Trading Strategies
The strategies traders actually use: exact rules, an animated replay and the evidence for each.The trading strategies people actually use, each explained with its exact rules, an animated replay on a chart, a worked example and an honest word on the evidence.
43
strategies explained
8
families
43
animated replays
8
with published research
How to read the evidence labels
- Researched
- Published studies exist. Results depend on the details and on costs.
- Tested, mixed
- Public tests disagree, or the edge has faded over time.
- Popular, untested
- Widely used, but no rigorous public testing. An idea to test yourself.
Filter by family, evidence and style
43 strategies
- Trend & MomentumTested, mixedMoving average crossover (9/21 EMA)Buy when a fast moving average crosses above a slow one, sell when it crosses back: the simplest way to follow a trend.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Trend & MomentumTested, mixedPullback to the 20 EMAIn an established trend, wait for price to dip back to the 20 EMA and buy when it turns up again.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Trend & MomentumTested, mixedTurtle breakout (Donchian channel)Buy a close above the highest high of the last 20 days, exit on a close below the lowest low of the last 10: the rules the famous Turtle traders were taught.Swing trading, Position tradingBeginner
- Trend & MomentumResearchedTime series momentum (12-month trend)Once a month, hold a market if it is higher than it was 12 months ago and step aside (or go short) if it is lower.Position tradingBeginner
- Trend & MomentumPopular, untestedSupertrend (ATR trailing stop)A line set a few ATRs away from price that flips sides when price closes through it: buy on the flip up, exit on the flip down.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Trend & MomentumPopular, untestedMACD crossover with a trend filterIn an uptrend (above the 50 EMA), buy when MACD crosses above its signal line after a pullback; exit when it crosses back.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Breakouts & RangesResearchedOpening range breakout (ORB)Mark the high and low of the first minutes of the session, then trade the first decisive break out of that range.Day tradingBeginner
- Breakouts & RangesTested, mixedBreakout and retestLet price break a level, wait for it to come back and hold that level from the other side, then enter.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Breakouts & RangesPopular, untestedBollinger Band squeeze breakoutWhen the Bollinger Bands pinch to their narrowest, a big move is often near: trade the first close outside the bands.Day trading, Swing tradingIntermediate
- Breakouts & RangesTested, mixedLondon breakoutMark the quiet Asian session's range, then trade the first strong break of it when London opens.Day tradingBeginner
- Breakouts & RangesPopular, untestedInside bar breakoutAfter a candle that stays entirely inside the previous one's range, trade the break of the larger candle's high or low.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Breakouts & RangesPopular, untestedRange tradingWhen price swings between the same two levels, buy near support and sell near resistance, with the stop just outside the range.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Breakouts & RangesPopular, untestedGap and goWhen a stock opens far above yesterday's close on news, buy the break of the first candle's high and ride the momentum.Day tradingIntermediate
- Mean ReversionTested, mixedRSI(2) mean reversionIn a long-term uptrend, buy when a 2-period RSI shows a sharp short-term sell-off, and sell on the first bounce.Swing tradingBeginner
- Mean ReversionPopular, untestedBollinger Band mean reversionIn a sideways market, buy when price closes back inside after a close below the lower Bollinger Band, aiming for the middle band.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Mean ReversionPopular, untestedVWAP mean reversionWhen price stretches far from VWAP and stalls, trade the move back toward it.Day tradingIntermediate
- Mean ReversionPopular, untestedInternal bar strength (IBS)In a long-term uptrend, buy a day that closes near its low and sell on the next strong close.Swing tradingBeginner
- Price Action & PatternsPopular, untestedSupply and demand zonesMark the quiet base a strong move started from, then trade the first return to that zone.Day trading, Swing tradingIntermediate
- Price Action & PatternsTested, mixedPin bar reversalAt a key level, a candle with a long wick and a small body shows rejection: trade the break of its high (or low).Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Price Action & PatternsTested, mixedEngulfing candle reversalAfter a decline, a green candle whose body swallows the previous red body signals buyers taking over: buy at its close.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Price Action & PatternsTested, mixedDouble top and double bottomTwo lows at about the same price with a peak between them: a close above that peak (the neckline) completes the pattern and targets its height higher.Swing tradingBeginner
- Price Action & PatternsTested, mixedHead and shouldersThree peaks with the middle one highest: a close below the neckline sells, targeting the head's height below it.Swing tradingIntermediate
- Price Action & PatternsPopular, untestedBull flagAfter a fast rise (the pole), a small orderly dip (the flag); a close above the flag continues the move by about the pole's height.Day trading, Swing tradingBeginner
- Price Action & PatternsPopular, untestedFibonacci golden pocketAfter a clean move, buy a pullback into the 61.8 to 65% Fibonacci retracement zone, with the stop below 78.6% and the old high as the target.Day trading, Swing tradingIntermediate
- Price Action & PatternsPopular, untestedMarket structure shiftWhen a downtrend's last lower high is broken, wait for the first higher low and buy as it turns up.Day trading, Swing tradingIntermediate
- Smart Money & ICTPopular, untestedLiquidity sweep reversalWhen price dips under obvious equal lows and snaps straight back above them, trade the reversal.Day trading, Swing tradingIntermediate
- Smart Money & ICTPopular, untestedFair value gap entryAfter a strong candle leaves a gap between its neighbours' wicks, enter when price returns into that gap.Scalping, Day tradingIntermediate
- Smart Money & ICTPopular, untestedICT Silver BulletIn the 10 to 11 am New York hour, wait for a liquidity sweep and a fair value gap, then trade toward the next pool of liquidity.Day tradingAdvanced
- Smart Money & ICTPopular, untestedOrder block entryMark the last down candle before a strong move up that breaks structure, then buy the first return to it.Day trading, Swing tradingIntermediate
- Smart Money & ICTPopular, untestedPower of Three (AMD)A day often builds a range near its open, fakes one way (the Judas swing), then runs the other: buy back above the open after a false drop.Day tradingAdvanced
- Smart Money & ICTPopular, untestedWyckoff springIn a trading range after a decline, a brief drop below support that snaps back (the spring) and a quieter test are bought, targeting the top of the range.Swing tradingAdvanced
- IntradayPopular, untestedVWAP pullbackWhen price trends above VWAP, buy the pullback to VWAP once it turns back up.Day trading, ScalpingBeginner
- IntradayPopular, untested9 EMA first pullback scalpAfter a strong move off the open, buy the first pullback to the 9 EMA when price breaks the previous candle's high.Scalping, Day tradingIntermediate
- IntradayPopular, untestedOpening driveWhen price opens at the day's low and drives straight up without looking back, join it on a break of the first 15 minutes' high.Day tradingIntermediate
- CryptoPopular, untestedGrid tradingPlace buy orders at fixed steps below the price and a sell one step above each, so the grid buys dips and sells bounces while price ranges.Swing tradingBeginner
- CryptoResearchedDollar-cost averaging (DCA)Buy the same amount at regular intervals, whatever the price, so you buy more when it is cheap and never have to time the market.Position tradingBeginner
- CryptoPopular, untestedFunding rate arbitrageOwn a coin and short the same amount of its perpetual futures: price moves cancel out, and the short collects the funding payments.Position tradingAdvanced
- Options & MacroPopular, untested9:20 short straddleAt 9:20 am, sell the at-the-money call and put on an Indian index, with a stop on each leg, and buy back before the close.Day tradingAdvanced
- Options & MacroResearchedCovered calls and the wheelSell puts on a stock you would like to own until you are assigned, then sell calls on the shares until they are called away, collecting premium at every step.Position tradingIntermediate
- Options & MacroResearchedIron condorSell a call and a put either side of the price, buy further ones as protection, and profit if the index stays between the short strikes.Swing tradingAdvanced
- Options & MacroResearchedLong straddle before eventsBuy a call and a put at the same strike before an event, and profit if the move is bigger than what both cost.Swing tradingAdvanced
- Options & MacroResearchedCurrency carry tradeHold a high-interest currency against a low-interest one and collect the rate gap every day, accepting the risk of sudden crashes.Position tradingIntermediate
- Options & MacroResearchedPost-earnings drift (PEAD)After a strong earnings surprise, buy the stock the next day and hold for about 60 trading days as the price keeps adjusting.Swing trading, Position tradingIntermediate