Pullback to the 20 EMA
In a clear trend, price often pauses and dips back to its 20-period exponential moving average before continuing. This strategy waits for that dip and joins the trend when it resumes.
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 Pullback to the 20 EMA works
- 1Where's the level?
- The 20 EMA, in a trend where the 20 EMA is above the 50 EMA and both have risen over the last 10 candles (reverse everything for downtrends).
- 2What's the trigger?
- A candle's low touches the 20 EMA, then the next candle closes above that candle's high and above the 20 EMA.
- 3Where is it wrong?
- Just below the lowest low of the last 5 closed candles.
- 4Where does it end?
- 2 times the risk, or the most recent swing high, whichever comes first.
- Markets
- Futures, Stocks, Forex, Crypto
- Timeframes
- 5m to 1h
- Sessions
- Any liquid session
- Also called
- EMA pullback, trend pullback
What it means
In a clear trend, price often pauses and dips back to its 20-period exponential moving average before continuing. This strategy waits for that dip and joins the trend when it resumes.
How it is confirmed without repainting
EMA values are read on closed candles only. The pullback low is fixed when the trigger candle closes.
When it fails
Price closes through the 50 EMA, the moving averages flatten and cross, or pullbacks get deeper each time.
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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