Gap fill

When the market opens away from yesterday's close, small gaps often get filled as price drifts back to the prior close.

Mean reversion strategiesIntermediateConfirmed on candle close

Watch it play out

Replay plays a setup this strategy already finished and stops so you can call it. Live watches for the next one on Bitcoin (BTC-USD, 1-minute candles). Either way a setup is marked only when a candle closes, then it's locked and plays out to its target or its stop. Nothing to trade here.

How the live chart applies the rules
  • 1-minute candles. The chart runs every strategy on 1-minute Bitcoin candles from Coinbase, whatever timeframe the strategy page suggests. Times are New York time.
  • Closed candles only. Levels, triggers and stops are read when a candle closes. Entry is that candle's close.
  • One setup at a time. While a setup is playing out, the same strategy doesn't start another.
  • Sensible risk only. A setup counts only if its stop is between a quarter and 6 times the average candle range (ATR 14) from entry (wider for session-range strategies), and its target is at least 0.75R away.
  • How a setup ends. At its target or its stop. If one candle touches both, the stop counts. A setup also ends at any exit its page names, and after 120 candles (longer for trend and session strategies) if nothing is hit.
  • Replays. A replay plays the latest setup this strategy finished on the live chart's recent history, sped up. It's the same setup the live chart confirmed, with the same entry, stop and result. If the strategy hasn't finished one recently, the replay uses example candles and says so.
  • The trading day. A day runs 6:00 PM to 6:00 PM ET, like futures. VWAP restarts at 6:00 PM, and "yesterday" means the last full trading day.

How Gap fill works

TargetStopYesterday's closeGap fills
Example drawing, not live market data.
1Where's the level?
The previous session's closing price.
2What's the trigger?
Between 9:35 and 11:00 ET, after a gap of at least 1.5 ATR, a candle closes below the first 5-minute low (after a gap up) or above the first 5-minute high (after a gap down). Once a day.
3Where is it wrong?
Beyond the opening extreme.
4Where does it end?
The previous close.
Markets
Stocks, Index futures
Timeframes
1m to 5m
Sessions
New York open
Also called
opening gap fade

What it means

When the market opens away from yesterday's close, small gaps often get filled as price drifts back to the prior close.

How it is confirmed without repainting

The prior close is fixed. The opening extreme is final when the first 5 minutes close.

When it fails

Large gaps on major news, which often keep running.

Education only. Prop Firm Duel does not provide trade signals or financial advice. This page explains how the strategy is commonly defined. Past results never guarantee future results.

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