Strategy library
Trading strategies with exact rules
Every strategy with its setup, entry, stop and exit rules, a worked example, the mistakes that ruin it and how to practise it on real charts. Many come from famous traders, whose methods are explained in their own pages.
Trend following
Intermediate · Richard Dennis and the Turtle TradersTurtle Trading strategyBuy a 20 or 55-day high, sell a 20 or 55-day low, size every position by volatility and let the trend pay for the many small losses.BeginnerMoving average pullback strategyIn a clear trend, wait for price to come back to the 20 or 50 EMA, then join the trend on a rejection candle with the stop behind the swing.Intermediate · Linda Bradford RaschkeHoly Grail setup (Linda Raschke)When ADX shows a strong trend, the first pullback to the 20 EMA is bought (or sold) on the break of the previous candle.Intermediate · Alexander ElderTriple Screen trading system (Alexander Elder)Three timeframes, three filters: the long-term trend decides the direction, an oscillator finds the pullback and a breakout triggers the entry.Beginner · Paul Tudor Jones200-day moving average strategyA single rule: above the 200-day average you only look for longs, below it only for shorts. It keeps you out of most bear-market disasters.Intermediate · Stan WeinsteinStage Analysis (Stan Weinstein)Every market cycles through four stages. Buy when it breaks out of the base into Stage 2 above a rising 30-week average, and sell when it rolls over.
Breakouts
Intermediate · Toby CrabelNR7 and inside day breakoutVolatility moves in cycles. After the narrowest candle of the last seven, a bigger move is likely: trade the break of that candle.Beginner · Nicolas DarvasDarvas box strategyBuy a strong market when it breaks out of a consolidation box near its highs, and move the stop up under every new box.IntermediateBollinger Band squeezeWhen the bands are the narrowest in months, volatility is about to expand. Trade the candle that closes outside the bands.Intermediate · Larry WilliamsVolatility breakout (Larry Williams)Measure yesterday's range, add a fraction of it to today's open and buy if price gets there: a sudden expansion often keeps running.Advanced · Mark MinerviniVolatility Contraction Pattern (VCP)In a leading uptrend, each pullback gets smaller and volume dries up. Buy the breakout from the tightest point, the pivot.Intermediate · William O'NeilCup and handle patternA rounded base (the cup) followed by a small, quiet pullback (the handle). Buy the breakout above the handle with a strict stop.
Reversals and mean reversion
Intermediate · Linda Bradford RaschkeTurtle Soup (false breakout fade)When price makes a new 20-day low and immediately fails to follow through, the breakout traders are trapped: trade back into the range.IntermediateRSI(2) mean reversionIn a long-term uptrend, a 2-period RSI below 10 marks a short-term overreaction. Buy it and sell the bounce.Advanced · Richard WyckoffWyckoff springIn an accumulation range, price dips below support to shake out weak holders, then snaps back. Buy the test of the spring.IntermediateHead and shoulders patternThree peaks, the middle one highest. When price breaks the neckline joining the troughs, the uptrend has failed.Advanced · Al BrooksSecond entry (H2 / L2) - Al BrooksIn a trend, the first attempt to resume often fails; the second attempt, the High 2 or Low 2, traps the counter-trend traders and usually works better.
Smart money and liquidity
Intermediate · ICT (Michael J. Huddleston)Liquidity sweep + CHoCH reversalWait for price to take out obvious stops, then for a break of structure the other way, and enter on the pullback into the imbalance.Advanced · ICT (Michael J. Huddleston)ICT Silver BulletDuring a specific one-hour window, look for price to reach toward liquidity and enter on the first fair value gap in that direction.Intermediate · ICT (Michael J. Huddleston)Optimal trade entry (OTE)After an impulse breaks structure, the deep 62–79% retracement offers a discounted entry with a tight stop.
Intraday and sessions
Beginner · Toby CrabelOpening range breakout (ORB)Mark the high and low of the first minutes of the session and trade the break of that range, with the stop on the opposite side.BeginnerLondon breakout strategyThe quiet Asian session builds a tight range. When London opens, liquidity floods in and price usually breaks out of it.IntermediateVWAP pullbackWhen price trends above VWAP, the first pullback to VWAP is where institutions measure a fair price: buy the rejection.
Famous traders
1877–1940 · Stocks and commoditiesJesse LivermoreThe original speculator: trade with the line of least resistance, add only to winners and never average a loss.1983–1988 · FuturesRichard Dennis and the Turtle TradersProof that trading can be taught: a complete, mechanical breakout system with strict position sizing.1873–1934 · StocksRichard WyckoffRead the footprints of large operators: accumulation before markups, distribution before markdowns.1920–1977 · StocksNicolas DarvasA professional dancer who traded by telegram: buy strength out of boxes, protect every position with a stop.1933–2023 · StocksWilliam O'NeilStudy the biggest winners, buy the ones that look like them at the right point, and cut every loss at 7–8%.Active since the 1980s · StocksMark MinerviniOnly trade leaders in Stage 2, buy the tight pivot of a volatility contraction, and keep losses small.Born 1950 · Stocks and futuresAlexander ElderMind, method and money: a psychiatrist's complete framework, with Triple Screen entries and strict risk rules.Active since the 1980s · FuturesLinda Bradford RaschkeA short-term trader known for simple, repeatable setups and for trading what she sees, not what she thinks.Active since the 1980s · FuturesToby CrabelThe researcher behind the opening range breakout and the narrow-range (NR4/NR7) patterns.Active since the late 1980s · Index futuresAl BrooksRead every bar: who is in control now, and are traders trapped? Second entries in trends are his bread and butter.Born 1942 · FuturesLarry WilliamsKnown for winning the 1987 World Cup of futures trading and for the volatility breakout and Williams %R.Born 1946 · FuturesEd SeykotaA pioneer of computerised trend following: cut losses, ride winners, keep bets small and follow the rules.Born 1954 · Global macroPaul Tudor JonesA macro legend whose rules are mostly about defence: protect capital, use the 200-day average and seek 5-to-1 trades.Active since the 1970s · StocksStan WeinsteinClassify every chart into one of four stages and only own markets in Stage 2.1948–2015 · Trading psychologyMark DouglasConsistency comes from thinking in probabilities: any single trade can lose; a series of trades with an edge wins.Active since the 1990s · Forex and index futuresICT (Michael J. Huddleston)The educator behind much of today's "smart money" vocabulary: liquidity, fair value gaps, order blocks and killzones.