Inside bar
A complete high-low range contained by the previous bar.
What to look for
- Current high is no higher than the prior high
- Current low is no lower than the prior low
- Treatment of equal highs and lows is defined
The inside candle stays between the mother bar's high and low. Decide how equal highs and lows count, what confirms a break, and where the setup fails before moving on.
For the downside version, wait for a completed close below the mother low. Decide up front whether equal highs or lows still count as inside.When the pattern is confirmed
A close outside the mother bar or a stop order beyond it; test both separately.
Where the idea is wrong
Opposite side of the mother bar or an ATR-based alternative.
The easy mistake
During low-liquidity periods, compression can persist or break in both directions.
A complete inside bar example
Show the mother bar and the smaller contained bar after a directional move, then contrast it with an inside bar during a thin, directionless session. Define how equal highs and lows are treated before replay begins.
First rule to test
Mother-bar break — use the first trade beyond the mother bar high or low as the entry trigger, with direction decided by the break.
Alternative rule
Close outside — wait for a complete candle to close beyond the mother bar, then enter no earlier than the next bar.
Place it where the pattern is wrong
Place the example stop one fixed ATR fraction beyond the opposite side of the mother bar, using the ATR value known when the entry triggers.
Context, trigger and risk
The pattern handles timing. The other tools decide whether the location makes sense and how far normal price movement can reach.
Measures whether the mother bar and compression are unusually large or small.
Supplies a separately defined trend direction for continuation tests.
Helps identify low-liquidity compression and session-boundary breaks.
First exit to test
Measured range — project one mother-bar range from the breakout boundary and close at that level.
Alternative exit
Trailing swing — move the exit reference only after a completed swing forms in the breakout direction.
Patterns need a method around them
Open a related strategy to see the wider market filter, entry, stop, exit and no-trade rule.
Donchian breakout
A rules-first breakout framework based on new lookback extremes.
- ENTRY
- Enter at the next H4 open after a completed close above the prior 20-bar upper channel for a long or below the lower channel for a short.
- STOP
- Initial stop is 2.0 × ATR(20) from the actual fill. Size to risk 0.50% of equity, rounded down to 0.01 lot; never add to or widen the position.
- EXIT
- Exit at the next H4 open after a completed close through the opposite 10-bar channel. The initial 2 ATR stop remains active until that exit.
Bollinger squeeze
Tests whether unusually narrow bands precede a tradable volatility expansion.
- ENTRY
- Enter at the next H1 open in the direction of the first eligible release close.
- STOP
- Place stop at the opposite side of the frozen six-bar range. Risk 0.50% equity, rounded down to 0.01 lot.
- EXIT
- Take profit at 2R. Exit at market after 16 completed H1 bars if unresolved.
Trend pullback
Research whether shallow retracements inside an objective trend resume in its direction.
- ENTRY
- After eligibility is true, place a market order at the next H1 open when the signal candle closes beyond the highest high of the previous two pullback bars for a long, or below their lowest low for a short.
- STOP
- Place the stop 0.25 × ATR(14) beyond the pullback extreme. Size so entry-to-stop risk equals 0.50% of demo equity, rounded down to 0.01 lot; never widen the stop.
- EXIT
- Place a fixed target at 2R immediately after entry. If neither stop nor target trades first, exit at market after 24 completed H1 bars.
Try it on older charts
Bucket by prior trend, mother-bar size and session.