqua (48), Green (13), White (8)
Gold VWAP line for key support/resistance
Color-coded Fibonacci: Bright yellow (61.8%), white (50%), orange (38.2%), fuchsia (78.6%)
No shaded zones - pure price action focus
📈 Performance Tracking
Real-time statistics table (optional)
Win rate, total trades, P&L tracking
Average R:R and win/loss ratios
Setup-specific performance metrics
⚙️ Settings & Customization
Risk Management
Adjustable account risk per trade (default: 0.5%)
ATR-based stop loss multiplier (default: 0.8 for tight scalping)
Dynamic position sizing
Signal Sensitivity
Confluence Score Threshold: 40-100 (default: 55 for balanced signals)
Range Filter Period: 25 bars (fast signals for 1-min)
Range Filter Multiplier: 2.2 (tighter bands for more signals)
Visual Controls
Toggle signal table on/off
Show/hide Fibonacci levels
Control EMA visibility
Adjust table text size
Partial Exits
1R: 50% (default)
2R: 30% (default)
3R: 20% (default)
Fully customizable percentages
Trailing Stops
ATR-Based (best for scalping)
Pivot-Based
EMA-Based
Breakeven trigger at 0.8R
🎯 Best Use Cases
Ideal For:
✅ 1-minute scalping on liquid instruments
✅ Day traders looking for quick 2-8 minute trades
✅ High-frequency trading with 8-15 signals per session
✅ Trending markets where Range Filter excels
✅ Crypto, Forex, Futures - works on all liquid assets
Trading Style:
Timeframe: 1-minute (can work on 3-5 min with adjusted settings)
Hold Time: 3-8 minutes average
Target: 1.2-3R per trade
Frequency: 8-15 signals per day
Win Rate: 45-55% (with proper risk management)
📋 How to Use
Step 1: Wait for Signal
Watch for green triangle (BUY) or red triangle (SELL)
Signal table appears at top center automatically
Step 2: Review Confluence
Check grade (prefer A+, A, B+ for best quality)
Review all reasons listed in table
Confirm score is above your threshold (55+ recommended)
Note the R:R ratio
Step 3: Enter Trade
Enter at current market price
Set stop loss at red dashed line
Set take profit at blue dashed line
Mark 1R level (orange line) for partial exit
Step 4: Manage Trade
Exit 50% at 1R (orange line)
Move to breakeven after 0.8R
Trail remaining position using your chosen method
Exit fully at TP or opposite signal
🎨 Chart Setup Recommendations
Optimal Display:
Timeframe: 1-minute
Chart Type: Candles or Heikin Ashi
Background: Dark theme for best color visibility
Volume: Enable volume bars below chart
Complementary Indicators (optional):
Order flow/Delta for institutional confirmation
Market profile for key levels
Economic calendar for news avoidance
⚠️ Important Notes
Risk Disclaimer:
Not financial advice - for educational purposes only
Always use proper risk management (0.5-1% per trade max)
Past performance doesn't guarantee future results
Test on demo account before live trading
Best Practices:
✅ Trade during high liquidity hours (9:30-11 AM, 2-4 PM EST)
✅ Avoid news events and market open/close (first/last 2 minutes)
✅ Use tight stops (0.8-1.0 ATR) for 1-minute scalping
✅ Take partial profits quickly (1R = 50% off)
✅ Respect max daily loss limits (3% recommended)
✅ Focus on A and B grade setups for consistency
What Makes This Different:
🎯 Complete system - not just signals, but full trade management
📊 Multi-confluence - 10+ factors analyzed per trade
🎨 Professional visualization - clean, focused chart design
⚡ Optimized for 1-min - settings specifically tuned for fast scalping
📋 Transparent reasoning - see exactly why each trade was taken
🏆 Grade system - instantly know trade quality
🔧 Technical Details
Pine Script Version: 5
Overlay: Yes (plots on price chart)
Max Lines: 500
Max Labels: 100
Non-repainting: All signals confirmed on bar close
Alerts: Compatible with TradingView alerts
📞 Support & Updates
This indicator is actively maintained and optimized for 1-minute scalping. Settings can be adjusted for different timeframes and trading styles, but default configuration is specifically tuned for high-frequency 1-minute scalping.
🚀 Get Started
Add ProScalper to your 1-minute chart
Adjust settings to your risk tolerance
Wait for signals (green/red triangles)
Follow the signal table guidance
Manage trades using provided levels
Track performance with stats table
Happy Scalping! 📊⚡💰
Ultimate Oscillator (ULTOSC)The Ultimate Oscillator (ULTOSC) is a technical momentum indicator developed by Larry Williams that combines three different time periods to reduce the volatility and false signals common in single-period oscillators. By using a weighted average of three Stochastic-like calculations across short, medium, and long-term periods, the Ultimate Oscillator provides a more comprehensive view of market momentum while maintaining sensitivity to price changes.
The indicator addresses the common problem of oscillators being either too sensitive (generating many false signals) or too slow (missing opportunities). By incorporating multiple timeframes with decreasing weights for longer periods, ULTOSC attempts to capture both short-term momentum shifts and longer-term trend strength, making it particularly valuable for identifying divergences and potential reversal points.
## Core Concepts
* **Multi-timeframe analysis:** Combines three different periods (typically 7, 14, 28) to capture various momentum cycles
* **Weighted averaging:** Assigns higher weights to shorter periods for responsiveness while including longer periods for stability
* **Buying pressure focus:** Measures the relationship between closing price and the true range rather than just high-low range
* **Divergence detection:** Particularly effective at identifying momentum divergences that precede price reversals
* **Normalized scale:** Oscillates between 0 and 100, with clear overbought/oversold levels
## Common Settings and Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Function | When to Adjust |
|-----------|---------|----------|---------------|
| Fast Period | 7 | Short-term momentum calculation | Lower (5-6) for more sensitivity, higher (9-12) for smoother signals |
| Medium Period | 14 | Medium-term momentum calculation | Adjust based on typical swing duration in the market |
| Slow Period | 28 | Long-term momentum calculation | Higher values (35-42) for longer-term position trading |
| Fast Weight | 4.0 | Weight applied to fast period | Higher weight increases short-term sensitivity |
| Medium Weight | 2.0 | Weight applied to medium period | Adjust to balance medium-term influence |
| Slow Weight | 1.0 | Weight applied to slow period | Usually kept at 1.0 as the baseline weight |
**Pro Tip:** The classic 7/14/28 periods with 4/2/1 weights work well for most markets, but consider using 5/10/20 with adjusted weights for faster markets or 14/28/56 for longer-term analysis.
## Calculation and Mathematical Foundation
**Simplified explanation:**
The Ultimate Oscillator calculates three separate "buying pressure" ratios using different time periods, then combines them using weighted averaging. Buying pressure is defined as the close minus the true low, divided by the true range.
**Technical formula:**
```
BP = Close - Min(Low, Previous Close)
TR = Max(High, Previous Close) - Min(Low, Previous Close)
BP_Sum_Fast = Sum(BP, Fast Period)
TR_Sum_Fast = Sum(TR, Fast Period)
Raw_Fast = 100 × (BP_Sum_Fast / TR_Sum_Fast)
BP_Sum_Medium = Sum(BP, Medium Period)
TR_Sum_Medium = Sum(TR, Medium Period)
Raw_Medium = 100 × (BP_Sum_Medium / TR_Sum_Medium)
BP_Sum_Slow = Sum(BP, Slow Period)
TR_Sum_Slow = Sum(TR, Slow Period)
Raw_Slow = 100 × (BP_Sum_Slow / TR_Sum_Slow)
ULTOSC = 100 × / (Fast_Weight + Medium_Weight + Slow_Weight)
```
Where:
- BP = Buying Pressure
- TR = True Range
- Fast Period = 7, Medium Period = 14, Slow Period = 28 (defaults)
- Fast Weight = 4, Medium Weight = 2, Slow Weight = 1 (defaults)
> 🔍 **Technical Note:** The implementation uses efficient circular buffers for all three period calculations, maintaining O(1) time complexity per bar. The algorithm properly handles true range calculations including gaps and ensures accurate buying pressure measurements across all timeframes.
## Interpretation Details
ULTOSC provides several analytical perspectives:
* **Overbought/Oversold conditions:** Values above 70 suggest overbought conditions, below 30 suggest oversold conditions
* **Momentum direction:** Rising ULTOSC indicates increasing buying pressure, falling indicates increasing selling pressure
* **Divergence analysis:** Divergences between ULTOSC and price often precede significant reversals
* **Trend confirmation:** ULTOSC direction can confirm or question the prevailing price trend
* **Signal quality:** Extreme readings (>80 or <20) indicate strong momentum that may be unsustainable
* **Multiple timeframe consensus:** When all three underlying periods agree, signals are typically more reliable
## Trading Applications
**Primary Uses:**
- **Divergence trading:** Identify when momentum diverges from price for reversal signals
- **Overbought/oversold identification:** Find potential entry/exit points at extreme levels
- **Trend confirmation:** Validate breakouts and trend continuations
- **Momentum analysis:** Assess the strength of current price movements
**Advanced Strategies:**
- **Multi-divergence confirmation:** Look for divergences across multiple timeframes
- **Momentum breakouts:** Trade when ULTOSC breaks above/below key levels with volume
- **Swing trading entries:** Use oversold/overbought levels for swing position entries
- **Trend strength assessment:** Evaluate trend quality using momentum consistency
## Signal Combinations
**Strong Bullish Signals:**
- ULTOSC rises from oversold territory (<30) with positive price divergence
- ULTOSC breaks above 50 after forming a base near 30
- All three underlying periods show increasing buying pressure
**Strong Bearish Signals:**
- ULTOSC falls from overbought territory (>70) with negative price divergence
- ULTOSC breaks below 50 after forming a top near 70
- All three underlying periods show decreasing buying pressure
**Divergence Signals:**
- **Bullish divergence:** Price makes lower lows while ULTOSC makes higher lows
- **Bearish divergence:** Price makes higher highs while ULTOSC makes lower highs
- **Hidden bullish divergence:** Price makes higher lows while ULTOSC makes lower lows (trend continuation)
- **Hidden bearish divergence:** Price makes lower highs while ULTOSC makes higher highs (trend continuation)
## Comparison with Related Oscillators
| Indicator | Periods | Focus | Best Use Case |
|-----------|---------|-------|---------------|
| **Ultimate Oscillator** | 3 periods | Buying pressure | Divergence detection |
| **Stochastic** | 1-2 periods | Price position | Overbought/oversold |
| **RSI** | 1 period | Price momentum | Momentum analysis |
| **Williams %R** | 1 period | Price position | Short-term signals |
## Advanced Configurations
**Fast Trading Setup:**
- Fast: 5, Medium: 10, Slow: 20
- Weights: 4/2/1, Thresholds: 75/25
**Standard Setup:**
- Fast: 7, Medium: 14, Slow: 28
- Weights: 4/2/1, Thresholds: 70/30
**Conservative Setup:**
- Fast: 14, Medium: 28, Slow: 56
- Weights: 3/2/1, Thresholds: 65/35
**Divergence Focused:**
- Fast: 7, Medium: 14, Slow: 28
- Weights: 2/2/2, Thresholds: 70/30
## Market-Specific Adjustments
**Volatile Markets:**
- Use longer periods (10/20/40) to reduce noise
- Consider higher threshold levels (75/25)
- Focus on extreme readings for signal quality
**Trending Markets:**
- Emphasize divergence analysis over absolute levels
- Look for momentum confirmation rather than reversal signals
- Use hidden divergences for trend continuation
**Range-Bound Markets:**
- Standard overbought/oversold levels work well
- Trade reversals from extreme levels
- Combine with support/resistance analysis
## Limitations and Considerations
* **Lagging component:** Contains inherent lag due to multiple moving average calculations
* **Complex calculation:** More computationally intensive than single-period oscillators
* **Parameter sensitivity:** Performance varies significantly with different period/weight combinations
* **Market dependency:** Most effective in trending markets with clear momentum patterns
* **False divergences:** Not all divergences lead to significant price reversals
* **Whipsaw potential:** Can generate conflicting signals in choppy markets
## Best Practices
**Effective Usage:**
- Focus on divergences rather than absolute overbought/oversold levels
- Combine with trend analysis for context
- Use multiple timeframe analysis for confirmation
- Pay attention to the speed of momentum changes
**Common Mistakes:**
- Over-relying on overbought/oversold levels in strong trends
- Ignoring the underlying trend direction
- Using inappropriate period settings for the market being analyzed
- Trading every divergence without additional confirmation
**Signal Enhancement:**
- Combine with volume analysis for confirmation
- Use price action context (support/resistance levels)
- Consider market volatility when setting thresholds
- Look for convergence across multiple momentum indicators
## Historical Context and Development
The Ultimate Oscillator was developed by Larry Williams and introduced in his 1985 article "The Ultimate Oscillator" in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine. Williams designed it to address the limitations of single-period oscillators by:
- Reducing false signals through multi-timeframe analysis
- Maintaining sensitivity to short-term momentum changes
- Providing more reliable divergence signals
- Creating a more robust momentum measurement tool
The indicator has become a standard tool in technical analysis, particularly valued for its divergence detection capabilities and its balanced approach to momentum measurement.
## References
* Williams, L. R. (1985). The Ultimate Oscillator. Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities, 3(4).
* Williams, L. R. (1999). Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading. Wiley Trading.
Luxy BIG beautiful Dynamic ORBThis is an advanced Opening Range Breakout (ORB) indicator that tracks price breakouts from the first 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes of the trading session. It provides complete trade management including entry signals, stop-loss placement, take-profit targets, and position sizing calculations.
The ORB strategy is based on the concept that the opening range of a trading session often acts as support/resistance, and breakouts from this range tend to lead to significant moves.
What Makes This Different?
Most ORB indicators simply draw horizontal lines and leave you to figure out the rest. This indicator goes several steps further:
Multi-Stage Tracking
Instead of just one ORB timeframe, this tracks FOUR simultaneously (5min, 15min, 30min, 60min). Each stage builds on the previous one, giving you multiple trading opportunities throughout the session.
Active Trade Management
When a breakout occurs, the indicator automatically calculates and displays entry price, stop-loss, and multiple take-profit targets. These lines extend forward and update in real-time until the trade completes.
Cycle Detection
Unlike indicators that only show the first breakout, this tracks the complete cycle: Breakout → Retest → Re-breakout. You can see when price returns to test the ORB level after breaking out (potential re-entry).
Failed Breakout Warning
If price breaks out but quickly returns inside the range (within a few bars), the label changes to "FAILED BREAK" - warning you to exit or avoid the trade.
Position Sizing Calculator
Built-in risk management that tells you exactly how many shares to buy based on your account size and risk tolerance. No more guessing or manual calculations.
Advanced Filtering
Optional filters for volume confirmation, trend alignment, and Fair Value Gaps (FVG) to reduce false signals and improve win rate.
Core Features Explained
### 1. Multi-Stage ORB Levels
The indicator builds four separate Opening Range levels:
ORB 5 - First 5 minutes (fastest signals, most volatile)
ORB 15 - First 15 minutes (balanced, most popular)
ORB 30 - First 30 minutes (slower, more reliable)
ORB 60 - First 60 minutes (slowest, most confirmed)
Each level is drawn as a horizontal range on your chart. As time progresses, the ranges expand to include more price action. You can enable or disable any stage and assign custom colors to each.
How it works: During the opening minutes, the indicator tracks the highest high and lowest low. Once the time period completes, those levels become your ORB high and low for that stage.
### 2. Breakout Detection
When price closes outside the ORB range, a label appears:
BREAK UP (green label above price) - Price closed above ORB High
BREAK DOWN (red label below price) - Price closed below ORB Low
The label shows which ORB stage triggered (ORB5, ORB15, etc.) and the cycle number if tracking multiple breakouts.
Important: Signals appear on bar close only - no repainting. What you see is what you get.
### 3. Retest Detection
After price breaks out and moves away, if it returns to test the ORB level, a "RETEST" label appears (orange). This indicates:
The original breakout level is now acting as support/resistance
Potential re-entry opportunity if you missed the first breakout
Confirmation that the level is significant
The indicator requires price to move a minimum distance away before considering it a valid retest (configurable in settings).
### 4. Failed Breakout Detection
If price breaks out but returns inside the ORB range within a few bars (before the breakout is "committed"), the original label changes to "FAILED BREAK" in orange.
This warns you:
The breakout lacked conviction
Consider exiting if already in the trade
Wait for better setup
Committed Breakout: The indicator tracks how many bars price stays outside the range. Only after staying outside for the minimum number of bars does it become a committed breakout that can be retested.
### 5. TP/SL Lines (Trade Management)
When a breakout occurs, colored horizontal lines appear showing:
Entry Line (cyan for long, orange for short) - Your entry price (the ORB level)
Stop Loss Line (red) - Where to exit if trade goes against you
TP1, TP2, TP3 Lines (same color as entry) - Profit targets at 1R, 2R, 3R
These lines extend forward as new bars form, making it easy to track your trade. When a target is hit, the line turns green and the label shows a checkmark.
Lines freeze (stop updating) when:
Stop loss is hit
The final enabled take-profit is hit
End of trading session (optional setting)
### 6. Position Sizing Dashboard
The dashboard (bottom-left corner by default) shows real-time information:
Current ORB stage and range size
Breakout status (Inside Range / Break Up / Break Down)
Volume confirmation (if filter enabled)
Trend alignment (if filter enabled)
Entry and Stop Loss prices
All enabled Take Profit levels with percentages
Risk/Reward ratio
Position sizing: Max shares to buy and total risk amount
Position Sizing Example:
If your account is $25,000 and you risk 1% per trade ($250), and the distance from entry to stop loss is $0.50, the calculator shows you can buy 500 shares (250 / 0.50 = 500).
### 7. FVG Filter (Fair Value Gap)
Fair Value Gaps are price inefficiencies - gaps left by strong momentum where one candle's high doesn't overlap with a previous candle's low (or vice versa).
When enabled, this filter:
Detects bullish and bearish FVGs
Draws semi-transparent boxes around these gaps
Only allows breakout signals if there's an FVG near the breakout level
Why this helps: FVGs indicate institutional activity. Breakouts through FVGs tend to be stronger and more reliable.
Proximity setting: Controls how close the FVG must be to the ORB level. 2.0x means the breakout can be within 2 times the FVG size - a reasonable default.
### 8. Volume & Trend Filters
Volume Filter:
Requires current volume to be above average (customizable multiplier). High volume breakouts are more likely to sustain.
Set minimum multiplier (e.g., 1.5x = 50% above average)
Set "strong volume" multiplier (e.g., 2.5x) that bypasses other filters
Dashboard shows current volume ratio
Trend Filter:
Only shows breakouts aligned with a higher timeframe trend. Choose from:
VWAP - Price above/below volume-weighted average
EMA - Price above/below exponential moving average
SuperTrend - ATR-based trend indicator
Combined modes (VWAP+EMA, VWAP+SuperTrend) for stricter filtering
### 9. Pullback Filter (Advanced)
Purpose:
Waits for price to pull back slightly after initial breakout before confirming the signal.
This reduces false breakouts from immediate reversals.
How it works:
- After breakout is detected, indicator waits for a small pullback (default 2%)
- Once pullback occurs AND price breaks out again, signal is confirmed
- If no pullback within timeout period (5 bars), signal is issued anyway
Settings:
Enable Pullback Filter: Turn this filter on/off
Pullback %: How much price must pull back (2% is balanced)
Timeout (bars): Max bars to wait for pullback (5 is standard)
When to use:
- Choppy markets with many fake breakouts
- When you want higher quality signals
- Combine with Volume filter for maximum confirmation
Trade-off:
- Better signal quality
- May miss some valid fast moves
- Slight entry delay
How to Use This Indicator
### For Beginners - Simple Setup
Add the indicator to your chart (5-minute or 15-minute timeframe recommended)
Leave all default settings - they work well for most stocks
Watch for BREAK UP or BREAK DOWN labels to appear
Check the dashboard for entry, stop loss, and targets
Use the position sizing to determine how many shares to buy
Basic Trading Plan:
Wait for a clear breakout label
Enter at the ORB level (or next candle open if you're late)
Place stop loss where the red line indicates
Take profit at TP1 (50% of position) and TP2 (remaining 50%)
### For Advanced Traders - Customized Setup
Choose which ORB stages to track (you might only want ORB15 and ORB30)
Enable filters: Volume (stocks) or Trend (trending markets)
Enable FVG filter for institutional confirmation
Set "Track Cycles" mode to catch retests and re-breakouts
Customize stop loss method (ATR for volatile stocks, ORB% for stable ones)
Adjust risk per trade and account size for accurate position sizing
Advanced Strategy Example:
Enable ORB15 only (disable others for cleaner chart)
Turn on Volume filter at 1.5x with Strong at 2.5x
Enable Trend filter using VWAP
Set Signal Mode to "Track Cycles" with Max 3 cycles
Wait for aligned breakouts (Volume + Trend + Direction)
Enter on retest if you missed the initial break
### Timeframe Recommendations
5-minute chart: Scalping, very active trading, crypto
15-minute chart: Day trading, balanced approach (most popular)
30-minute chart: Swing entries, less screen time
60-minute chart: Position trading, longer holds
The indicator works on any intraday timeframe, but ORB is fundamentally a day trading strategy. Daily charts don't make sense for ORB.
DEFAULT CONFIGURATION
ON by Default:
• All 4 ORB stages (5/15/30/60)
• Breakout Detection
• Retest Labels
• All TP levels (1/1.5/2/3)
• TP/SL Lines (Detailed mode)
• Dashboard (Bottom Left, Dark theme)
• Position Size Calculator
OFF by Default (Optional Filters):
• FVG Filter
• Pullback Filter
• Volume Filter
• Trend Filter
• HTF Bias Check
• Alerts
Recommended for Beginners:
• Leave all defaults
• Session Mode: Auto-Detect
• Signal Mode: Track Cycles
• Stop Method: ATR
• Add Volume Filter if trading stocks
Recommended for Advanced:
• Enable ORB15 + ORB30 only (disable 5 & 60)
• Enable: Volume + Trend + FVG
• Signal Mode: Track Cycles, Max 3
• Stop Method: ATR or Safer
• Enable HTF Daily bias check
## Settings Guide
The settings are organized into logical groups. Here's what each section controls:
### ORB COLORS Section
Show Edge Labels: Display "ORB 5", "ORB 15" labels at the right edge of the levels
Background: Fill the area between ORB high/low with color
Transparency: How see-through the background is (95% is nearly invisible)
Enable ORB 5/15/30/60: Turn each stage on or off individually
Colors: Assign colors to each ORB stage for easy identification
### SESSION SETTINGS Section
Session Mode: Choose trading session (Auto-Detect works for most instruments)
Custom Session Hours: Define your own hours if needed (format: HHMM-HHMM)
Auto-Detect uses the instrument's natural hours (stocks use exchange hours, crypto uses 24/7).
### BREAKOUT DETECTION Section
Enable Breakout Detection: Master switch for signals
Show Retest Labels: Display retest signals
Label Size: Visual size for all labels (Small recommended)
Enable FVG Filter: Require Fair Value Gap confirmation
Show FVG Boxes: Display the gap boxes on chart
Signal Mode: "First Only" = one signal per direction per day, "Track Cycles" = multiple signals
Max Cycles: How many breakout-retest cycles to track (6 is balanced)
Breakout Buffer: Extra distance required beyond ORB level (0.1-0.2% recommended)
Min Distance for Retest: How far price must move away before retest is valid (2% recommended)
Min Bars Outside ORB: Bars price must stay outside for committed breakout (2 is balanced)
### TARGETS & RISK Section
Enable Targets & Stop-Loss: Calculate and show trade management
TP1/TP2/TP3 checkboxes: Select which profit targets to display
Stop Method: How to calculate stop loss placement
- ATR: Based on volatility (best for most cases)
- ORB %: Fixed % of ORB range
- Swing: Recent swing high/low
- Safer: Widest of all methods
ATR Length & Multiplier: Controls ATR stop distance (14 period, 1.5x is standard)
ORB Stop %: Percentage beyond ORB for stop (20% is balanced)
Swing Bars: Lookback period for swing high/low (3 is recent)
### TP/SL LINES Section
Show TP/SL Lines: Display horizontal lines on chart
Label Format: "Short" = minimal text, "Detailed" = shows prices
Freeze Lines at EOD: Stop extending lines at session close
### DASHBOARD Section
Show Info Panel: Display the metrics dashboard
Theme: Dark or Light colors
Position: Where to place dashboard on chart
Toggle rows: Show/hide specific information rows
Calculate Position Size: Enable the position sizing calculator
Risk Mode: Risk fixed $ amount or % of account
Account Size: Your total trading capital
Risk %: Percentage to risk per trade (0.5-1% recommended)
### VOLUME FILTER Section
Enable Volume Filter: Require volume confirmation
MA Length: Average period (20 is standard)
Min Volume: Required multiplier (1.5x = 50% above average)
Strong Volume: Multiplier that bypasses other filters (2.5x)
### TREND FILTER Section
Enable Trend Filter: Require trend alignment
Trend Mode: Method to determine trend (VWAP is simple and effective)
Custom EMA Length: If using EMA mode (50 for swing, 20 for day trading)
SuperTrend settings: Period and Multiplier if using SuperTrend mode
### HIGHER TIMEFRAME Section
Check Daily Trend: Display higher timeframe bias in dashboard
Timeframe: What TF to check (D = daily, recommended)
Method: Price vs MA (stable) or Candle Direction (reactive)
MA Period: EMA length for Price vs MA method (20 is balanced)
Min Strength %: Minimum strength threshold for HTF bias to be considered
- For "Price vs MA": Minimum distance (%) from moving average
- For "Candle Direction": Minimum candle body size (%)
- 0.5% is balanced - increase for stricter filtering
- Lower values = more signals, higher values = only strong trends
### ALERTS Section
Enable Alerts: Master switch (must be ON to use any alerts)
Breakout Alerts: Notify on ORB breakouts
Retest Alerts: Notify when price retests after breakout
Failed Break Alerts: Notify on failed breakouts
Stage Complete Alerts: Notify when each ORB stage finishes forming
After enabling desired alert types, click "Create Alert" button, select this indicator, choose "Any alert() function call".
## Tips & Best Practices
### General Trading Tips
ORB works best on liquid instruments (stocks with good volume, major crypto pairs)
First hour of the session is most important - that's when ORB is forming
Breakouts WITH the trend have higher success rates - use the trend filter
Failed breakouts are common - use the "Min Bars Outside" setting to filter weak moves
Not every day produces good ORB setups - be patient and selective
### Position Sizing Best Practices
Never risk more than 1-2% of your account on a single trade
Use the built-in calculator - don't guess your position size
Update your account size monthly as it grows
Smaller accounts: use $ Amount mode for simplicity
Larger accounts: use % of Account mode for scaling
### Take Profit Strategy
Most traders use: 50% at TP1, 50% at TP2
Aggressive: Hold through TP1 for TP2 or TP3
Conservative: Full exit at TP1 (1:1 risk/reward)
After TP1 hits, consider moving stop to breakeven
TP3 rarely hits - only on strong trending days
### Filter Combinations
Maximum Quality: Volume + Trend + FVG (fewest signals, highest quality)
Balanced: Volume + Trend (good quality, reasonable frequency)
Active Trading: No filters or Volume only (many signals, lower quality)
Trending Markets: Trend filter essential (indices, crypto)
Range-Bound: Volume + FVG (avoid trend filter)
### Common Mistakes to Avoid
Chasing breakouts - wait for the bar to close, don't FOMO into wicks
Ignoring the stop loss - always use it, move it manually if needed
Over-leveraging - the calculator shows MAX shares, you can buy less
Trading every signal - quality > quantity, use filters
Not tracking results - keep a journal to see what works for YOU
## Pros and Cons
### Advantages
Complete all-in-one solution - from signal to position sizing
Multiple timeframes tracked simultaneously
Visual clarity - easy to see what's happening
Cycle tracking catches opportunities others miss
Built-in risk management eliminates guesswork
Customizable filters for different trading styles
No repainting - what you see is locked in
Works across multiple markets (stocks, forex, crypto)
### Limitations
Intraday strategy only - doesn't work on daily charts
Requires active monitoring during first 1-2 hours of session
Not suitable for after-hours or extended sessions by default
Can produce many signals in choppy markets (use filters)
Dashboard can be overwhelming for complete beginners
Performance depends on market conditions (trends vs ranges)
Requires understanding of risk management concepts
### Best For
Day traders who can watch the first 1-2 hours of market open
Traders who want systematic entry/exit rules
Those learning proper position sizing and risk management
Active traders comfortable with multiple signals per day
Anyone trading liquid instruments with clear sessions
### Not Ideal For
Swing traders holding multi-day positions
Set-and-forget / passive investors
Traders who can't watch market open
Complete beginners unfamiliar with trading concepts
Low volume / illiquid instruments
## Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why are no signals appearing?
A: Check that you're on an intraday timeframe (5min, 15min, etc.) and that the current time is within your session hours. Also verify that "Enable Breakout Detection" is ON and at least one ORB stage is enabled. If using filters, they might be blocking signals - try disabling them temporarily.
Q: What's the best ORB stage to use?
A: ORB15 (15 minutes) is most popular and balanced. ORB5 gives faster signals but more noise. ORB30 and ORB60 are slower but more reliable. Many traders use ORB15 + ORB30 together.
Q: Should I enable all the filters?
A: Start with no filters to see all signals. If too many false signals, add Volume filter first (stocks) or Trend filter (trending markets). FVG filter is most restrictive - use for maximum quality but fewer signals.
Q: How do I know which stop loss method to use?
A: ATR works for most cases - it adapts to volatility. Use ORB% if you want predictable stop placement. Swing is for respecting chart structure. Safer gives you the most room but largest risk.
Q: Can I use this for swing trading?
A: Not really - ORB is fundamentally an intraday strategy. The ranges reset each day. For swing trading, look at weekly support/resistance or moving averages instead.
Q: Why do TP/SL lines disappear sometimes?
A: Lines freeze (stop extending) when: stop loss is hit, the last enabled take-profit is hit, or end of session arrives (if "Freeze at EOD" is enabled). This is intentional - the trade is complete.
Q: What's the difference between "First Only" and "Track Cycles"?
A: "First Only" shows one breakout UP and one DOWN per day maximum - clean but might miss opportunities. "Track Cycles" shows breakout-retest-rebreak sequences - more signals but busier chart.
Q: Is position sizing accurate for options/forex?
A: The calculator is designed for shares (stocks). For options, ignore the share count and use the risk amount. For forex, you'll need to adapt the lot size calculation manually.
Q: How much capital do I need to use this?
A: The indicator works for any account size, but practical day trading typically requires $25,000 in the US due to Pattern Day Trader rules. Adjust the "Account Size" setting to match your capital.
Q: Can I backtest this strategy?
A: This is an indicator, not a strategy script, so it doesn't have built-in backtesting. You can visually review historical signals or code a strategy script using similar logic.
Q: Why does the dashboard show different entry price than the breakout label?
A: If you're looking at an old breakout, the ORB levels may have changed when the next stage completed. The dashboard always shows the CURRENT active range and trade setup.
Q: What's a good win rate to expect?
A: ORB strategies typically see 40-60% win rate depending on market conditions and filters used. The strategy relies on positive risk/reward ratios (2:1 or better) to be profitable even with moderate win rates.
Q: Does this work on crypto?
A: Yes, but crypto trades 24/7 so you need to define what "session start" means. Use Session Mode = Custom and set your preferred daily reset time (e.g., 0000-2359 UTC).
## Credits & Transparency
### Development
This indicator was developed with the assistance of AI technology to implement complex ORB trading logic.
The strategy concept, feature specifications, and trading logic were designed by the publisher. The implementation leverages modern development tools to ensure:
Clean, efficient, and maintainable code
Comprehensive error handling and input validation
Detailed documentation and user guidance
Performance optimization
### Trading Concepts
This indicator implements several public domain trading concepts:
Opening Range Breakout (ORB): Trading strategy popularized by Toby Crabel, Mark Fisher and many more talanted traders.
Fair Value Gap (FVG): Price imbalance concept from ICT methodology
SuperTrend: ATR-based trend indicator using public formula
Risk/Reward Ratio: Standard risk management principle
All mathematical formulas and technical concepts used are in the public domain.
### Pine Script
Uses standard TradingView built-in functions:
ta.ema(), ta.atr(), ta.vwap(), ta.highest(), ta.lowest(), request.security()
No external libraries or proprietary code from other authors.
## Disclaimer
This indicator is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not financial advice.
Trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Past performance shown in examples is not indicative of future results.
The indicator provides signals and calculations, but trading decisions are solely your responsibility. Always:
Test strategies on paper before using real money
Never risk more than you can afford to lose
Understand that all trading involves risk
Consider seeking advice from a licensed financial advisor
The publisher makes no guarantees regarding accuracy, profitability, or performance. Use at your own risk.
---
Version: 3.0
Pine Script Version: v6
Last Updated: October 2024
For support, questions, or suggestions, please comment below or send a private message.
---
Happy trading, and remember: consistent risk management beats perfect entry timing every time.
iFVG Strategie by Futures.RobbyiFVG Strategy Checklist by Futures.Robby
Updated: October 27, 2025
Description
This script is a manual checklist designed to help traders evaluate their setups based on the iFVG (Fair Value Gap) strategy. It serves solely as a visual aid and does not perform automatic analysis, signal generation, or trade execution.
How It Works
The script creates an interactive checklist directly on the chart. Traders manually select which criteria are met, and the script calculates a percentage score, displaying it with color coding:
Green (≥ 60%): Good fulfillment of criteria
Orange (40–59%): Partial fulfillment
Red (< 40%): Poor fulfillment
Checklist Criteria
The checklist is divided into two main sections:
1. Trade Criteria (8 Points)
Eight manually selectable criteria to assess setup quality:
Trade im Bias → Trade in Bias: Trade follows the higher timeframe trend (H1/H4/Daily).
BE Level → BE Level: Swing point between entry and target.
Sweep → Sweep: Price hits a key swing before reversing.
Displacement → Displacement: iFVG broken by strong candles.
Leg FVG geschlossen → Leg FVG Closed: No open m1 to m5 FVGs to target.
FVG Reaktion → FVG Reaction: Reaction at FVG during sweep (HTF).
FVG Größe → FVG Size: 6 to 10 points.
Anzahl Kerzen → Number of Candles: Maximum of 6 candles.
2. Goals (1 Point)
Six optional goal conditions, counted together as 1 point:
Equal H / L → Equal High/Low
Session H / L → Session High/Low
News H / L → News High/Low
HTF Swing Point → HTF Swing Point
HTF OB → HTF Order Block
HTF FVG → HTF FVG
Settings and Customization
The script’s settings are translated as follows:
Group: Trade Criteria
Trade im Bias → Trade in Bias
Tooltip: Trendrichtung folgt HTF (H1/H4/Täglich) – Trend follows HTF direction
BE Level → BE Level
Tooltip: Swingpunkt zwischen Einstieg und Ziel – Swing point between entry and target
Sweep → Sweep
Tooltip: Kurs erreicht markanten Swing – Price hits key swing before inverse
Displacement → Displacement
Tooltip: iFVG durch starke Kerzen gebrochen – iFVG broken by strong candles
Leg FVG geschlossen → Leg FVG Closed
Tooltip: Keine offenen m1 bis m5 FVGs bis Ziel – No open m1 to m5 FVGs to target
FVG Reaktion → FVG Reaction
Tooltip: Reaktion an FVG beim Sweep (HTF) – Reaction at FVG during sweep (HTF)
FVG Größe → FVG Size
Tooltip: 6 bis 10 Punkte – 6 to 10 points
Anzahl Kerzen → Number of Candles
Tooltip: Maximal 6 Kerzen – Maximum of 6 candles
Group: Goals
Equal H / L → Equal High/Low
Session H / L → Session High/Low
News H / L → News High/Low
HTF Swing Point → HTF Swing Point
HTF OB → HTF Order Block
HTF FVG → HTF FVG
ℹ️ Ziele zählen gemeinsam als 1 Punkt → ℹ️ Goals count together as 1 point
Window Position & Size
Fensterposition → Window Position
oben rechts → top right
oben links → top left
unten rechts → bottom right
unten links → bottom left
Tabellengröße → Table Size
normal → normal
small → small
tiny → tiny
Translation of Chart Table Contents
The table headers and entries on the chart are translated as follows:
Table Headers:
Trade Checkliste → Trade Checklist
Ziele → Goals
Status Symbols:
✅ → ✅ (Fulfilled)
❌ → ❌ (Not fulfilled)
Individual Criteria (Trade Criteria):
Trade im Bias → Trade in Bias
BE Level → BE Level
Sweep → Sweep
Displacement → Displacement
Leg FVG geschlossen → Leg FVG Closed
FVG Reaktion → FVG Reaction
FVG Größe → FVG Size
Anzahl Kerzen → Number of Candles
Individual Criteria (Goals):
Equal H / L → Equal High/Low
Session H / L → Session High/Low
News H / L → News High/Low
HTF Swing Point → HTF Swing Point
HTF OB → HTF Order Block
HTF FVG → HTF FVG
Note Line:
Ziele zählen gemeinsam als 1 Punkt → Goals count together as 1 point
Important Note
This tool is not an automated indicator, but a visual decision aid for traders who want to apply their strategy in a structured and conscious way.
Ehlers Ultrasmooth Filter (USF)# USF: Ultrasmooth Filter
## Overview and Purpose
The Ultrasmooth Filter (USF) is an advanced signal processing tool that represents the pinnacle of noise reduction technology for financial time series. Developed by John Ehlers, this filter implements a complex algorithm that provides exceptional smoothing capabilities while minimizing the lag typically associated with heavy filtering. USF builds upon the Super Smooth Filter (SSF) with enhanced noise suppression characteristics, making it particularly valuable for identifying clear trends in extremely noisy market conditions where even traditional smoothing techniques struggle to produce clean signals.
## Core Concepts
* **Maximum noise suppression:** Provides the highest level of noise reduction among Ehlers' filter designs
* **Optimized coefficient structure:** Uses carefully designed mathematical relationships to achieve superior filtering performance
* **Market application:** Particularly effective for long-term trend identification and minimizing false signals in highly volatile market conditions
The core innovation of USF is its second-order filter structure with optimized coefficients that create an exceptionally smooth frequency response. By careful mathematical design, USF achieves near-optimal noise suppression characteristics while minimizing the lag and waveform distortion that typically accompany such heavy filtering. This makes it especially valuable for identifying major market trends amid significant short-term volatility.
## Common Settings and Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Function | When to Adjust |
|-----------|---------|----------|---------------|
| Length | 20 | Controls the cutoff period | Increase for smoother signals, decrease for more responsiveness |
| Source | close | Price data used for calculation | Consider using hlc3 for a more balanced price representation |
**Pro Tip:** USF is ideal for defining major market trends - try using it with a length of 40-60 on daily charts to identify dominant market direction and ignoring shorter-term noise completely.
## Calculation and Mathematical Foundation
**Simplified explanation:**
The Ultrasmooth Filter creates an extremely clean price representation by combining current and past price data with previous filter outputs using precisely calculated mathematical relationships. This creates a highly effective "averaging" process that removes virtually all market noise while still maintaining the essential trend information.
**Technical formula:**
USF = (1-c1)X + (2c1-c2)X₁ - (c1+c3)X₂ + c2×USF₁ + c3×USF₂
Where coefficients are calculated as:
- a1 = exp(-1.414π/length)
- b1 = 2a1 × cos(1.414 × 180/length)
- c1 = (1 + c2 - c3)/4
- c2 = b1
- c3 = -a1²
> 🔍 **Technical Note:** The filter combines both feed-forward (X terms) and feedback (USF terms) components in a second-order structure, creating a response with exceptional roll-off characteristics and minimal passband ripple.
## Interpretation Details
The Ultrasmooth Filter can be used in various trading strategies:
* **Major trend identification:** The direction of USF indicates the dominant market trend with minimal noise interference
* **Signal generation:** Crossovers between price and USF generate high-reliability trade signals with minimal false positives
* **Support/resistance levels:** USF can act as strong dynamic support during uptrends and resistance during downtrends
* **Market regime identification:** The slope of USF helps identify whether markets are in trending or consolidation phases
* **Multiple timeframe analysis:** Using USF across different chart timeframes creates a cohesive picture of nested trend structures
## Limitations and Considerations
* **Significant lag:** The extreme smoothing comes with increased lag compared to lighter filters
* **Initialization period:** Requires more bars than simpler filters to stabilize at the start of data
* **Less suitable for short-term trading:** Generally too slow-responding for short-term strategies
* **Parameter sensitivity:** Performance depends on appropriate length selection for the timeframe
* **Complementary tools:** Best used alongside faster-responding indicators for timing signals
## References
* Ehlers, J.F. "Cycle Analytics for Traders," Wiley, 2013
* Ehlers, J.F. "Rocket Science for Traders," Wiley, 2001
Ehlers Even Better Sinewave (EBSW)# EBSW: Ehlers Even Better Sinewave
## Overview and Purpose
The Ehlers Even Better Sinewave (EBSW) indicator, developed by John Ehlers, is an advanced cycle analysis tool. This implementation is based on a common interpretation that uses a cascade of filters: first, a High-Pass Filter (HPF) to detrend price data, followed by a Super Smoother Filter (SSF) to isolate the dominant cycle. The resulting filtered wave is then normalized using an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) mechanism, producing a bounded oscillator that fluctuates between approximately +1 and -1. It aims to provide a clear and responsive measure of market cycles.
## Core Concepts
* **Detrending (High-Pass Filter):** A 1-pole High-Pass Filter removes the longer-term trend component from the price data, allowing the indicator to focus on cyclical movements.
* **Cycle Smoothing (Super Smoother Filter):** Ehlers' Super Smoother Filter is applied to the detrended data to further refine the cycle component, offering effective smoothing with relatively low lag.
* **Wave Generation:** The output of the SSF is averaged over a short period (typically 3 bars) to create the primary "wave".
* **Automatic Gain Control (AGC):** The wave's amplitude is normalized by dividing it by the square root of its recent power (average of squared values). This keeps the oscillator bounded and responsive to changes in volatility.
* **Normalized Oscillator:** The final output is a single sinewave-like oscillator.
## Common Settings and Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Function | When to Adjust |
| ----------- | ------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Source | close | Price data used for calculation. | Typically `close`, but `hlc3` or `ohlc4` can be used for a more comprehensive price representation. |
| HP Length | 40 | Lookback period for the 1-pole High-Pass Filter used for detrending. | Shorter periods make the filter more responsive to shorter cycles; longer periods focus on longer-term cycles. Adjust based on observed cycle characteristics. |
| SSF Length | 10 | Lookback period for the Super Smoother Filter used for smoothing the detrended cycle component. | Shorter periods result in a more responsive (but potentially noisier) wave; longer periods provide more smoothing. |
**Pro Tip:** The `HP Length` and `SSF Length` parameters should be tuned based on the typical cycle lengths observed in the market and the desired responsiveness of the indicator.
## Calculation and Mathematical Foundation
**Simplified explanation:**
1. Remove the trend from the price data using a 1-pole High-Pass Filter.
2. Smooth the detrended data using a Super Smoother Filter to get a clean cycle component.
3. Average the output of the Super Smoother Filter over the last 3 bars to create a "Wave".
4. Calculate the average "Power" of the Super Smoother Filter output over the last 3 bars.
5. Normalize the "Wave" by dividing it by the square root of the "Power" to get the final EBSW value.
**Technical formula (conceptual):**
1. **High-Pass Filter (HPF - 1-pole):**
`angle_hp = 2 * PI / hpLength`
`alpha1_hp = (1 - sin(angle_hp)) / cos(angle_hp)`
`HP = (0.5 * (1 + alpha1_hp) * (src - src )) + alpha1_hp * HP `
2. **Super Smoother Filter (SSF):**
`angle_ssf = sqrt(2) * PI / ssfLength`
`alpha2_ssf = exp(-angle_ssf)`
`beta_ssf = 2 * alpha2_ssf * cos(angle_ssf)`
`c2 = beta_ssf`
`c3 = -alpha2_ssf^2`
`c1 = 1 - c2 - c3`
`Filt = c1 * (HP + HP )/2 + c2*Filt + c3*Filt `
3. **Wave Generation:**
`WaveVal = (Filt + Filt + Filt ) / 3`
4. **Power & Automatic Gain Control (AGC):**
`Pwr = (Filt^2 + Filt ^2 + Filt ^2) / 3`
`EBSW_SineWave = WaveVal / sqrt(Pwr)` (with check for Pwr == 0)
> 🔍 **Technical Note:** The combination of HPF and SSF creates a form of band-pass filter. The AGC mechanism ensures the output remains scaled, typically between -1 and +1, making it behave like a normalized oscillator.
## Interpretation Details
* **Cycle Identification:** The EBSW wave shows the current phase and strength of the dominant market cycle as filtered by the indicator. Peaks suggest cycle tops, and troughs suggest cycle bottoms.
* **Trend Reversals/Momentum Shifts:** When the EBSW wave crosses the zero line, it can indicate a potential shift in the short-term cyclical momentum.
* Crossing up through zero: Potential start of a bullish cyclical phase.
* Crossing down through zero: Potential start of a bearish cyclical phase.
* **Overbought/Oversold Levels:** While normalized, traders often establish subjective or statistically derived overbought/oversold levels (e.g., +0.85 and -0.85, or other values like +0.7, +0.9).
* Reaching above the overbought level and turning down may signal a potential cyclical peak.
* Falling below the oversold level and turning up may signal a potential cyclical trough.
## Limitations and Considerations
* **Parameter Sensitivity:** The indicator's performance depends on tuning `hpLength` and `ssfLength` to prevailing market conditions.
* **Non-Stationary Markets:** In strongly trending markets with weak cyclical components, or in very choppy non-cyclical conditions, the EBSW may produce less reliable signals.
* **Lag:** All filtering introduces some lag. The Super Smoother Filter is designed to minimize this for its degree of smoothing, but lag is still present.
* **Whipsaws:** Rapid oscillations around the zero line can occur in volatile or directionless markets.
* **Requires Confirmation:** Signals from EBSW are often best confirmed with other forms of technical analysis (e.g., price action, volume, other non-correlated indicators).
## References
* Ehlers, J. F. (2002). *Rocket Science for Traders: Digital Signal Processing Applications*. John Wiley & Sons.
* Ehlers, J. F. (2013). *Cycle Analytics for Traders: Advanced Technical Trading Concepts*. John Wiley & Sons.
