Renko BandsThis is renko without the candles, just the endpoint plotted as a line with bands around it that represent the brick size. The idea came from thinking about what renko actually gives you once you strip away the visual brick format. At its core, renko is a filtered price series that only updates when price moves a fixed amount, which means it's inherently a trend-following mechanism with built-in noise reduction. By plotting just the renko price level and surrounding it with bands at the brick threshold distances, you get something that works like regular volatility bands while still behaving as a trend indicator.
The center line is the current renko price, which trails actual price based on whichever brick sizing method you've selected. When price moves enough to complete a brick in the renko calculation, the center line jumps to the new brick level. The bands sit at plus and minus one brick size from that center line, showing you exactly how far price needs to move before the next brick would form. This makes the bands function as dynamic breakout levels. When price touches or crosses a band, you know a new renko brick is forming and the trend calculation is updating.
What makes this cool is the dual-purpose nature. You can use it like traditional volatility bands where the outer edges represent boundaries of normal price movement, and breaks beyond those boundaries signal potential trend continuation or exhaustion. But because the underlying calculation is renko rather than standard deviation or ATR around a moving average, the bands also give you direct insight into trend state. When the center line is rising consistently and price stays near the upper band, you're in a clean uptrend. When it's falling and price hugs the lower band, downtrend. When the center line is flat and price is bouncing between both bands, you're ranging.
The three brick sizing methods work the same way as standard renko implementations. Traditional sizing uses a fixed price range, so your bands are always the same absolute distance from the center line. ATR-based sizing calculates brick range from historical volatility, which makes the bands expand and contract based on the ATR measurement you chose at startup. Percentage-based sizing scales the brick size with price level, so the bands naturally widen as price increases and narrow as it decreases. This automatic scaling is particularly useful for instruments that move proportionally rather than in fixed increments.
The visual simplicity compared to full renko bricks makes this more practical for overlay use on your main chart. Instead of trying to read brick patterns in a separate pane or cluttering your price chart with boxes and lines, you get a single smoothed line with two bands that convey the same information about trend state and momentum. The center line shows you the filtered trend direction, the bands show you the threshold levels, and the relationship between price and the bands tells you whether the current move has legs or is stalling out.
From a trend-following perspective, the renko line naturally stays flat during consolidation and only moves when directional momentum is strong enough to complete bricks. This built-in filter removes a lot of the whipsaw that affects moving averages during choppy periods. Traditional moving averages continue updating with every bar regardless of whether meaningful directional movement is happening, which leads to false signals when price is just oscillating. The renko line only responds to sustained moves that meet the brick size threshold, so it tends to stay quiet when price is going nowhere and only signals when something is actually happening.
The bands also serve as natural stop-loss or profit-target references since they represent the distance price needs to move before the trend calculation changes. If you're long and the renko line is rising, you might place stops below the lower band on the theory that if price falls far enough to reverse the renko trend, your thesis is probably invalidated. Conversely, the upper band can mark levels where you'd expect the current brick to complete and potentially see some consolidation or pullback before the next brick forms.
What this really highlights is that renko's value isn't just in the brick visualization, it's in the underlying filtering mechanism. By extracting that mechanism and presenting it in a more traditional band format, you get access to renko's trend-following properties without needing to commit to the brick chart aesthetic or deal with the complications of overlaying brick drawings on a time-based chart. It's renko after all, so you get the trend filtering and directional clarity that makes renko useful, but packaged in a way that integrates more naturally with standard technical analysis workflows.
Indicators and strategies
Heiken Ashi Trend w/vol Signals**Heiken Ashi Trend Signals**
⚠️ **DISCLAIMER: Trading involves extreme risk. This is for educational purposes only.**
**What This Indicator Does:**
This indicator identifies potential entry and exit points for trending moves by analyzing Heiken Ashi candle patterns combined with moving average confirmation and trend visualization. It provides visual signals based on specific candle characteristics and momentum shifts, along with volume. This can help spot reversals, pullback/continuations, take profit signals, and other trading opportunities.
**IMPORTANT:** It is recommended to use along with Heiken Ashi style candles, but the signals will still plot on other chart types. It's important to know it's always using Heiken Ashi calculations regardless of which chart style you prefer. Intended to use with Weekly/Daily chart, Daily/4hr chart, or 4hr/1hr chart combinations.
**Turn off all sell signals to reduce clutter if you're trading Longs
**Alert Functionality:**
Choose which signals matter most to your trading strategy or which entry you're waiting for on a specific chart. Set up individual alerts for:
- Long Entry - Get notified when bullish signal criteria are met
- Long Entry High Volume - Get notified only when bullish signals occur with above average volume
- Exit Long - Know when long exit conditions trigger
- Short Entry - Catch bearish signal opportunities
- Short Entry High Volume - Get notified only when bearish signals occur with above average volume.
- Exit Short - Exit alerts for short positions
Monitor opportunities across multiple symbols without watching charts constantly. Each alert type can be enabled or disabled independently based on your specific setup. They can also be added to entire watchlists at once, depending on the TV plan you have.
**Key Features:**
📢 Flexible Alert System: Select only the signal types you want to be notified about - perfect for traders who focus exclusively on longs, shorts, or both
🟢 Long Entry Signals: Identifies strong bullish candles (no lower wick) that close above both EMAs with recent "red bar" in the previous 4 bars
🔴 Short Entry Signals: Identifies strong bearish candles (no upper wick) that close below both EMAs with recent "green bar" in the previous 4 bars
🚪 Exit Signals: Flags when opposing candle color appears (orange X for long exits, purple X for short exits) - this can be a take profit, stop loss adjustment, etc., depending on your target or other confluence such as support/resistance, 200 SMA, etc.
📊 Volume Confirmation: Small colored circles appear on signal bars to indicate volume strength (green = above average, yellow = below average)**
☁️ Dynamic EMA Cloud: Visual trend indicator based on EMA alignment
📊 Customizable Moving Averages: Two EMAs (default 8 & 30) and two SMAs (default 50 & 200), all fully adjustable
🎨 Full Customization: All colors, transparencies, and line weights are adjustable in the Style tab
**Understanding Heiken Ashi Candles:**
Regular candlesticks display raw price action, including every minor fluctuation and moment of indecision. Heiken Ashi candles take a different approach - they average price data from the current and previous periods, creating a smoothed representation of price movement.
Think of it like this: if regular candles show every ripple in the ocean, Heiken Ashi candles are the overall movement of the ocean.
This smoothing process filters out market noise and makes genuine trend changes easier to identify.
**Benefits of Using Heiken Ashi:**
✅ Clearer Trend Visualization - Sustained color runs indicate strong trends
✅ Reduced Noise - Smoothing removes choppy, indecisive price action
✅ Momentum Identification - Helps spot potential shifts in market direction
✅ Easier to Read - Less cognitive load analyzing price action
**Moving Averages & Trend Context:**
The indicator includes a comprehensive moving average system to provide trend context:
**Simple Moving Averages:**
- SMA 1 (default 50) - Intermediate trend reference
- SMA 2 (default 200) - Long-term trend reference
- Both lengths are fully customizable
- Toggle on/off independently
- Use for additional support/resistance context and confluence
**Volume Confirmation:**
The indicator includes volume analysis to help assess signal stength:
- Green circle = strong volume
- Orange circle = weak volume
**High volume alerts available** - set alerts specifically for signals that occur with strong volume
**Why This Matters:**
- Breakouts with high volume tend to be more reliable
- Low volume signals may indicate weak participation or false moves
- Allows you to prioritize high-conviction setups
- Can filter out low-volume signals entirely using the "High Volume" alert options
**Benefits of This Approach:**
✅ Additional Confirmation - Requires breaking through resistance/support
✅ Filtered Signals - Reduces signals on weak bounces
✅ Quality Focus - Fewer but more structured setups
✅ Clear Criteria - Objective rules for signal generation
**Using This Indicator in Confluence:**
This indicator is designed to be one component of a comprehensive trading strategy. Always use it in conjunction with other analysis methods:
**Potential Confluence Factors:**
✅ Volume Confirmation - Higher volume breakouts are typically more reliable
✅ Longer-Term Moving Averages (50ma & 200ma), Support & Resistance, Fibonacci levels, etc
✅ Market Structure - Identify higher highs/lows (uptrend) or lower highs/lows (downtrend)
✅ Time Frame Alignment - Confirm signals on your trading timeframe align with higher timeframe trends
**Important Considerations:**
This indicator provides signals based on mathematical criteria, but does not guarantee trading success. All trading involves risk, and you should:
- Never rely on a single indicator for trading decisions
- Always do your own analysis and due diligence
- Use proper risk management and position sizing
- Practice on paper/demo accounts
- Understand that past performance does not indicate future results
**What Makes This Indicator Useful:**
This indicator combines multiple confirmation factors:
- No bottom wick (for longs) = buyers controlled the entire session, no lower rejection
- No top wick (for shorts) = sellers controlled the entire session, no upper rejection
- Volume confirmation = visual indicator of participation strength
- Visual trend context = cloud color shows EMA alignment at a glance
**Best Used For:**
- Swing trading on daily/weekly timeframes. Some prefer to enter on 4hr confirmation.
- Identifying potential trend changes for further analysis
- Visual confirmation of EMA alignment and trend structure
- Combining with volume, support/resistance, and other technical factors
- Filtering for high-probability setups with volume confirmation
- Systematic, rules-based approach to reduce emotional decisions
- Spotting reversals, pullbacks/continuations, and take profit opportunities
All visual elements are fully customizable to match your charting preferences while maintaining the core signal logic.
**Educational Tool:**
This indicator is intended as an educational and analytical tool to help traders identify potential setups based on specific technical criteria. It should be used as part of a broader trading education and strategy development process, not as standalone trading advice.
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DTR & ATR with live zonesThis indicator is designed to help traders gauge the day's volatility in real-time. It compares the current Daily True Range (DTR)—the distance between the session's high and low—to the historical Average True Range (ATR).
The main purpose is to project potential price levels where the market might reach based on its average volatility. These levels (100% ATR, 150%, 200%, etc.) can be used as price targets. For instance, if you're in a long trade, you might consider taking partial or full profits as the price approaches these upper ATR extension levels. The indicator is highly customisable, allowing you to control the appearance of the ATR lines, zones, and labels to fit your charting preferences.
Core Concepts: ATR and DTR
To use this indicator effectively, it's important to understand its two main components:
Average True Range (ATR): This is a classic technical analysis indicator that measures market volatility. It calculates the average range of price movement over a specific period (e.g., 14 days). A higher ATR means the price is, on average, moving more, while a low ATR indicates less volatility. This script uses a higher timeframe ATR (e.g., Daily) to establish a stable volatility baseline for the current trading day.
Daily True Range (DTR): This is simply the difference between the current trading session's highest high and lowest low (session high - session low). It tells you how much the price has actually moved so far today.
The indicator's logic revolves around comparing the live, unfolding DTR to the historical, baseline ATR. An on-screen table conveniently shows this comparison as a percentage, to show how volatile the day has been.
How It Works: The Dynamic & Locked Mechanism
The most clever part of this indicator is how it draws the ATR levels. It operates in two distinct phases during the trading session:
Phase 1: Dynamic Expansion (Before DTR meets ATR)
At the start of the session, the DTR is small. The indicator calculates the remaining range needed to "complete" the 100% ATR level (difference = avg_atr - dtr). It then adds this remaining amount to the session high and subtracts it from the session low. This creates a "floating" 100% ATR range that expands dynamically as the session high or low is extended.
Phase 2: The Lock-in (After DTR meets or exceeds ATR)
Once the day's range (DTR) becomes equal to or greater than the avg_atr, the day has met its "expected" volatility. At this point, the levels lock in place. The indicator intelligently determines the anchor point for the locked range.
Once this primary 100% ATR range is established (either dynamically or locked), the script projects the other levels (150%, 200%, 250%, and 300%) by adding or subtracting multiples of the avg_atr from this base.
How to Use It for Trading
The primary use of this indicator is to set logical, volatility-based price targets.
Setting Profit Targets: If you enter a long position, the upper ATR levels (100%, 150%, 200%) serve as excellent areas to consider taking profits. A move to the 200% or 250% level often signifies an overextended or "exhaustion" move, making it a high-probability exit zone. For short positions, the lower ATR levels serve the same purpose.
Assessing Intraday Momentum: The on-screen table tells you how much of the expected daily range has been used. If it's early in the session and the DTR is only at 30% of the ATR, you can anticipate more significant price movement is likely to come. Conversely, if the DTR is already at 150% of ATR, the bulk of the day's move may already be complete.
Mean Reversion Signals: If the price pushes to an extreme level (e.g., 250% ATR) and shows signs of stalling (e.g., bearish divergence on an oscillator), it could signal a potential reversal or pullback, offering an opportunity for a counter-trend trade.
Key Settings
ATR Length & Smoothing Type: These settings control how the baseline ATR is calculated. The default 14 period and RMA smoothing are standard, but you can adjust them to your preference.
Session Settings: This is crucial. You must set the Market Session and Time Zone to match the primary trading hours of the asset you are analysing (e.g., "0930-1600" for the NYSE session).
Show Lines / Show Labels / Show Zones: The script gives you full control over the visual display. You can toggle each ATR level's lines, labels, and background zones individually to avoid a cluttered chart and focus only on the levels that matter to your strategy.
Adaptive Volatility Bands | AlphaNattAdaptive Volatility Bands (AVB) | AlphaNatt
Professional-grade dynamic bands that adapt to market volatility and trend strength, featuring smooth gradient visualization for enhanced chart clarity.
🎯 CORE CONCEPT
AVB creates self-adjusting bands around a customizable basis line, expanding during trending markets and contracting during consolidation. The gradient fill provides instant visual feedback on price position within the volatility envelope.
✨ KEY FEATURES
5 Basis Types: Choose between SMA, EMA, ALMA, KAMA, or VWMA for the centerline calculation
Adaptive Band Width: Bands automatically widen in strong trends and tighten in ranging markets
Smooth Gradient Fills: 10-layer gradient on each side for professional depth visualization
Multiple Volatility Metrics: ATR, Standard Deviation, or Range-based calculations
Squeeze Detection: Identifies Bollinger/Keltner squeeze conditions for breakout anticipation
Dynamic Color States: Cyan (#00F1FF) for bullish, Magenta (#FF019A) for bearish conditions
📊 HOW IT WORKS
The basis line is calculated using your selected moving average type
Volatility is measured using ATR, StDev, or Range
Trend strength is quantified via linear regression
Band width adapts based on normalized trend strength (when enabled)
Gradient layers create smooth visual transitions from bands to basis
Color state changes based on price position and basis direction
🔧 PARAMETER GROUPS
Basis Configuration:
Basis Type: Moving average calculation method
Basis Length (20): Period for centerline calculation
ALMA Settings: Offset (0.85) and Sigma (6) for ALMA basis
Volatility Settings:
Volatility Method: ATR, Standard Deviation, or Range
Volatility Length (14): Lookback for volatility calculation
Band Multiplier (2.0): Distance of bands from basis
Adaptive Settings:
Enable Adaptive (true): Toggle dynamic band adjustment
Adaptation Period (50): Trend strength measurement window
Squeeze Detection:
BB/KC Parameters: Settings for squeeze identification
Expansion Threshold: Multiplier for expansion signals
📈 TRADING SIGNALS
Long Conditions:
Price crosses above basis
Basis line is rising
Band color shifts to cyan
Short Conditions:
Price crosses below basis
Basis line is falling
Band color shifts to magenta
💡 USAGE STRATEGIES
Trend Following: Trade with the basis direction when bands are expanding
Mean Reversion: Fade moves to outer bands during squeeze conditions
Breakout Trading: Enter on expansion signals after squeeze periods
Support/Resistance: Use bands as dynamic S/R levels
Position Sizing: Wider bands suggest higher volatility - adjust size accordingly
🎨 VISUAL ELEMENTS
Gradient Fills: 10 opacity layers creating smooth band transitions
Dynamic Colors: State-dependent coloring for instant trend recognition
Basis Line: Bold centerline changes color with trend state
Band Lines: Outer boundaries with matching state colors
⚡ BEST PRACTICES
The AVB indicator works optimally on liquid instruments with consistent volume. The adaptive feature performs best in trending markets but can generate false signals during choppy conditions. Consider using alongside momentum indicators for confirmation. The gradient visualization helps identify price position within the volatility envelope at a glance.
🔔 ALERTS INCLUDED
Long/Short Signals
Squeeze Conditions
Expansion Breakouts
Band Touch Events
Version 6 | Pine Script™ | © AlphaNatt
Liquidity Sniper V3 (ANTI-FAKEOUT)An advanced institutional trading indicator combining liquidity pool targeting, smart money concepts, and momentum-based entries with comprehensive risk management.
🎯 CORE FEATURES:
- Liquidity Sniper Module: Identifies and targets major liquidity pools (PDH/PDL, PWH/PWL, Equal Highs/Lows, HVN/LVN edges)
- Anti-Fakeout Stack: 10-layer confirmation system including VWAP reclaim, micro BOS, displacement, relative volume, and mitigation entries
- Momentum Engulf Add-On: Catches high-velocity impulsive moves with engulfing candles, volume spikes, and volatility breakouts
- GARCH Volatility Filter: Dynamic volatility analysis to avoid choppy conditions
- Multi-Timeframe Confirmation: Ensures alignment across timeframes before entries
📊 SIGNAL CLASSIFICATION:
- BEST (Green): Highest probability setups with all confirmations aligned - 6.0+ score
- BETTER (Medium Green): Strong setups with most confirmations - 4.5-6.0 score
- GOOD (Light Green): Valid setups with basic confirmations - 3.0-4.5 score
🔍 TRADE SCENARIOS:
S1: Liquidity Reversal - Sweeps + reversals at key levels with displacement
S2: Continuation - Trend following with VWAP mean reversion
S3: Mean Reversion - Extreme deviations (2σ+) with Fibonacci exhaustion
S4: Deep Sweep - 3σ sweeps at major liquidity with high confluence
⚡ MOMENTUM TRIGGERS:
- MET (Momentum Engulf): Bullish/bearish engulfing with 1.5x+ volume spike and ATR impulse
- VBT (Volatility Breakout): Range breakouts with sigma bursts and participation
🛡️ RISK MANAGEMENT:
- Dynamic TP/SL based on ATR, VWAP bands, and liquidity pools
- 3-tier targets (T1: VWAP, T2: Nearest pool, T3: 5R extension)
- Early invalidation tracking (0.5R movement monitoring)
- Minimum 2:1 RR requirement with cooldown periods
- RTH session filters and anti-spam protection
📈 TECHNICAL EDGE:
- SMT Divergence detection vs ES correlation
- CVD (Cumulative Volume Delta) divergence confirmation
- FVG (Fair Value Gap) and Order Block mitigation entries
- Equal highs/lows clustering analysis
- Volume profile HVN/LVN identification
⚙️ FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE:
All parameters adjustable including cooldowns, proximity thresholds, ATR multipliers, RR floors, and scenario weights.
Perfect for: ES/NQ futures, forex majors, and liquid stocks. Works on 1-15 min timeframes. Best results during NY session (9:35-11:00 AM & 1:30-3:30 PM ET).
Created for serious traders seeking institutional-grade edge with quantifiable risk/reward and high-probability setups
Advanced Multi-Timeframe Trend & Signal System═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
ADVANCED MULTI-TIMEFRAME TREND & SIGNAL SYSTEM v1.0
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Created by: Zakaria Safri
License: Mozilla Public License 2.0
A comprehensive technical analysis tool designed for traders seeking
multi-dimensional market insights. This indicator combines proven
technical analysis methods with modern visualization techniques.
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KEY FEATURES
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✓ SUPERTREND SIGNAL GENERATION
- Customizable sensitivity settings
- Clear long/short entry signals
- Automatic trend direction detection
- ATR-based dynamic calculations
✓ MULTI-TIMEFRAME DASHBOARD
- Real-time trend analysis across 6 timeframes
- Synchronized trend confirmation
- Customizable table position and size
- Current: 1M, 5M, 15M, 1H, 1D coverage
✓ QQE REVERSAL DETECTION
- Quantitative Qualitative Estimation algorithm
- Early reversal signal identification
- Adjustable RSI and smoothing parameters
- Confirmation-based plotting
✓ DYNAMIC SUPPORT & RESISTANCE
- Pivot-based level calculation
- Quick and standard pivot detection
- Color-coded zones (8 levels)
- Automatic level updates
✓ MOMENTUM BREAKOUT SIGNALS
- Ichimoku-inspired calculations
- Bullish and bearish breakout detection
- Visual zone highlighting
- Trend confirmation filters
✓ RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
- ATR-based stop loss calculation
- Multiple take profit targets (TP1, TP2, TP3)
- Customizable risk-to-reward ratios
- Dynamic price level tracking
- Hit detection markers
✓ VOLATILITY BANDS
- Keltner Channel implementation
- Multiple band layers (3 levels)
- EMA-based calculations
- Adaptive to market conditions
✓ TREND CLOUD VISUALIZATION
- Dual moving average cloud
- Clear trend direction indication
- Customizable color scheme
- Trend bar coloring
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HOW TO USE
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SETUP:
1. Add indicator to your chart
2. Configure sensitivity in Core Signals section
3. Enable desired features (signals, reversals, breakouts)
4. Set up risk management levels if trading
5. Position MTF dashboard to preference
SIGNAL INTERPRETATION:
• LONG Signal: Price crosses above Supertrend
• SHORT Signal: Price crosses below Supertrend
• REV (Reversal): QQE indicates potential trend change
• Diamond Breakouts: Momentum shift confirmation
• T1/T2/T3: Take profit level hits
MULTI-TIMEFRAME ANALYSIS:
• Green (BULL): Higher timeframe supports uptrend
• Red (BEAR): Higher timeframe supports downtrend
• Use for trend alignment and confirmation
• Best results when multiple timeframes align
RISK MANAGEMENT:
• Enable Stop Loss for automatic SL calculation
• Activate TP levels based on trading style
• Adjust Risk-to-Reward ratio (1:1 to 1:10)
• Monitor hit detection circles for exits
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
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CALCULATIONS:
• Supertrend: ATR-based with customizable multiplier
• QQE: Modified RSI with Wilders smoothing
• Keltner Channels: EMA basis with ATR bands
• Pivots: Standard left/right bar methodology
• Support/Resistance: Multi-level pivot analysis
PARAMETERS:
• Supertrend Sensitivity: 0.5 to 10.0 (default: 2.0)
• RSI Period: 5 to 50 (default: 14)
• QQE Multiplier: 1.0 to 10.0 (default: 4.238)
• Risk-to-Reward: 1 to 10 (default: 4)
TIMEFRAMES:
Compatible with all timeframes. MTF dashboard displays:
• 1 Minute (1M)
• 5 Minutes (5M)
• 15 Minutes (15M)
• 1 Hour (1H)
• 1 Day (1D)
• Current chart timeframe
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CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS
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VISUAL:
• Professional color scheme (Cyan/Orange)
• Adjustable table position (9 positions)
• Table size options (tiny/small/normal/large)
• Transparent zone highlighting
• Clean, modern label design
TOGGLES:
• Enable/disable any feature independently
• Show/hide signals, reversals, breakouts
• Toggle S/R levels and zones
• Control trend cloud and bands
• Master trend line optional
ALERTS:
The indicator provides visual signals that can be used with
TradingView's alert system by setting alerts on the indicator.
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BEST PRACTICES
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✓ Combine signals for higher probability setups
✓ Use MTF dashboard for trend confirmation
✓ Respect S/R levels for entry/exit planning
✓ Monitor QQE reversals at key price levels
✓ Adjust sensitivity based on asset volatility
✓ Test on demo/paper trading first
✓ Use proper risk management always
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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
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This indicator is a technical analysis tool and does NOT:
• Guarantee profitable trades
• Provide financial advice
• Predict future price movements with certainty
• Replace proper risk management
• Substitute for personal due diligence
Past performance does not indicate future results. All trading
involves risk. Users should:
- Understand the indicator's logic
- Test thoroughly before live trading
- Use appropriate position sizing
- Never risk more than they can afford to lose
- Consult financial advisors if needed
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CODING STANDARDS
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This indicator follows PineCoders Coding Conventions:
✓ Proper variable naming (prefixes: i_, f_, c_)
✓ Clear function documentation
✓ Organized code structure
✓ Type declarations
✓ Efficient calculations
✓ No repainting (confirmed signals)
✓ Proper use of request.security
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SUPPORT & UPDATES
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Version: 1.0
Author: Zakaria Safri
License: MPL 2.0
Last Updated: 2024
For questions, feedback, or suggestions, please comment below.
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#trading #signals #supertrend #multiTimeframe #QQE #reversals
#supportResistance #riskManagement #trendAnalysis #momentum
DAMMU AUTOMATICAL AI ENRTY AND TARGET AND EXITMain Components
Supertrend System –
Detects market trend direction (Buy/Sell zones).
→ Green = Uptrend (Buy)
→ Red = Downtrend (Sell)
SMA Filter –
Uses 50 & 200 moving averages to confirm overall trend.
→ Price above both → Bullish
→ Price below both → Bearish
Buy/Sell Signals –
Generated when Supertrend flips direction and SMA confirms.
→ Triangle up = Buy
→ Triangle down = Sell
Take Profit / Stop Loss Levels –
Automatically calculated after Buy/Sell entry.
→ TP1, TP2, SL shown on chart
ADX (Sideways Zone Filter) –
If ADX < 25 → Market sideways → Avoid trades
Shows “No Trade Zone” area
Smart Money Concepts (SMC) Tools –
🔹 Market structure (HH, HL, LH, LL)
🔹 Order blocks (OB)
🔹 Equal highs/lows
🔹 Fair Value Gaps (FVG)
🔹 Premium & Discount zones
Helps find institutional entry points
Visual Display –
Color-coded background (trend zones)
Labels for buy/sell/structure
Optional FVG and order block boxes
Risk Management –
Input-based position sizing, SL & TP management
(to calculate profit levels and minimize loss)
Velocity Pressure Index | AlphaNattVelocity Pressure Index (VPI) | AlphaNatt
A sophisticated momentum oscillator that combines price velocity analysis with volume pressure dynamics to identify high-probability trading opportunities.
📊 KEY FEATURES
Dual Analysis System: Merges price velocity measurement with volume pressure analysis for comprehensive market momentum assessment
Dynamic Normalization: Automatically scales values between -100 and +100 for consistent readings across all market conditions
Adaptive Zones: Self-adjusting overbought/oversold levels based on recent price history
Multi-Layer Confirmation: Combines momentum, acceleration, and crossover signals for robust trade identification
Volume-Weighted Pressure: Differentiates between bullish and bearish volume to gauge true market sentiment
📈 HOW IT WORKS
The VPI calculates price velocity using linear regression of price changes, then weights this velocity by the difference between bullish and bearish volume pressure. This creates a momentum reading that accounts for both price movement speed and the volume conviction behind it.
Signal Generation:
Price velocity is measured over the specified period
Volume is separated into bullish (close > open) and bearish (close < open) pressure
Velocity is amplified or dampened based on volume pressure differential
The resulting index is normalized to oscillate between -100 and +100
A signal line smooths the oscillator for crossover detection
🎯 TRADING SIGNALS
Long Signals (Cyan #00F1FF):
Strong Bull: VPI > Signal with positive momentum and acceleration
Crossover Bull: VPI crosses above signal while above oversold zone
Divergence: Price makes lower low while VPI makes higher low
Short Signals (Magenta #FF019A):
Strong Bear: VPI < Signal with negative momentum and deceleration
Crossover Bear: VPI crosses below signal while below overbought zone
Divergence: Price makes higher high while VPI makes lower high
⚙️ CUSTOMIZABLE PARAMETERS
Velocity Settings:
Velocity Period (14): Lookback for price velocity calculation
Pressure Period (21): Volume analysis window
Smoothing Factor (3): Final oscillator smoothing
Signal Configuration:
Signal Type: Choose between SMA, EMA, or DEMA
Signal Length (9): Signal line smoothing period
Normalization Period (50): Range calculation window
Dynamic Zones:
Zone Lookback (100): Period for adaptive overbought/oversold calculation
Percentiles: 80th/20th percentiles for dynamic zones
📐 VISUAL COMPONENTS
Main Oscillator: Color-coded line showing current momentum state
Signal Line: White line for crossover detection
Momentum Histogram: Shows velocity differential at 50% scale
Dynamic Zones: Self-adjusting overbought/oversold bands
Extreme Levels: ±50 dotted lines marking extreme conditions
Background Shading: Subtle highlighting of overbought/oversold regions
💡 USAGE TIPS
Trend Trading: Use strong bull/bear signals in trending markets for continuation entries
Range Trading: Focus on crossovers near extreme zones for reversal trades
Divergence Trading: Watch for price/oscillator divergences at market extremes
Multi-Timeframe: Combine with higher timeframe VPI for directional bias
Volume Confirmation: Stronger signals occur with aligned volume pressure
⚠️ BEST PRACTICES
The VPI works best in liquid markets with reliable volume data. For optimal results, combine with price action analysis and use appropriate risk management. The indicator is most effective during trending conditions but can identify reversals when divergences occur at extremes.
🔔 ALERTS AVAILABLE
VPI Long/Short Signals
Bullish/Bearish Crossovers
Extreme Overbought/Oversold Conditions
Version 6 | Pine Script™ | © AlphaNatt
EMA Cloud + AlertsThe only EMA indicator you'll ever need.
- Flexible EMAs: Customize EMA lengths (e.g., 9, 21) to match your trading style.
- Dynamic Cloud: Auto-shades bullish (green) or bearish (red) clouds between EMAs for clear trend signals.
- Trend Change Alerts: Auto-alerts that signal when a trend change (EMA crossover) happens on the timeframe you're currently viewing.
- Timeframe Lock: Lock EMAs to a specific timeframe (e.g., 5m on a 1m chart) for consistent analysis.
- Personalized Design: Adjust EMA colors, thickness, and cloud transparency for optimal visibility.
A friendly reminder that no tool or indicator guarantees success. Integrate this into a robust trading plan.
Unicorn Trade Indicator - Enhanced V1This code also contains pinescripts from iFVG (BPR) by Algorize and Visualizing displacement by tradeforopp who have kindly provided them as open source.
An ICT Unicorn is where a breaker block is traded through which incorporates a fair value gap. I decided to code this indicator as I couldn't find an existing free indicator on Trading View that performed adequately.
This indicator will highlight breaker blocks and when broken will post an Unicorn emoji and send an alert if requested. The last 3 breaker blocks are displayed, the prior boxes are labled PBB and are shown as red for bearish and green for bullish. After the main Unicorn is posted, the code continues to mark market structure shifts.
As all trading strategies work better with confluence I have added several other features which is very useful for people who are restricted on the number of indicators that can place on a single chart.
I have added iFVG (BPR) by Algoryze and Visualizing displacement by tradeforopp which have kindly been made open source by the authors. My thanks to them for their hard work.
Unicorn alerts will only be sent when a yellow displacement candle ( from the Visualizing displacement code) is present along with the Unicorn as this is the best type of Unicorn to trade.
The number of fvg's and bpr's from the code by Algoryze can be adjusted in the settings.
Also to add confluence I have used my own code to display liquidity depth boxes made popular by toodegrees.
I hope you find this indicator useful.
Price–Volume Anomaly DetectorDescription
This indicator identifies unusual relationships between price strength and trading volume. By analyzing expected intraday volume behavior and comparing it with current activity, it highlights potential exhaustion, absorption, or expansion events that may signal changing market dynamics.
How It Works
The script profiles average volume by time of day and compares current volume against this adaptive baseline. Combined with normalized price movement (ATR-based), it detects conditions where price and volume diverge:
Exhaustion: Strong price move on low volume (potential fade)
Absorption: Weak price move on high volume (potential reversal)
Expansion: Strong price move on high volume (momentum continuation)
Key Features
Adaptive time-based volume normalization
Configurable sensitivity thresholds
Optional visibility for each anomaly type
Adjustable label transparency and offset
Light Mode support: label text automatically adjusts for dark or light chart backgrounds
Lightweight overlay design
Inputs Overview
Volume Profile Resolution: Defines time bucket size for expected volume
[* ]Lookback Days: Controls how quickly the profile adapts
Price / Volume Thresholds: Tune anomaly sensitivity
Show Expansion / Exhaustion / Absorption: Toggle specific labels
Label Transparency & Offset: Adjust chart visibility
How to Use:
Apply the indicator to any chart or timeframe.
Observe where labels appear:
🔴 Exhaustion: strong price, weak volume
🔵 Absorption: weak price, strong volume
🟢 Expansion: strong price, strong volume
Use these as context clues, not trade signals — combine with broader volume or trend analysis.
How It Helps
Reveals hidden price–volume imbalances
Highlights areas where momentum may be fading or strengthening
Enhances understanding of market behavior beyond raw price action
⚠️Disclaimer:
This script is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not financial advice and should not be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial instrument. Trading involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Users should perform their own due diligence and consult with a licensed financial advisor before making any trading decisions. The author does not guarantee any profits or results from using this script, and assumes no liability for any losses incurred. Use this script at your own risk.
Order Blocks — Smart Mitigation & OB Labels (SMC/ICT)Order Blocks — Smart Mitigation & OB Labels (SMC/ICT) — TradingATH
Precision. Stability. Execution.
This refined indicator automatically detects and draws bullish and bearish Order Blocks , perfectly anchored to the candle that created them. Each zone remains fixed, never drifting as you move the chart, ensuring absolute spatial accuracy.
ATR-based filters remove insignificant blocks, and optional live extensions allow active OBs to project forward until price delivers mitigation.
What You’ll See
Bullish Order Blocks in subtle green tones, with a fine mid-line and a small label reading “Bullish OB (Order Block)”.
Bearish Order Blocks in elegant red tones, equally marked and labeled.
Compact, controlled-length zones extending only for the defined number of bars.
Optional dynamic extension for unmitigated blocks until price returns.
Real-time alerts when price enters the most recent bullish or bearish OB.
Features
True anchoring : OBs are plotted in absolute time coordinates, fixed to the original source candle. No drift.
Custom length control : Adjust each block’s horizontal reach by number of bars.
ATR-based filters : Define minimum and maximum OB size (in multiples of ATR) to maintain clean and relevant zones.
Smart mitigation logic : Choose between “Wick” or “Close” for OB validation; mitigated blocks are automatically removed.
Elegant labeling : Minimalistic text inside each block, positionable in any corner for optimal readability.
Advanced alerts : Automated signals for new OB formation and price entry into the latest block.
Professional architecture : Size-safe arrays, optimized rendering, and zero performance waste.
ICT/SMC ready : Fully compatible with advanced concepts such as Fair Value Gaps, Liquidity Sweeps, and Session Timing.
Perfect For
Traders applying ICT or Smart Money Concepts who require precise OB identification and mitigation tracking.
Intraday traders seeking clarity and efficiency on fast-moving charts.
Swing traders filtering premium-quality OBs based on volatility structure.
Recommended Settings
OB Length: 10 bars (adjust to timeframe and volatility).
Label position: Bottom-Right for most clarity.
Mitigation method: “Wick” for flexible precision; “Close” for stricter validation.
ATR filter: Minimum 0.25×, Maximum 3× (balanced range for most assets).
In Short
Clean structure. Absolute precision. Professional delivery.
Order Blocks — Smart Mitigation & OB Labels (SMC/ICT) provides a stable, disciplined visualization of institutional order flow — designed for traders who demand both accuracy and aesthetic refinement.
Created by: TradingATH
Renko Entry Alerts Limit +0.08Simple renko 1 block reversal strategy Adds +0.08 to 1 block during pre a=market and after hours for more successful fills.
WAD : Whale Activity Detector🐋 WAD: Whale Activity Detector
WAD (Whale Activity Detector) automatically detects periods of abnormally high trading volume compared to the average, identifying potential whale (institutional) buy or sell activity and visualizing it directly on the chart.
🔍 How It Works
1. Buy/Sell Volume Separation
Each candle’s trading volume is categorized based on its direction:
Bullish candle → Buy volume
Bearish candle → Sell volume
This separation helps distinguish the actual strength of buying vs. selling pressure, rather than looking at total volume alone.
2. Average Volume Calculation
Over a user-defined lookback period (default: 34 bars), the indicator calculates the moving average of both buy and sell volumes, establishing a baseline for what constitutes “normal” activity.
3. Whale Activity Detection
When the current volume exceeds n times the average volume (default: 4×), the indicator flags it as a Whale Zone — a potential sign of large player involvement.
Volume surge on a bullish candle → Whale Buy
Volume surge on a bearish candle → Whale Sell
4. Visual Display
🟢 Green bars: Whale buy activity
🔴 Red bars: Whale sell activity
BUY/SELL labels: Appear above the chart when an anomaly is detected
Average line toggle: Users can turn the average volume lines on or off for clarity
5. Alerts
Whenever whale buy/sell signals are detected, real-time alerts are triggered.
Example: 🐋 Whale Buy – NVDA! 🟢
⚙️ Indicator Meaning
Rather than showing raw volume, WAD tracks “abnormal volume relative to the average.”
It filters out noise and highlights the moments where large entities begin to move.
Essentially, it visualizes intentional and impactful trades hidden within standard volume activity.
🚀 Example Use Cases
Whale accumulation tracking – Repeated strong buy signals may indicate sustained institutional accumulation.
Short-term breakout confirmation – Price often rallies shortly after whale buy signals appear.
Support/resistance analysis – Whale sell zones frequently align with short-term resistance areas.
In short:
WAD identifies when trading volume exceeds its historical norm to highlight where big money enters or exits the market.
===============================================================================
🐋 WAD : 세력 매매거래 추적기
WAD(Whale Activity Detector) 는 특정 종목의 거래량 패턴 속에서
‘평균 대비 비정상적으로 큰 거래량이 발생한 구간’을 자동으로 감지해
세력(Whale)의 매수·매도 활동을 시각화하는 지표입니다.
🔍 작동 원리
매수·매도 거래량 분리
각 캔들이 양봉인지, 음봉인지에 따라 거래량을 분리합니다.
양봉 시 발생한 거래량 → 매수 거래량(buy volume)
음봉 시 발생한 거래량 → 매도 거래량(sell volume)
이렇게 분리함으로써 단순 거래량이 아닌,
실제 매수세/매도세의 힘을 구분할 수 있습니다.
평균 거래량 계산
사용자가 지정한 기간(기본 34봉)을 기준으로
매수·매도 거래량의 이동평균선을 각각 계산합니다.
이는 ‘정상적인 거래량 수준’을 판단하는 기준선으로 활용됩니다.
이상치 탐지 (Whale Activity Detection)
현재 거래량이 평균 거래량의 n배(기본 4배)를 초과할 경우,
그 구간을 세력 개입 구간(Whale Zone) 으로 판단합니다.
양봉에서 급증 → 세력 매수 (Whale Buy)
음봉에서 급증 → 세력 매도 (Whale Sell)
시각적 표시
초록색 기둥 : 세력 매수 거래량
빨간색 기둥 : 세력 매도 거래량
라벨 표시 (BUY / SELL) : 이상치 발생 시 차트 상단에 표시
평균선 표시 옵션 : 사용자가 원할 때 평균선을 켜거나 끌 수 있음
알림(Alerts)
세력의 매수·매도 신호가 감지되면,
알림 메시지를 통해 실시간으로 통보받을 수 있습니다.
(예: 🐋 Whale Buy - NVDA! 🟢)
⚙️ 지표의 의미
단순 거래량이 아니라, ‘평균 대비 비정상적 거래량’ 을 추적합니다.
즉, “세력이 본격적으로 움직이기 시작한 구간” 만 걸러내는 지표입니다.
노이즈가 많은 거래량 차트 속에서 의도 있는 거래의 흔적을 포착할 수 있습니다.
🚀 활용 예시
세력 매집 구간 포착 : 큰 매수 시그널이 반복적으로 발생하는 구간은 세력의 누적 매집 가능성을 의미함
단기 급등 신호 확인 : 매수 이상치가 발생한 직후 가격이 급등하는 경우가 많음
지지/저항 분석과 병행 활용 : 세력 매도 구간은 단기 저항으로 작용하는 경향이 있음
copyright @invest_hedgeway
Buy vs Sell Liquidity + Difference (Bottom Right)Script Summary (Short Notes)
⚙️ Purpose
Tracks and displays Buy Volume vs Sell Volume difference during the day, based on candle direction.
Useful for spotting liquidity imbalance between buyers and sellers.
📊 How It Works
Volume Classification
If close > open → counts volume as Buy Volume
If close < open → counts volume as Sell Volume
Aggregation Timeframe
You can select a timeframe (1, 2, 3, 5, 15, 30 mins)
Script recalculates data from that aggregation level.
Daily Reset
At the start of a new trading day, totals reset to zero.
Cumulative Calculation
Adds all buy/sell volumes as the day progresses.
Calculates:
Total Volume
Difference (BUY − SELL)
Percentages (%)
Chanlun - Strokes & Central ZonesChanlun Indicator - Strokes and Central Zones
This indicator implements Chan lun's core concepts:
Bi (Stroke): Basic price movement units formed by local highs and lows
Zhongshu (Central Zone): Overlapping areas formed by at least 3 strokes
Extension Lines: Visual guides for the latest central zone boundaries
Key Features:
Automatic stroke identification based on local extremes
Central zone detection with customizable colors
Extension lines for latest central zone (upper/lower bounds)
Separate colors for strokes within central zones
Price labels on the axis for zone boundaries
Settings:
Max Bars: Maximum K-lines to analyze (default: 4900)
Lookback Period: Period for finding local extremes (default: 5)
Min Gap Bars: Minimum bars between strokes (default: 4)
Customizable colors for strokes, zones, and extension lines
MTF Supertrend Heatmap (D / 4H / 1H / 15m / 5m)MTF Supertrend Heatmap (D / 4H / 1H / 15m / 5m)
A clean dashboard that tells you whether the same Supertrend (ATR Length, Multiplier) is BUY or SELL across five timeframes—all on one chart. Higher-TF values are fetched with request.security() and, when Confirm HTF bar close is ON, they do not repaint after that bar closes.
Optional toggles let you plot the current-TF Supertrend line and show bar-anchored flip markers (BUY/SELL) for each timeframe. Includes alerts for ALL-TF alignment and MAJORITY (≥3/5) agreement. Timeframes and Supertrend parameters are fully configurable. Use the heatmap for quick confirmation, reduce noise by keeping markers off unless needed.
Sigma Volatility BandsThis indicator models and displays bands of potential future price based on historic realized volatility.
This can be used for finding price target where there is no past price action.
The price bands are derived from Standard Deviations based on input bars back of historic volatility.
More Inputs:
Lookback = Number of bars considered
Forward Bars = Number of bars to project bands forward
There are two display modes:
Forward shifted envelopes = (see below) Draws bands of price from the Standard Deviation
Forward for Anchor Lines = Draws a wedge out number of bars forward
(Vibe coded. Message me for suggested updates and improvements)
DayFlow VWAP Relay Forex Majors StrategySummary in one paragraph
DayFlow VWAP Relay is a day-trading strategy for major FX pairs on intraday timeframes, demonstrated on EURUSD 15 minutes. It waits for alignment between a daily anchored VWAP regime check, residual percentiles, and lower-timeframe micro flow before suggesting trades. The originality is the fusion of daily VWAP residual percentiles with a live micro-flow score from 1 minute data to switch between fade and breakout behavior inside the same session. Add it to a clean chart and use the markers and alerts.
Scope and intent
• Markets: Major FX pairs such as EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, AUDUSD, USDCHF, USDCAD
• Timeframes: One minute to one hour
• Default demo in this publication: EURUSD on 15 minutes
• Purpose: Reduce false starts by acting only when context, location and micro flow agree
• Limits: This is a strategy. Orders are simulated on standard candles only
Originality and usefulness
• Core novelty: Residual percentiles to daily anchored VWAP decide “balanced versus expanding day”. A separate 1 minute micro-flow score confirms direction, so the same model fades extremes in balance and rides range breaks in expansion
• Failure modes addressed: Chop fakeouts and unconfirmed breakouts are filtered by the expansion gate and micro-flow threshold
• Testability: Every input is exposed. Bands, background regime color, and markers show why a suggestion appears
• Portable yardstick: Stops and targets are ATR multiples converted to ticks, which transfer across symbols
• Open source status: No reused third-party code that requires attribution
Method overview in plain language
The day is anchored with a VWAP that updates from the daily session start. Price minus VWAP is the residual. Percentiles of that residual measured over a rolling window define location extremes for the current day. A regime score compares residual volatility to price volatility. When expansion is low, the day is treated as balanced and the model fades residual extremes if 1 minute micro flow points back to VWAP. When expansion is high, the model trades breakouts outside the VWAP bands if slope and micro flow agree with the move.
Base measures
• Range basis: True Range smoothed by ATR for stops and targets, length 14
• Return basis: Not required for signals; residuals are absolute price distance to VWAP
Components
• Daily Anchor VWAP Bands. VWAP with standard-deviation bands. Slope sign is used for trend confirmation on breakouts
• Residual Percentiles. Rolling percentiles of close minus VWAP over Signal length. Identify location extremes inside the day
• Expansion Ratio. Standard deviation of residuals divided by standard deviation of price over Signal length. Classifies balanced versus expanding day
• Micro Flow. Net up minus down closes from 1 minute data across a short span, normalized to −1..+1. Confirms direction and avoids fades against pressure
• Session Window optional. Restricts trading to your configured hours to avoid thin periods
• Cooldown optional. Bars to wait after a position closes to prevent immediate re-entry
Fusion rule
Gating rather than weighting. First choose regime by Expansion Ratio versus the Expansion gate. Inside each regime all listed conditions must be true: location test plus micro-flow threshold plus session window plus cooldown. Breakouts also require VWAP slope alignment.
Signal rule
• Long suggestion on balanced day: residual at or below the lower percentile and micro flow positive above the gate while inside session and cooldown is satisfied
• Short suggestion on balanced day: residual at or above the upper percentile and micro flow negative below the gate while inside session and cooldown is satisfied
• Long suggestion on expanding day: close above the upper VWAP band, VWAP slope positive, micro flow positive, session and cooldown satisfied
• Short suggestion on expanding day: close below the lower VWAP band, VWAP slope negative, micro flow negative, session and cooldown satisfied
• Positions flip on opposite suggestions or exit by brackets
What you will see on the chart
• Markers on suggestion bars: L for long, S for short
• Exit occurs on reverse signal or when a bracket order is filled
• Reference lines: daily anchored VWAP with upper and lower bands
• Optional background: teal for balanced day, orange for expanding day
Inputs with guidance
Setup
• Signal length. Residual and regime window. Typical 40 to 100. Higher smooths, lower reacts faster
Micro Flow
• Micro TF. Lower timeframe used for micro flow, default 1 minute
• Micro span bars. Count of lower-TF bars. Typical 5 to 20
• Micro flow gate 0..1. Minimum absolute flow. Raising it demands stronger confirmation and reduces trade count
VWAP Bands
• VWAP stdev multiplier. Band width. Typical 0.8 to 1.6. Wider bands reduce breakout frequency and increase fade distance
• Expansion gate 0..3. Threshold to switch from fades to breakouts. Raising it favors fades, lowering it favors breakouts
Sessions
• Use session filter. Enable to trade only inside your window
• Trade window UTC. Default 07:00 to 17:00
Risk
• ATR length. Stop and target basis. Typical 10 to 21
• Stop ATR x. Initial stop distance in ATR multiples
• Target ATR x. Profit target distance in ATR multiples
• Cooldown bars after close. Wait bars before a new entry
• Side. Both, long only, or short only
View
• Show VWAP and bands
• Color bars by residual regime
Properties visible in this publication
• Initial capital 10000
• Base currency Default
• request.security uses lookahead off everywhere
• Strategy: Percent of equity with value 3. Pyramiding 0. Commission cash per order 0.0001 USD. Slippage 3 ticks. Process orders on close ON. Bar magnifier ON. Recalculate after order is filled OFF. Calc on every tick OFF. Using standard OHLC fills ON.
Realism and responsible publication
No performance claims. Past results never guarantee future outcomes. Fills and slippage vary by venue. Shapes can move while a bar forms and settle on close. Strategies must run on standard candles for signals and orders.
Honest limitations and failure modes
High impact news, session opens, and thin liquidity can invalidate assumptions. Very quiet days can reduce contrast between residuals and price volatility. Session windows use the chart exchange time. If both stop and target are touched within a single bar, TradingView’s standard OHLC price-movement model decides the outcome.
Expect different behavior on illiquid pairs or during holidays. The model is sensitive to session definitions and feed time. Past results never guarantee future outcomes.
Legal
Education and research only. Not investment advice. You are responsible for your decisions. Test on historical data and in simulation before any live use. Use realistic costs.
COT IndexTHE HIDDEN INTELLIGENCE IN FUTURES MARKETS
What if you could see what the smartest players in the futures markets are doing before the crowd catches on? While retail traders chase momentum indicators and moving averages, obsess over Japanese candlestick patterns, and debate whether the RSI should be set to fourteen or twenty-one periods, institutional players leave footprints in the sand through their mandatory reporting to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These footprints, published weekly in the Commitment of Traders reports, have been hiding in plain sight for decades, available to anyone with an internet connection, yet remarkably few traders understand how to interpret them correctly. The COT Index indicator transforms this raw institutional positioning data into actionable trading signals, bringing Wall Street intelligence to your trading screen without requiring expensive Bloomberg terminals or insider connections.
The uncomfortable truth is this: Most retail traders operate in a binary world. Long or short. Buy or sell. They apply technical analysis to individual positions, constrained by limited capital that forces them to concentrate risk in single directional bets. Meanwhile, institutional traders operate in an entirely different dimension. They manage portfolios dynamically weighted across multiple markets, adjusting exposure based on evolving market conditions, correlation shifts, and risk assessments that retail traders never see. A hedge fund might be simultaneously long gold, short oil, neutral on copper, and overweight agricultural commodities, with position sizes calibrated to volatility and portfolio Greeks. When they increase gold exposure from five percent to eight percent of portfolio allocation, this rebalancing decision reflects sophisticated analysis of opportunity cost, risk parity, and cross-market dynamics that no individual chart pattern can capture.
This portfolio reweighting activity, multiplied across hundreds of institutional participants, manifests in the aggregate positioning data published weekly by the CFTC. The Commitment of Traders report does not show individual trades or strategies. It shows the collective footprint of how actual commercial hedgers and large speculators have allocated their capital across different markets. When mining companies collectively increase forward gold sales to hedge thirty percent more production than last quarter, they are not reacting to a moving average crossover. They are making strategic allocation decisions based on production forecasts, cost structures, and price expectations derived from operational realities invisible to outside observers. This is portfolio management in action, revealed through positioning data rather than price charts.
If you want to understand how institutional capital actually flows, how sophisticated traders genuinely position themselves across market cycles, the COT report provides a rare window into that hidden world. But understand what you are getting into. This is not a tool for scalpers seeking confirmation of the next five-minute move. This is not an oscillator that flashes oversold at market bottoms with convenient precision. COT analysis operates on a timescale measured in weeks and months, revealing positioning shifts that precede major market turns but offer no precision timing. The data arrives three days stale, published only once per week, capturing strategic positioning rather than tactical entries.
If you need instant gratification, if you trade intraday moves, if you demand mechanical signals with ninety percent accuracy, close this document now. COT analysis rewards patience, position sizing discipline, and tolerance for being early. It punishes impatience, overleveraging, and the expectation that any single indicator can substitute for market understanding.
The premise is deceptively simple. Every Tuesday, large traders in futures markets must report their positions to the CFTC. By Friday afternoon, this data becomes public. Academic research spanning three decades has consistently shown that not all market participants are created equal. Some traders consistently profit while others consistently lose. Some anticipate major turning points while others chase trends into exhaustion. Bessembinder and Chan (1992) demonstrated in their seminal study that commercial hedgers, those with actual exposure to the underlying commodity or financial instrument, possess superior forecasting ability compared to speculators. Their research, published in the Journal of Finance, found statistically significant predictive power in commercial positioning, particularly at extreme levels. This finding challenged the efficient market hypothesis and opened the door to a new approach to market analysis based on positioning rather than price alone.
Think about what this means. Every week, the government publishes a report showing you exactly how the most informed market participants are positioned. Not their opinions. Not their predictions. Their actual money at risk. When agricultural producers collectively hold their largest short hedge in five years, they are not making idle speculation. They are locking in prices for crops they will harvest, informed by private knowledge of weather conditions, soil quality, inventory levels, and demand expectations invisible to outside observers. When energy companies aggressively hedge forward production at current prices, they reveal information about expected supply that no analyst report can capture. This is not technical analysis based on past prices. This is not fundamental analysis based on publicly available data. This is behavioral analysis based on how the smartest money is actually positioned, how institutions allocate capital across portfolios, and how those allocation decisions shift as market conditions evolve.
WHY SOME TRADERS KNOW MORE THAN OTHERS
Building on this foundation, Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004) conducted extensive research examining the behaviour patterns of different trader categories. Their work, which analyzed over a decade of COT data across multiple commodity markets, revealed a fascinating dynamic that challenges much of what retail traders are taught. Commercial hedgers consistently positioned themselves against market extremes, buying when speculators were most bearish and selling when speculators reached peak bullishness. The contrarian positioning of commercials was not random noise but rather reflected their superior information about supply and demand fundamentals. Meanwhile, large speculators, primarily hedge funds and commodity trading advisors, exhibited strong trend-following behaviour that often amplified market moves beyond fundamental values. Small traders, the retail participants, consistently entered positions late in trends, frequently near turning points, making them reliable contrary indicators.
Wang (2003) extended this research by demonstrating that the predictive power of commercial positioning varies significantly across different commodity sectors. His analysis of agricultural commodities showed particularly strong forecasting ability, with commercial net positions explaining up to fifteen percent of return variance in subsequent weeks. This finding suggests that the informational advantages of hedgers are most pronounced in markets where physical supply and demand fundamentals dominate, as opposed to purely financial markets where information asymmetries are smaller. When a corn farmer hedges six months of expected harvest, that decision incorporates private observations about rainfall patterns, crop health, pest pressure, and local storage capacity that no distant analyst can match. When an oil refinery hedges crude oil purchases and gasoline sales simultaneously, the spread relationships reveal expectations about refining margins that reflect operational realities invisible in public data.
The theoretical mechanism underlying these empirical patterns relates to information asymmetry and different participant motivations. Commercial hedgers engage in futures markets not for speculative profit but to manage business risks. An agricultural producer selling forward six months of expected harvest is not making a bet on price direction but rather locking in revenue to facilitate financial planning and ensure business viability. However, this hedging activity necessarily incorporates private information about expected supply, inventory levels, weather conditions, and demand trends that the hedger observes through their commercial operations (Irwin and Sanders, 2012). When aggregated across many participants, this private information manifests in collective positioning.
Consider a gold mining company deciding how much forward production to hedge. Management must estimate ore grades, recovery rates, production costs, equipment reliability, labor availability, and dozens of other operational variables that determine whether locking in prices at current levels makes business sense. If the industry collectively hedges more aggressively than usual, it suggests either exceptional production expectations or concern about sustaining current price levels or combination of both. Either way, this positioning reveals information unavailable to speculators analyzing price charts and economic data. The hedger sees the physical reality behind the financial abstraction.
Large speculators operate under entirely different incentives and constraints. Commodity Trading Advisors managing billions in assets typically employ systematic, trend-following strategies that respond to price momentum rather than fundamental supply and demand. When crude oil rallies from sixty dollars to seventy dollars per barrel, these systems generate buy signals. As the rally continues to eighty dollars, position sizes increase. The strategy works brilliantly during sustained trends but becomes a liability at reversals. By the time oil reaches ninety dollars, trend-following funds are maximally long, having accumulated positions progressively throughout the rally. At this point, they represent not smart money anticipating further gains but rather crowded money vulnerable to reversal. Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004) documented this pattern across multiple energy markets, showing that extreme speculator positioning typically marked late-stage trend exhaustion rather than early-stage trend development.
Small traders, the retail participants who fall below reporting thresholds, display the weakest forecasting ability. Wang (2003) found that small trader positioning exhibited negative correlation with subsequent returns, meaning their aggregate positioning served as a reliable contrary indicator. The explanation combines several factors. Retail traders often lack the capital reserves to weather normal market volatility, leading to premature exits from positions that would eventually prove profitable. They tend to receive information through slower channels, entering trends after mainstream media coverage when institutional participants are preparing to exit. Perhaps most importantly, they trade with emotion, buying into euphoria and selling into panic at precisely the wrong times.
At major turning points, the three groups often position opposite each other with commercials extremely bearish, large speculators extremely bullish, and small traders piling into longs at the last moment. These high-divergence environments frequently precede increased volatility and trend reversals. The insiders with business exposure quietly exit as the momentum traders hit maximum capacity and retail enthusiasm peaks. Within weeks, the reversal begins, and positions unwind in the opposite sequence.
FROM RAW DATA TO ACTIONABLE SIGNALS
The COT Index indicator operationalizes these academic findings into a practical trading tool accessible through TradingView. At its core, the indicator normalizes net positioning data onto a zero to one hundred scale, creating what we call the COT Index. This normalization is critical because absolute position sizes vary dramatically across different futures contracts and over time. A commercial trader holding fifty thousand contracts net long in crude oil might be extremely bullish by historical standards, or it might be quite neutral depending on the context of total market size and historical ranges. Raw position numbers mean nothing without context. The COT Index solves this problem by calculating where current positioning stands relative to its range over a specified lookback period, typically two hundred fifty-two weeks or approximately five years of weekly data.
The mathematical transformation follows the methodology originally popularized by legendary trader Larry Williams, though the underlying concept appears in statistical normalization techniques across many fields. For any given trader category, we calculate the highest and lowest net position values over the lookback period, establishing the historical range for that specific market and trader group. Current positioning is then expressed as a percentage of this range, where zero represents the most bearish positioning ever seen in the lookback window and one hundred represents the most bullish extreme. A reading of fifty indicates positioning exactly in the middle of the historical range, suggesting neither extreme optimism nor pessimism relative to recent history (Williams and Noseworthy, 2009).
This index-based approach allows for meaningful comparison across different markets and time periods, overcoming the scaling problems inherent in analyzing raw position data. A commercial index reading of eighty-five in gold carries the same interpretive meaning as an eighty-five reading in wheat or crude oil, even though the absolute position sizes differ by orders of magnitude. This standardization enables systematic analysis across entire futures portfolios rather than requiring market-specific expertise for each contract.
The lookback period selection involves a fundamental tradeoff between responsiveness and stability. Shorter lookback periods, perhaps one hundred twenty-six weeks or approximately two and a half years, make the index more sensitive to recent positioning changes. However, it also increases noise and produces more false signals. Longer lookback periods, perhaps five hundred weeks or approximately ten years, create smoother readings that filter short-term noise but become slower to recognize regime changes. The indicator settings allow users to adjust this parameter based on their trading timeframe, risk tolerance, and market characteristics.
UNDERSTANDING CFTC DATA STRUCTURES
The indicator supports both Legacy and Disaggregated COT report formats, reflecting the evolution of CFTC reporting standards over decades of market development. Legacy reports categorize market participants into three broad groups: commercial traders (hedgers with underlying business exposure), non-commercial traders (large speculators seeking profit without commercial interest), and non-reportable traders (small speculators below reporting thresholds). Each category brings distinct motivations and information advantages to the market (CFTC, 2020).
The Disaggregated reports, introduced in September 2009 for physical commodity markets, provide finer granularity by splitting participants into five categories (CFTC, 2009). Producer and merchant positions capture those actually producing, processing, or merchandising the physical commodity. Swap dealers represent financial intermediaries facilitating derivative transactions for clients. Managed money includes commodity trading advisors and hedge funds executing systematic or discretionary strategies. Other reportables encompasses diverse participants not fitting the main categories. Small traders remain as the fifth group, representing retail participation.
This enhanced categorization reveals nuances invisible in Legacy reports, particularly distinguishing between different types of institutional capital and their distinct behavioural patterns. The indicator automatically detects which report type is appropriate for each futures contract and adjusts the display accordingly.
Importantly, Disaggregated reports exist only for physical commodity futures. Agricultural commodities like corn, wheat, and soybeans have Disaggregated reports because clear producer, merchant, and swap dealer categories exist. Energy commodities like crude oil and natural gas similarly have well-defined commercial hedger categories. Metals including gold, silver, and copper also receive Disaggregated treatment (CFTC, 2009). However, financial futures such as equity index futures, Treasury bond futures, and currency futures remain available only in Legacy format. The CFTC has indicated no plans to extend Disaggregated reporting to financial futures due to different market structures and participant categories in these instruments (CFTC, 2020).
THE BEHAVIORAL FOUNDATION
Understanding which trader perspective to follow requires appreciation of their distinct trading styles, success rates, and psychological profiles. Commercial hedgers exhibit anticyclical behaviour rooted in their fundamental knowledge and business imperatives. When agricultural producers hedge forward sales during harvest season, they are not speculating on price direction but rather locking in revenue for crops they will harvest. Their business requires converting volatile commodity exposure into predictable cash flows to facilitate planning and ensure survival through difficult periods. Yet their aggregate positioning reveals valuable information because these hedging decisions incorporate private information about supply conditions, inventory levels, weather observations, and demand expectations that hedgers observe through their commercial operations (Bessembinder and Chan, 1992).
Consider a practical example from energy markets. Major oil companies continuously hedge portions of forward production based on price levels, operational costs, and financial planning needs. When crude oil trades at ninety dollars per barrel, they might aggressively hedge the next twelve months of production, locking in prices that provide comfortable profit margins above their extraction costs. This hedging appears as short positioning in COT reports. If oil rallies further to one hundred dollars, they hedge even more aggressively, viewing these prices as exceptional opportunities to secure revenue. Their short positioning grows increasingly extreme. To an outside observer watching only price charts, the rally suggests bullishness. But the commercial positioning reveals that the actual producers of oil find these prices attractive enough to lock in years of sales, suggesting skepticism about sustaining even higher levels. When the eventual reversal occurs and oil declines back to eighty dollars, the commercials who hedged at ninety and one hundred dollars profit while speculators who chased the rally suffer losses.
Large speculators or managed money traders operate under entirely different incentives and constraints. Their systematic, momentum-driven strategies mean they amplify existing trends rather than anticipate reversals. Trend-following systems, the most common approach among large speculators, by definition require confirmation of trend through price momentum before entering positions (Sanders, Boris and Manfredo, 2004). When crude oil rallies from sixty dollars to eighty dollars per barrel over several months, trend-following algorithms generate buy signals based on moving average crossovers, breakouts, and other momentum indicators. As the rally continues, position sizes increase according to the systematic rules.
However, this approach becomes a liability at turning points. By the time oil reaches ninety dollars after a sustained rally, trend-following funds are maximally long, having accumulated positions progressively throughout the move. At this point, their positioning does not predict continued strength. Rather, it often marks late-stage trend exhaustion. The psychological and mechanical explanation is straightforward. Trend followers by definition chase price momentum, entering positions after trends establish rather than anticipating them. Eventually, they become fully invested just as the trend nears completion, leaving no incremental buying power to sustain the rally. When the first signs of reversal appear, systematic stops trigger, creating a cascade of selling that accelerates the downturn.
Small traders consistently display the weakest track record across academic studies. Wang (2003) found that small trader positioning exhibited negative correlation with subsequent returns in his analysis across multiple commodity markets. This result means that whatever small traders collectively do, the opposite typically proves profitable. The explanation for small trader underperformance combines several factors documented in behavioral finance literature. Retail traders often lack the capital reserves to weather normal market volatility, leading to premature exits from positions that would eventually prove profitable. They tend to receive information through slower channels, learning about commodity trends through mainstream media coverage that arrives after institutional participants have already positioned. Perhaps most importantly, retail traders are more susceptible to emotional decision-making, buying into euphoria and selling into panic at precisely the wrong times (Tharp, 2008).
SETTINGS, THRESHOLDS, AND SIGNAL GENERATION
The practical implementation of the COT Index requires understanding several key features and settings that users can adjust to match their trading style, timeframe, and risk tolerance. The lookback period determines the time window for calculating historical ranges. The default setting of two hundred fifty-two bars represents approximately one year on daily charts or five years on weekly charts, balancing responsiveness with stability. Conservative traders seeking only the most extreme, highest-probability signals might extend the lookback to five hundred bars or more. Aggressive traders seeking earlier entry and willing to accept more false positives might reduce it to one hundred twenty-six bars or even less for shorter-term applications.
The bullish and bearish thresholds define signal generation levels. Default settings of eighty and twenty respectively reflect academic research suggesting meaningful information content at these extremes. Readings above eighty indicate positioning in the top quintile of the historical range, representing genuine extremes rather than temporary fluctuations. Conversely, readings below twenty occupy the bottom quintile, indicating unusually bearish positioning (Briese, 2008).
However, traders must recognize that appropriate thresholds vary by market, trader category, and personal risk tolerance. Some futures markets exhibit wider positioning swings than others due to seasonal patterns, volatility characteristics, or participant behavior. Conservative traders seeking high-probability setups with fewer signals might raise thresholds to eighty-five and fifteen. Aggressive traders willing to accept more false positives for earlier entry could lower them to seventy-five and twenty-five.
The key is maintaining meaningful differentiation between bullish, neutral, and bearish zones. The default settings of eighty and twenty create a clear three-zone structure. Readings from zero to twenty represent bearish territory where the selected trader group holds unusually bearish positions. Readings from twenty to eighty represent neutral territory where positioning falls within normal historical ranges. Readings from eighty to one hundred represent bullish territory where the selected trader group holds unusually bullish positions.
The trading perspective selection determines which participant group the indicator follows, fundamentally shaping interpretation and signal meaning. For counter-trend traders seeking reversal opportunities, monitoring commercial positioning makes intuitive sense based on the academic research discussed earlier. When commercials reach extreme bearish readings below twenty, indicating unprecedented short positioning relative to recent history, they are effectively betting against the crowd. Given their informational advantages demonstrated by Bessembinder and Chan (1992), this contrarian stance often precedes major bottoms.
Trend followers might instead monitor large speculator positioning, but with inverted logic compared to commercials. When managed money reaches extreme bullish readings above eighty, the trend may be exhausting rather than accelerating. This seeming paradox reflects their late-cycle participation documented by Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004). Sophisticated traders thus use speculator extremes as fade signals, entering positions opposite to speculator consensus.
Small trader monitoring serves primarily as a contrary indicator for all trading styles. Extreme small trader bullishness above seventy-five or eighty typically warns of retail FOMO at market tops. Extreme small trader bearishness below twenty or twenty-five often marks capitulation bottoms where the last weak hands have sold.
VISUALIZATION AND USER INTERFACE
The visual design incorporates multiple elements working together to facilitate decision-making and maintain situational awareness during active trading. The primary COT Index line plots in bold with adjustable line width, defaulting to two pixels for clear visibility against busy price charts. An optional glow effect, controlled by a simple toggle, adds additional visual prominence through multiple plot layers with progressively increasing transparency and width.
A twenty-one period exponential moving average overlays the index line, providing trend context for positioning changes. When the index crosses above its moving average, it signals accelerating bullish sentiment among the selected trader group regardless of whether absolute positioning is extreme. Conversely, when the index crosses below its moving average, it signals deteriorating sentiment and potentially the beginning of a reversal in positioning trends.
The EMA provides a dynamic reference line for assessing positioning momentum. When the index trades far above its EMA, positioning is not only extreme in absolute terms but also building with momentum. When the index trades far below its EMA, positioning is contracting or reversing, which may indicate weakening conviction even if absolute levels remain elevated.
The data table positioned at the top right of the chart displays eleven metrics for each trader category, transforming the indicator from a simple index calculation into an analytical dashboard providing multidimensional market intelligence. Beyond the COT Index itself, users can monitor positioning extremity, which measures how unusual current levels are compared to historical norms using statistical techniques. The extremity metric clarifies whether a reading represents the ninety-fifth or ninety-ninth percentile, with values above two standard deviations indicating genuinely exceptional positioning.
Market power quantifies each group's influence on total open interest. This metric expresses each trader category's net position as a percentage of total market open interest. A commercial entity holding forty percent of total open interest commands significantly more influence than one holding five percent, making their positioning signals more meaningful.
Momentum and rate of change metrics reveal whether positions are building or contracting, providing early warning of potential regime shifts. Position velocity measures the rate of change in positioning changes, effectively a second derivative providing even earlier insight into inflection points.
Sentiment divergence highlights disagreements between commercial and speculative positioning. This metric calculates the absolute difference between normalized commercial and large speculator index values. Wang (2003) found that these high-divergence environments frequently preceded increased volatility and reversals.
The table also displays concentration metrics when available, showing how positioning is distributed among the largest handful of traders in each category. High concentration indicates a few dominant players controlling most of the positioning, while low concentration suggests broad-based participation across many traders.
THE ALERT SYSTEM AND MONITORING
The alert system, comprising five distinct alert conditions, enables systematic monitoring of dozens of futures markets without constant screen watching. The bullish and bearish COT signal alerts trigger when the index crosses user-defined thresholds, indicating the selected trader group has reached extreme positioning worthy of attention. These alerts fire in real-time as new weekly COT data publishes, typically Friday afternoon following the Tuesday measurement date.
Extreme positioning alerts fire at ninety and ten index levels, representing the top and bottom ten percent of the historical range, warning of particularly stretched readings that historically precede reversals with high probability. When commercials reach a COT Index reading below ten, they are expressing their most bearish stance in the entire lookback period.
The data staleness alert notifies users when COT reports have not updated for more than ten days, preventing reliance on outdated information for trading decisions. Government shutdowns or federal holidays can interrupt the normal Friday publication schedule. Using stale signals while believing them current creates dangerous false confidence.
The indicator's watermark information display positioned in the bottom right corner provides essential context at a glance. This persistent display shows the symbol and timeframe, the COT report date timestamp, days since last update, and the current signal state. A trader analyzing a potential short entry in crude oil can glance at the watermark to instantly confirm positioning context without interrupting analysis flow.
LIMITATIONS AND REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Practical application requires understanding both the indicator's considerable strengths and inherent limitations. COT data inherently lags price action by three days, as Tuesday positions are not published until Friday afternoon. This delay means the indicator cannot catch rapid intraday reversals or respond to surprise news events. Traders using the COT Index for timing entries must accept this latency and focus on swing trading and position trading timeframes where three-day lags matter less than in day trading or scalping.
The weekly publication schedule similarly makes the indicator unsuitable for short-term trading strategies requiring immediate feedback. The COT Index works best for traders operating on weekly or longer timeframes, where positioning shifts measured in weeks and months align with trading horizon.
Extreme COT readings can persist far longer than typical technical indicators suggest, testing the patience and capital reserves of traders attempting to fade them. When crude oil enters a sustained bull market driven by genuine supply disruptions, commercial hedgers may maintain bearish positioning for many months as prices grind higher. A commercial COT Index reading of fifteen indicating extreme bearishness might persist for three months while prices continue rallying before finally reversing. Traders without sufficient capital and risk tolerance to weather such drawdowns will exit prematurely, precisely when the signal is about to work (Irwin and Sanders, 2012).
Position sizing discipline becomes paramount when implementing COT-based strategies. Rather than risking large percentages of capital on individual signals, successful COT traders typically allocate modest position sizes across multiple signals, allowing some to take time to mature while others work more quickly.
The indicator also cannot overcome fundamental regime changes that alter the structural drivers of markets. If gold enters a true secular bull market driven by monetary debasement, commercial hedgers may remain persistently bearish as mining companies sell forward years of production at what they perceive as favorable prices. Their positioning indicates valuation concerns from a production cost perspective, but cannot stop prices from rising if investment demand overwhelms physical supply-demand balance.
Similarly, structural changes in market participation can alter the meaning of positioning extremes. The growth of commodity index investing in the two thousands brought massive passive long-only capital into futures markets, fundamentally changing typical positioning ranges. Traders relying on COT signals without recognizing this regime change would have generated numerous false bearish signals during the commodity supercycle from 2003 to 2008.
The research foundation supporting COT analysis derives primarily from commodity markets where the commercial hedger information advantage is most pronounced. Studies specifically examining financial futures like equity indices and bonds show weaker but still present effects. Traders should calibrate expectations accordingly, recognizing that COT analysis likely works better for crude oil, natural gas, corn, and wheat than for the S&P 500, Treasury bonds, or currency futures.
Another important limitation involves the reporting threshold structure. Not all market participants appear in COT data, only those holding positions above specified minimums. In markets dominated by a few large players, concentration metrics become critical for proper interpretation. A single large trader accounting for thirty percent of commercial positioning might skew the entire category if their individual circumstances are idiosyncratic rather than representative.
GOLD FUTURES DURING A HYPOTHETICAL MARKET CYCLE
Consider a practical example using gold futures during a hypothetical but realistic market scenario that illustrates how the COT Index indicator guides trading decisions through a complete market cycle. Suppose gold has rallied from fifteen hundred to nineteen hundred dollars per ounce over six months, driven by inflation concerns following aggressive monetary expansion, geopolitical uncertainty, and sustained buying by Asian central banks for reserve diversification.
Large speculators, operating primarily trend-following strategies, have accumulated increasingly bullish positions throughout this rally. Their COT Index has climbed progressively from forty-five to eighty-five. The table display shows that large speculators now hold net long positions representing thirty-two percent of total open interest, their highest in four years. Momentum indicators show positive readings, indicating positions are still building though at a decelerating rate. Position velocity has turned negative, suggesting the pace of position building is slowing.
Meanwhile, commercial hedgers have responded to the rally by aggressively selling forward production and inventory. Their COT Index has moved inversely to price, declining from fifty-five to twenty. This bearish commercial positioning represents mining companies locking in forward sales at prices they view as attractive relative to production costs. The table shows commercials now hold net short positions representing twenty-nine percent of total open interest, their most bearish stance in five years. Concentration metrics indicate this positioning is broadly distributed across many commercial entities, suggesting the bearish stance reflects collective industry view rather than idiosyncratic positioning by a single firm.
Small traders, attracted by mainstream financial media coverage of gold's impressive rally, have recently piled into long positions. Their COT Index has jumped from forty-five to seventy-eight as retail investors chase the trend. Television financial networks feature frequent segments on gold with bullish guests. Internet forums and social media show surging retail interest. This retail enthusiasm historically marks late-stage trend development rather than early opportunity.
The COT Index indicator, configured to monitor commercial positioning from a contrarian perspective, displays a clear bearish signal given the extreme commercial short positioning. The table displays multiple confirming metrics: positioning extremity shows commercials at the ninety-sixth percentile of bearishness, market power indicates they control twenty-nine percent of open interest, and sentiment divergence registers sixty-five, indicating massive disagreement between commercial hedgers and large speculators. This divergence, the highest in three years, places the market in the historically high-risk category for reversals.
The interpretation requires nuance and consideration of context beyond just COT data. Commercials are not necessarily predicting an imminent crash. Rather, they are hedging business operations at what they collectively view as favorable price levels. However, the data reveals they have sold unusually large quantities of forward production, suggesting either exceptional production expectations for the year ahead or concern about sustaining current price levels or combination of both. Combined with extreme speculator positioning indicating a crowded long trade, and small trader enthusiasm confirming retail FOMO, the confluence suggests elevated reversal risk even if the precise timing remains uncertain.
A prudent trader analyzing this situation might take several actions based on COT Index signals. Existing long positions could be tightened with closer stop losses. Profit-taking on a portion of long exposure could lock in gains while maintaining some participation. Some traders might initiate modest short positions as portfolio hedges, sizing them appropriately for the inherent uncertainty in timing reversals. Others might simply move to the sidelines, avoiding new long entries until positioning normalizes.
The key lesson from case study analysis is that COT signals provide probabilistic edges rather than deterministic predictions. They work over many observations by identifying higher-probability configurations, not by generating perfect calls on individual trades. A fifty-five percent win rate with proper risk management produces substantial profits over time, yet still means forty-five percent of signals will be premature or wrong. Traders must embrace this probabilistic reality rather than seeking the impossible goal of perfect accuracy.
INTEGRATION WITH TRADING SYSTEMS
Integration with existing trading systems represents a natural and powerful use case for COT analysis, adding a positioning dimension to price-based technical approaches or fundamental analytical frameworks. Few traders rely exclusively on a single indicator or methodology. Rather, they build systems that synthesize multiple information sources, with each component addressing different aspects of market behavior.
Trend followers might use COT extremes as regime filters, modifying position sizing or avoiding new trend entries when positioning reaches levels historically associated with reversals. Consider a classic trend-following system based on moving average crossovers and momentum breakouts. Integration of COT analysis adds nuance. When large speculator positioning exceeds ninety or commercial positioning falls below ten, the regime filter recognizes elevated reversal risk. The system might reduce position sizing by fifty percent for new signals during these high-risk periods (Kaufman, 2013).
Mean reversion traders might require COT signal confluence before fading extended moves. When crude oil becomes technically overbought and large speculators show extreme long positioning above eighty-five, both signals confirm. If only technical indicators show extremes while positioning remains neutral, the potential short signal is rejected, avoiding fades of trends with underlying institutional support (Kaufman, 2013).
Discretionary traders can monitor the indicator as a continuous awareness tool, informing bias and position sizing without dictating mechanical entries and exits. A discretionary trader might notice commercial positioning shifting from neutral to progressively more bullish over several months. This trend informs growing positive bias even without triggering mechanical signals.
Multi-timeframe analysis represents another powerful integration approach. A trader might use daily charts for trade execution and timing while monitoring weekly COT positioning for strategic context. When both timeframes align, highest-probability opportunities emerge.
Portfolio construction for futures traders can incorporate COT signals as an additional selection criterion. Markets showing strong technical setups AND favorable COT positioning receive highest allocations. Markets with strong technicals but neutral or unfavorable positioning receive reduced allocations.
ADVANCED METRICS AND INTERPRETATION
The metrics table transforms simple positioning data into multidimensional market intelligence. Position extremity, calculated as the absolute deviation from the historical mean normalized by standard deviation, helps identify truly unusual readings versus routine fluctuations. A reading above two standard deviations indicates ninety-fifth percentile or higher extremity. Above three standard deviations indicates ninety-ninth percentile or higher, genuinely rare positioning that historically precedes major events with high probability.
Market power, expressed as a percentage of total open interest, reveals whose positioning matters most from a mechanical market impact perspective. Consider two scenarios in gold futures. In scenario one, commercials show a COT Index reading of fifteen while their market power metric shows they hold net shorts representing thirty-five percent of open interest. This is a high-confidence bearish signal. In scenario two, commercials also show a reading of fifteen, but market power shows only eight percent. While positioning is extreme relative to this category's normal range, their limited market share means less mechanical influence on price.
The rate of change and momentum metrics highlight whether positions are accelerating or decelerating, often providing earlier warnings than absolute levels alone. A COT Index reading of seventy-five with rapidly building momentum suggests continued movement toward extremes. Conversely, a reading of eighty-five with decelerating or negative momentum indicates the positioning trend is exhausting.
Position velocity measures the rate of change in positioning changes, effectively a second derivative. When velocity shifts from positive to negative, it indicates that while positioning may still be growing, the pace of growth is slowing. This deceleration often precedes actual reversal in positioning direction by several weeks.
Sentiment divergence calculates the absolute difference between normalized commercial and large speculator index values. When commercials show extreme bearish positioning at twenty while large speculators show extreme bullish positioning at eighty, the divergence reaches sixty, representing near-maximum disagreement. Wang (2003) found that these high-divergence environments frequently preceded increased volatility and reversals. The mechanism is intuitive. Extreme divergence indicates the informed hedgers and momentum-following speculators have positioned opposite each other with conviction. One group will prove correct and profit while the other proves incorrect and suffers losses. The resolution of this disagreement through price movement often involves volatility.
The table also displays concentration metrics when available. High concentration indicates a few dominant players controlling most of the positioning within a category, while low concentration suggests broad-based participation. Broad-based positioning more reliably reflects collective market intelligence and industry consensus. If mining companies globally all independently decide to hedge aggressively at similar price levels, it suggests genuine industry-wide view about price valuations rather than circumstances specific to one firm.
DATA QUALITY AND RELIABILITY
The CFTC has maintained COT reporting in various forms since the nineteen twenties, providing nearly a century of positioning data across multiple market cycles. However, data quality and reporting standards have evolved substantially over this long period. Modern electronic reporting implemented in the late nineteen nineties and early two thousands significantly improved accuracy and timeliness compared to earlier paper-based systems.
Traders should understand that COT reports capture positions as of Tuesday's close each week. Markets remain open three additional days before publication on Friday afternoon, meaning the reported data is three days stale when received. During periods of rapid market movement or major news events, this lag can be significant. The indicator addresses this limitation by including timestamp information and staleness warnings.
The three-day lag creates particular challenges during extreme volatility episodes. Flash crashes, surprise central bank interventions, geopolitical shocks, and other high-impact events can completely transform market positioning within hours. Traders must exercise judgment about whether reported positioning remains relevant given intervening events.
Reporting thresholds also mean that not all market participants appear in disaggregated COT data. Traders holding positions below specified minimums aggregate into the non-reportable or small trader category. This aggregation affects different markets differently. In highly liquid contracts like crude oil with thousands of participants, reportable traders might represent seventy to eighty percent of open interest. In thinly traded contracts with only dozens of active participants, a few large reportable positions might represent ninety-five percent of open interest.
Another data quality consideration involves trader classification into categories. The CFTC assigns traders to commercial or non-commercial categories based on reported business purpose and activities. However, this process is not perfect. Some entities engage in both commercial and speculative activities, creating ambiguity about proper classification. The transition to Disaggregated reports attempted to address some of these ambiguities by creating more granular categories.
COMPARISON WITH ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
Several alternative approaches to COT analysis exist in the trading community beyond the normalization methodology employed by this indicator. Some analysts focus on absolute position changes week-over-week rather than index-based normalization. This approach calculates the change in net positioning from one week to the next. The emphasis falls on momentum in positioning changes rather than absolute levels relative to history. This method potentially identifies regime shifts earlier but sacrifices cross-market comparability (Briese, 2008).
Other practitioners employ more complex statistical transformations including percentile rankings, z-score standardization, and machine learning classification algorithms. Ruan and Zhang (2018) demonstrated that machine learning models applied to COT data could achieve modest improvements in forecasting accuracy compared to simple threshold-based approaches. However, these gains came at the cost of interpretability and implementation complexity.
The COT Index indicator intentionally employs a relatively straightforward normalization methodology for several important reasons. First, transparency enhances user understanding and trust. Traders can verify calculations manually and develop intuitive feel for what different readings mean. Second, academic research suggests that most of the predictive power in COT data comes from extreme positioning levels rather than subtle patterns requiring complex statistical methods to detect. Third, robust methods that work consistently across many markets and time periods tend to be simpler rather than more complex, reducing the risk of overfitting to historical data. Fourth, the complexity costs of implementation matter for retail traders without programming teams or computational infrastructure.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF COT TRADING
Trading based on COT data requires psychological fortitude that differs from momentum-based approaches. Contrarian positioning signals inherently mean betting against prevailing market sentiment and recent price action. When commercials reach extreme bearish positioning, prices have typically been rising, sometimes for extended periods. The price chart looks bullish, momentum indicators confirm strength, moving averages align positively. The COT signal says bet against all of this. This psychological difficulty explains why COT analysis remains underutilized relative to trend-following methods.
Human psychology strongly predisposes us toward extrapolation and recency bias. When prices rally for months, our pattern-matching brains naturally expect continued rally. The recent price action dominates our perception, overwhelming rational analysis about positioning extremes and historical probabilities. The COT signal asking us to sell requires overriding these powerful psychological impulses.
The indicator design attempts to support the required psychological discipline through several features. Clear threshold markers and signal states reduce ambiguity about when signals trigger. When the commercial index crosses below twenty, the signal is explicit and unambiguous. The background shifts to red, the signal label displays bearish, and alerts fire. This explicitness helps traders act on signals rather than waiting for additional confirmation that may never arrive.
The metrics table provides analytical justification for contrarian positions, helping traders maintain conviction during inevitable periods of adverse price movement. When a trader enters short positions based on extreme commercial bearish positioning but prices continue rallying for several weeks, doubt naturally emerges. The table display provides reassurance. Commercial positioning remains extremely bearish. Divergence remains high. The positioning thesis remains intact even though price action has not yet confirmed.
Alert functionality ensures traders do not miss signals due to inattention while also not requiring constant monitoring that can lead to emotional decision-making. Setting alerts for COT extremes enables a healthier relationship with markets. When meaningful signals occur, alerts notify them. They can then calmly assess the situation and execute planned responses.
However, no indicator design can completely overcome the psychological difficulty of contrarian trading. Some traders simply cannot maintain short positions while prices rally. For these traders, COT analysis might be better employed as an exit signal for long positions rather than an entry signal for shorts.
Ultimately, successful COT trading requires developing comfort with probabilistic thinking rather than certainty-seeking. The signals work over many observations by identifying higher-probability configurations, not by generating perfect calls on individual trades. A fifty-five or sixty percent win rate with proper risk management produces substantial profits over years, yet still means forty to forty-five percent of signals will be premature or wrong. COT analysis provides genuine edge, but edge means probability advantage, not elimination of losing trades.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING
The indicator provides extensive built-in educational resources through its documentation, detailed tooltips, and transparent calculations. However, mastering COT analysis requires study beyond any single tool or resource. Several excellent resources provide valuable extensions of the concepts covered in this guide.
Books and practitioner-focused monographs offer accessible entry points. Stephen Briese published The Commitments of Traders Bible in two thousand eight, offering detailed breakdowns of how different markets and trader categories behave (Briese, 2008). Briese's work stands out for its empirical focus and market-specific insights. Jack Schwager includes discussion of COT analysis within the broader context of market behavior in his book Market Sense and Nonsense (Schwager, 2012). Perry Kaufman's Trading Systems and Methods represents perhaps the most rigorous practitioner-focused text on systematic trading approaches including COT analysis (Kaufman, 2013).
Academic journal articles provide the rigorous statistical foundation underlying COT analysis. The Journal of Futures Markets regularly publishes research on positioning data and its predictive properties. Bessembinder and Chan's earlier work on systematic risk, hedging pressure, and risk premiums in futures markets provides theoretical foundation (Bessembinder, 1992). Chang's examination of speculator returns provides historical context (Chang, 1985). Irwin and Sanders provide essential skeptical perspective in their two thousand twelve article (Irwin and Sanders, 2012). Wang's two thousand three article provides one of the most empirical analyses of COT data across multiple commodity markets (Wang, 2003).
Online resources extend beyond academic and book-length treatments. The CFTC website provides free access to current and historical COT reports in multiple formats. The explanatory materials section offers detailed documentation of report construction, category definitions, and historical methodology changes. Traders serious about COT analysis should read these official CFTC documents to understand exactly what they are analyzing.
Commercial COT data services such as Barchart provide enhanced visualization and analysis tools beyond raw CFTC data. TradingView's educational materials, published scripts library, and user community provide additional resources for exploring different approaches to COT analysis.
The key to mastering COT analysis lies not in finding a single definitive source but rather in building understanding through multiple perspectives and information sources. Academic research provides rigorous empirical foundation. Practitioner-focused books offer practical implementation insights. Direct engagement with data through systematic backtesting develops intuition about how positioning dynamics manifest across different market conditions.
SYNTHESIZING KNOWLEDGE INTO PRACTICE
The COT Index indicator represents the synthesis of academic research, trading experience, and software engineering into a practical tool accessible to retail traders equipped with nothing more than a TradingView account and willingness to learn. What once required expensive data subscriptions, custom programming capabilities, statistical software, and institutional resources now appears as a straightforward indicator requiring only basic parameter selection and modest study to understand. This democratization of institutional-grade analysis tools represents a broader trend in financial markets over recent decades.
Yet technology and data access alone provide no edge without understanding and discipline. Markets remain relentlessly efficient at eliminating edges that become too widely known and mechanically exploited. The COT Index indicator succeeds only when users invest time learning the underlying concepts, understand the limitations and probability distributions involved, and integrate signals thoughtfully into trading plans rather than applying them mechanically.
The academic research demonstrates conclusively that institutional positioning contains genuine information about future price movements, particularly at extremes where commercial hedgers are maximally bearish or bullish relative to historical norms. This informational content is neither perfect nor deterministic but rather probabilistic, providing edge over many observations through identification of higher-probability configurations. Bessembinder and Chan's finding that commercial positioning explained modest but significant variance in future returns illustrates this probabilistic nature perfectly (Bessembinder and Chan, 1992). The effect is real and statistically significant, yet it explains perhaps ten to fifteen percent of return variance rather than most variance. Much of price movement remains unpredictable even with positioning intelligence.
The practical implication is that COT analysis works best as one component of a trading system rather than a standalone oracle. It provides the positioning dimension, revealing where the smart money has positioned and where the crowd has followed, but price action analysis provides the timing dimension. Fundamental analysis provides the catalyst dimension. Risk management provides the survival dimension. These components work together synergistically.
The indicator's design philosophy prioritizes transparency and education over black-box complexity, empowering traders to understand exactly what they are analyzing and why. Every calculation is documented and user-adjustable. The threshold markers, background coloring, tables, and clear signal states provide multiple reinforcing channels for conveying the same information.
This educational approach reflects a conviction that sustainable trading success comes from genuine understanding rather than mechanical system-following. Traders who understand why commercial positioning matters, how different trader categories behave, what positioning extremes signify, and where signals fit within probability distributions can adapt when market conditions change. Traders mechanically following black-box signals without comprehension abandon systems after normal losing streaks.
The research foundation supporting COT analysis comes primarily from commodity markets where commercial hedger informational advantages are most pronounced. Agricultural producers hedging crops know more about supply conditions than distant speculators. Energy companies hedging production know more about operating costs than financial traders. Metals miners hedging output know more about ore grades than index funds. Financial futures markets show weaker but still present effects.
The journey from reading this documentation to profitable trading based on COT analysis involves several stages that cannot be rushed. Initial reading and basic understanding represents the first stage. Historical study represents the second stage, reviewing past market cycles to observe how positioning extremes preceded major turning points. Paper trading or small-size real trading represents the third stage to experience the psychological challenges. Refinement based on results and personal psychology represents the fourth stage.
Markets will continue evolving. New participant categories will emerge. Regulatory structures will change. Technology will advance. Yet the fundamental dynamics driving COT analysis, that different market participants have different information, different motivations, and different forecasting abilities that manifest in their positioning, will persist as long as futures markets exist. While specific thresholds or optimal parameters may shift over time, the core logic remains sound and adaptable.
The trader equipped with this indicator, understanding of the theory and evidence behind COT analysis, realistic expectations about probability rather than certainty, discipline to maintain positions through adverse volatility, and patience to allow signals time to develop possesses genuine edge in markets. The edge is not enormous, markets cannot allow large persistent inefficiencies without arbitraging them away, but it is real, measurable, and exploitable by those willing to invest in learning and disciplined application.
REFERENCES
Bessembinder, H. (1992) Systematic risk, hedging pressure, and risk premiums in futures markets, Review of Financial Studies, 5(4), pp. 637-667.
Bessembinder, H. and Chan, K. (1992) The profitability of technical trading rules in the Asian stock markets, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 3(2-3), pp. 257-284.
Briese, S. (2008) The Commitments of Traders Bible: How to Profit from Insider Market Intelligence. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Chang, E.C. (1985) Returns to speculators and the theory of normal backwardation, Journal of Finance, 40(1), pp. 193-208.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (2009) Explanatory Notes: Disaggregated Commitments of Traders Report. Available at: www.cftc.gov (Accessed: 15 January 2025).
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (2020) Commitments of Traders: About the Report. Available at: www.cftc.gov (Accessed: 15 January 2025).
Irwin, S.H. and Sanders, D.R. (2012) Testing the Masters Hypothesis in commodity futures markets, Energy Economics, 34(1), pp. 256-269.
Kaufman, P.J. (2013) Trading Systems and Methods. 5th edn. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Ruan, Y. and Zhang, Y. (2018) Forecasting commodity futures prices using machine learning: Evidence from the Chinese commodity futures market, Applied Economics Letters, 25(12), pp. 845-849.
Sanders, D.R., Boris, K. and Manfredo, M. (2004) Hedgers, funds, and small speculators in the energy futures markets: an analysis of the CFTC's Commitments of Traders reports, Energy Economics, 26(3), pp. 425-445.
Schwager, J.D. (2012) Market Sense and Nonsense: How the Markets Really Work and How They Don't. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Tharp, V.K. (2008) Super Trader: Make Consistent Profits in Good and Bad Markets. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wang, C. (2003) The behavior and performance of major types of futures traders, Journal of Futures Markets, 23(1), pp. 1-31.
Williams, L.R. and Noseworthy, M. (2009) The Right Stock at the Right Time: Prospering in the Coming Good Years. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
FURTHER READING
For traders seeking to deepen their understanding of COT analysis and futures market positioning beyond this documentation, the following resources provide valuable extensions:
Academic Journal Articles:
Fishe, R.P.H. and Smith, A. (2012) Do speculators drive commodity prices away from supply and demand fundamentals?, Journal of Commodity Markets, 1(1), pp. 1-16.
Haigh, M.S., Hranaiova, J. and Overdahl, J.A. (2007) Hedge funds, volatility, and liquidity provision in energy futures markets, Journal of Alternative Investments, 9(4), pp. 10-38.
Kocagil, A.E. (1997) Does futures speculation stabilize spot prices? Evidence from metals markets, Applied Financial Economics, 7(1), pp. 115-125.
Sanders, D.R. and Irwin, S.H. (2011) The impact of index funds in commodity futures markets: A systems approach, Journal of Alternative Investments, 14(1), pp. 40-49.
Books and Practitioner Resources:
Murphy, J.J. (1999) Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Guide to Trading Methods and Applications. New York: New York Institute of Finance.
Pring, M.J. (2002) Technical Analysis Explained: The Investor's Guide to Spotting Investment Trends and Turning Points. 4th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Federal Reserve and Research Institution Publications:
Federal Reserve Banks regularly publish working papers examining commodity markets, futures positioning, and price discovery mechanisms. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City maintain active research programs in this area.
Online Resources:
The CFTC website provides free access to current and historical COT reports, explanatory materials, and regulatory documentation.
Barchart offers enhanced COT data visualization and screening tools.
TradingView's community library contains numerous published scripts and educational materials exploring different approaches to positioning analysis.
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Trappin Previous Timeframe LevelsTrappin Previous Timeframe Levels (Trappin PTL)
Overview
Trappin PTL is a comprehensive multi-timeframe support and resistance indicator that displays key price levels from multiple timeframes on a single chart. This indicator helps traders identify critical price zones where reversals or breakouts are likely to occur, making it ideal for both intraday and swing trading strategies.
💡 Origin Story
I got tired of manually drawing these lines that I learned from watching Wallstreet Trapper on Trappin Tuesdays YouTube live streams. After repeatedly marking the same previous timeframe levels on every chart, I decided to automate the process. Hope it helps you as much as it helps me!
Key Features
📊 Multiple Timeframe Levels
The indicator tracks and displays high/low levels from:
Previous Hour (PHH/PHL) - Purple lines
Previous Day (PDH/PDL) - Green lines
Previous Week (PWH/PWL) - Yellow lines
Previous Month (PMH/PML) - Blue lines
All-Time High (ATH) - Red line
52-Week High - Orange line
🎨 Fully Customizable
Colors - Change the color of each timeframe independently
Line Styles - Choose between Solid, Dashed, or Dotted lines
Line Widths - Adjust thickness from 1-4 pixels
All settings organized in intuitive groups for easy access
📍 Smart Line Extension
Lines extend back to show when the level was established
Lines project forward to show current relevance
Historical context helps identify key support/resistance zones
🏷️ Clear Price Labels
Each level displays its exact price value (no currency symbols)
Labels positioned horizontally to avoid overlap
Adaptive text color for visibility on any chart theme (dark or light mode)
Why "Trappin"?
The name is a tribute to Wallstreet Trapper and his Trappin Tuesdays YouTube live streams, where I learned the importance of marking previous timeframe levels. The name also reflects the indicator's purpose: identifying price levels where traders often get "trapped" - whether it's bulls getting trapped below resistance or bears getting trapped above support. These levels represent zones where significant order flow and liquidity exist, making them prime areas for reversals or breakouts.
Credits
Created by resoh
Inspired by Wallstreet Trapper and Trappin Tuesdays YouTube live streams
This indicator is provided for educational and informational purposes. Always practice proper risk management and conduct your own analysis before making trading decisions.
Version History
v1.0 - Initial Release
Multi-timeframe high/low levels
All-time high tracking
52-week high tracking
Fully customizable colors, styles, and widths
Adaptive labels with price display
Smart line extension showing historical context
