20 EMA snapback
When price runs more than 3 ATRs away from its 20 EMA, it is stretched like a rubber band. The first candle that turns back is the signal to look for a return toward the average.
See the rulesGuides · Trade with a plan
Trade with a plan.
Learn 66 trading strategies on a real chart. Replay a setup and call it before it plays out, watch the next one form live, then build your plan.
Start here.
10 lessons · about 2 minutes each · nothing to sign up for
Lesson 1 of 10 · Breakout · about 2 minutes
Opening range breakout
The first minutes after the open set the day's early battle lines. Mark the high and low of the opening range, then follow price when it closes outside that range.
Start lesson 1- Watch a replayA real setup, candle by candle, sped up.
- Call itWhich way, where the stop goes, target or stop.
- Plan itSize it to your account before you ever trade it.
The 10 lessons
Pick one. 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.
What's in play.
All 66 strategies run on the live chart above at the same time. These setups are confirmed on a closed candle and haven't finished yet: each one is still on its way to its target or its stop. Press Watch to see one drawn on the chart.
Finished in the last hour 0
Education only. These are written strategy rules applied to live Bitcoin prices so you can watch how they behave. They are not trade calls, signals or advice, and nothing here can be traded.
66 strategies, one at a time.
Each one answers the same four questions: where is the level, what is the trigger, where is it wrong, where does it end. Press Watch on the chart to see it run above, or open it for the full rules.
200 EMA bounce
The 200-period EMA is the line many traders watch to separate an uptrend from a downtrend. In a rising market, the first test of a rising 200 EMA often holds.
See the rules9/21 EMA crossover
When a fast moving average crosses above a slow one, momentum has turned up. This is one of the oldest trend signals: follow the cross, exit on the opposite cross.
See the rulesAnchored VWAP bounce
A VWAP anchored to a major event (a swing low, an earnings gap) shows the average price paid since then. Price often bounces off it in a healthy trend.
See the rulesAsia range breakout
The Asia session (18:00 to 3:00 ET) is often quiet and sets a range. When London opens, a close outside that range often starts the day's first real move.
See the rulesBollinger band breakout
After a quiet stretch where the Bollinger bands narrow, a close outside the band with the bands starting to widen often marks the start of a move. The opposite of fading the band.
See the rulesBollinger band fade
Bollinger bands mark two standard deviations around a 20-period average. In a range, closes outside the band tend to snap back to the middle line.
See the rulesBreak and retest
Old resistance becomes new support. After price breaks a level, wait for it to come back and hold that level before joining the move.
See the rulesBreak of structure continuation
In an uptrend, each close above the prior high is a break of structure that confirms the trend. Entries come on the pullback after each break.
See the rulesBull and bear flags
A sharp move (the pole) is followed by a small, orderly drift against it (the flag). When price breaks out of the flag in the pole's direction, the trend usually continues.
See the rulesDonchian 20-bar breakout
Made famous by the Turtle Traders: buy when price closes above the highest high of the last 20 candles, sell when it closes below the lowest low. It catches big trends and accepts many small losses.
See the rulesDouble bottom and top
Price tests the same low twice and fails to break it, showing sellers are out of strength. When price clears the high between the two lows (the neckline), the reversal is confirmed.
See the rulesEMA ribbon pullback
When the 9, 21 and 50 EMAs are stacked in order and fanning apart, the trend is healthy. This strategy waits for price to dip into the ribbon, then joins as it turns back with the trend.
See the rulesEngulfing candle at a key level
An engulfing candle's body completely covers the previous candle's body, showing a sharp shift in control. It means most at a level that already matters.
See the rulesFailed breakout
When a breakout above a range closes back inside it, buyers who chased are trapped. Their exits can push price hard the other way.
See the rulesFair value gap fill
A fair value gap is a three-candle pattern where the middle candle moves so fast that the first and third candles' wicks don't overlap. Price often returns to fill that gap before continuing.
See the rulesGap and go
On news, stocks gap and keep running. This strategy follows the gap when the first candles confirm buyers are still in charge.
See the rulesGap fill
When the market opens away from yesterday's close, small gaps often get filled as price drifts back to the prior close.
See the rulesGolden and death cross
When the 50-period average crosses above the 200, it is called a golden cross, a sign a long trend may be starting. The opposite is a death cross. It is slow, famous and widely watched.
See the rulesHead and shoulders
Three peaks: a higher one (the head) between two lower ones (the shoulders). A close through the neckline that connects the lows signals the trend has turned.
See the rulesHigher-low continuation
An uptrend is a series of higher highs and higher lows. This strategy waits for a new higher low to form, then enters as price turns up from it.
See the rulesIchimoku cloud breakout
The Ichimoku cloud is a shaded zone built from past highs and lows. A close through the cloud, with the fast conversion line above the slower base line, suggests a new trend.
See the rulesInitial balance break
The initial balance is the first hour's range. A close beyond it signals the market has decided where to go and often extends by a fraction of the range.
See the rulesInside bar breakout
An inside bar is a candle that sits entirely within the previous candle's range. It shows a pause. A close beyond the larger 'mother' candle often starts the next move.
See the rulesInverse fair value gap
A fair value gap that price closes straight through has failed. The same zone often flips: old support becomes resistance. The retest of the flipped gap is the entry.
See the rulesJudas swing
Early in a session, price often makes a false move in one direction to take stops, then reverses for the real move of the day.
See the rulesKeltner channel breakout
The Keltner channel draws bands a set number of average true ranges around a 20-period average. A close outside the channel shows unusual strength and often starts a run.
See the rulesKeltner channel fade
The Keltner channel sits 2 ATRs either side of the 20 EMA. A close outside it is stretched. When the next candle closes back inside, price often drifts back toward the middle.
See the rulesKey reversal bar
A candle pushes to a new low, then closes above the previous candle's high. Sellers made one last push and buyers took over before the candle closed.
See the rulesLiquidity sweep
Obvious highs and lows have stop orders resting just beyond them. Price often pushes through to trigger those stops, then snaps back. This strategy trades the snap back.
See the rulesLondon open breakout
The quiet Asian session builds a range. When London opens and volume arrives, a close outside that range often starts the day's first real move.
See the rulesMACD crossover
MACD measures the gap between a fast and a slow moving average. When the MACD line crosses its signal line, momentum is shifting. Crosses below zero (for longs) or above zero (for shorts) catch the turn early.
See the rulesMACD divergence
Price makes a lower low, but MACD makes a higher low. The selling pressure behind the new low is weaker than last time. A turn back up confirms it.
See the rulesMACD zero line cross
When the MACD line crosses above zero, the 12 EMA has moved above the 26 EMA and short-term momentum has turned positive. It confirms a trend rather than catching the turn.
See the rulesMarket structure shift
In a downtrend, the first close above the last lower high is a change of character: sellers have lost control. Entries come on the pullback after the shift.
See the rulesMorning and evening star
A three-candle turn: a strong candle in the trend, a small pause candle, then a strong candle the other way that closes past the middle of the first. It shows control changing hands.
See the rulesNew York open drive
Some days open with a strong one-way move that never looks back. This strategy recognizes the drive early and joins the first pause.
See the rulesNR7 breakout
When yesterday had the narrowest range of the last seven days, a bigger move often follows. Trade the break of that narrow day's high or low.
See the rulesOpening range breakout
The first minutes after the open set the day's early battle lines. Mark the high and low of the opening range, then follow price when it closes outside that range.
See the rulesOptimal trade entry
After a strong move, wait for a pullback into the 62% to 79% Fibonacci retracement zone, the 'discount' area, then join the original direction.
See the rulesOrder block retest
An order block is the last opposite-colored candle before a strong move that breaks structure. It marks where large orders likely sat. Price often returns to it.
See the rulesOutside bar breakout
An outside bar trades above the previous high and below the previous low in the same candle. Both sides were tested. The side that breaks next usually shows who won.
See the rulesOvernight high and low test
The overnight session's high and low are magnets after the open. Price often tests one of them, then either rejects or breaks through.
See the rulesParabolic SAR flip
Parabolic SAR draws a trail of dots that follows price and speeds up as the trend runs. When price crosses the dots, they flip to the other side, signalling a possible change of direction.
See the rulesPin bar rejection
A long wick with a small body shows price tried to go one way and was firmly pushed back. At a level, that rejection often marks a turn.
See the rulesPoint of control retest
The point of control is the single price where the most volume traded. Untouched prior points of control act as magnets and turning points.
See the rulesPrevious day high and low break
Yesterday's high and low are levels almost every trader watches. A decisive close beyond one of them often brings follow-through as stops trigger.
See the rulesPullback 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.
See the rulesRound number rejection
Traders cluster orders at round prices. Price often pokes through a round number, triggers those orders, then snaps back. This strategy trades the snap back.
See the rulesRSI divergence
Price makes a lower low but RSI makes a higher low. Momentum is fading even as price drops, which often comes before a turn.
See the rulesRSI overbought and oversold
RSI scores momentum from 0 to 100. Below 30 is called oversold, above 70 overbought. This strategy waits for RSI to cross back inside those lines, which shows the extreme move is losing steam.
See the rulesRSI(2) pullback
Popularized by Larry Connors: in a long-term uptrend, buy when a very short RSI shows the market is deeply oversold, then sell on the bounce.
See the rulesSilver Bullet
An ICT concept: within the 10–11 a.m. ET window, look for a fair value gap that forms after liquidity is taken, and trade toward the next pool of liquidity.
See the rulesStochastic crossover
The stochastic oscillator shows where price closed within its recent range. When the fast line (%K) crosses the slow line (%D) in the oversold or overbought zone, a swing back is often starting.
See the rulesSupertrend follow
Supertrend draws a line a set distance (based on average true range) away from price. When price closes across it, the trend has flipped. The line then trails price as a stop.
See the rulesThe 80% rule
A Market Profile rule: if price opens outside yesterday's value area and then spends two 30-minute periods back inside it, it often travels across the whole value area.
See the rulesThree pushes
A trend makes three pushes, each weaker than the last. After the third, the move is often exhausted.
See the rulesThree soldiers and three crows
Three strong candles in a row in the same direction, each closing near its extreme and opening within the last one's body. Coming after a pause or a fall, they signal a decisive turn.
See the rulesThree-bar play
A wide ignition candle shows strong buyers (or sellers). One or two small candles pause near its top without giving much back. A close above the ignition high says the move is continuing.
See the rulesTriangle breakout
Price squeezes between a flat level and a rising (or falling) trendline. Pressure builds until one side gives way.
See the rulesTweezer tops and bottoms
Two candles in a row hit the same low (or high), one falling and one rising. The level was tested twice and held. It works best at the low or high of a recent move.
See the rulesValue area rejection
The value area is where about 70% of yesterday's volume traded. Opening near its edges, price often gets rejected back toward the middle.
See the rulesVolatility squeeze breakout
When Bollinger bands contract inside Keltner channels, volatility is unusually low. Low volatility tends to be followed by expansion.
See the rulesVolume climax reversal
A candle with far more volume than usual makes a new low but closes off it. That is often the last wave of panic selling. If the next candle confirms, price tends to bounce.
See the rulesVWAP band fade
On quiet days, price tends to stay near VWAP. When it stretches to the second standard-deviation band and stalls, it often swings back toward VWAP.
See the rulesVWAP reclaim
VWAP is the day's volume-weighted average price, the fair price for the day. When price reclaims VWAP and holds it, buyers have taken back control.
See the rulesNo strategies match those filters.
Build your plan.
Five steps, in order. Pick a strategy, choose where you'll trade it, size it so a losing streak can't end the account, set your daily rules, then check it before every trade.
-
1
Pick your strategy
One strategy, learned well. Start with the one on the chart, or pick another.
- Where's the level?
- What's the trigger?
- Where is it wrong?
- Where does it end?
-
2
Choose your market and timeframe
Trade it on one market, one timeframe, in one session, so every example you see looks the same.
-
3
Size it to the account
Start from the drawdown your firm gives you and work backwards. The numbers below are a typical 50K futures evaluation; change them to yours.
See every firm's drawdown →Risk per trade$200Ten full losses before the drawdown is goneRisk per contract$4020 points × $2 a pointSize5 MNQ$200 ÷ $40, rounded down -
4
Set your daily rules
Decide these before the session, not during it.
Two losses is $400, a fifth of the drawdown.
-
5
Check it before every trade
Tick all eight or don't take it.