Complete Trading Strategies, Explained Plainly
Entry, exit and management rules bundled into one approach — see exactly how each strategy works, then test it against real price history.
Opening Range Breakout
Marks the high and low of the first few minutes of a session, then trades a breakout of that range in the direction it breaks.
Tip: The range only means something for the session it forms in — reset it fresh at the same time each day rather than carrying it over.
Best used with: Trading Sessions, VWAP
Moving Average Crossover
Trades in the direction a faster moving average crosses a slower one, treating the cross as a shift from one trend regime to another.
Tip: A crossover lags the actual turn — expect to give back some of the move at the start of every signal.
Best used with: RSI, Swing Points
Trend Pullback
Waits for price to retrace against an established trend before entering back in the trend's direction, instead of chasing the move that started it.
Tip: Define 'established trend' with a rule — a moving average slope or a run of higher highs — before deciding what counts as a pullback.
Best used with: Swing Points, Central Pivot Range
VWAP Mean Reversion
Fades price back toward the session VWAP after it stretches too far away, treating the average as a magnet rather than a line to follow.
Tip: Works best in a session that's already chopping around VWAP — a trending session breaks the assumption the strategy depends on.
Best used with: VWAP, Trading Sessions
Range Reversion
Buys near the bottom of an established trading range and sells near the top, treating the range boundaries as levels that hold until price actually breaks them.
Tip: The strategy only works while the range holds — the same breakout that ends the range is the signal to stop trading it.
Best used with: Central Pivot Range, Symmetrical Triangle
Momentum Breakout
Enters when price breaks a prior swing high or low on a sharp increase in volume, treating the combination as a real move rather than a false push.
Tip: Volume is the filter that separates this from a plain breakout — a break on light volume is the case this strategy is built to skip.
Best used with: Break of Structure, Swing Points
Gap and Go
Trades a stock that opens well above or below its prior close in the direction of the gap, on the idea that a strong open often keeps going through the early session.
Tip: Not every gap continues — check whether it holds above the prior day's high or low in the first few minutes before committing.
Best used with: Trading Sessions, VWAP
Swing Structure Breakout
Enters when price closes beyond the most recent swing high or low, using a break of prior structure as confirmation a new leg is underway.
Tip: Wait for a close beyond the level, not just a wick through it — a wick alone is the false signal this strategy is built to filter out.
Best used with: Break of Structure, Bull Flag
Flag Continuation
Enters on the resumption of a sharp prior move after a brief, shallow pullback, treating the pause as a flag rather than the start of a reversal.
Tip: Judge the flag by how brief and shallow it stays — a pullback that drifts too long stops being a pause and starts being a different setup.
Best used with: Bull Flag, Bear Flag
Pivot Range Fade
Fades price back toward the central pivot range after an early move tags one of its outer levels, on the idea that the first test of an extreme often reverts before it extends.
Tip: This fades the first touch specifically — a level that's already been tested and broken once is no longer the same setup.
Best used with: Central Pivot Range, Doji
What this library is for
A strategy name isn't a guarantee — it's a bundle of entry, exit and management rules that has worked for other traders in other conditions, and might not survive contact with the market you actually trade. Each entry here spells out the rules plainly, what the strategy is built to catch, and where it tends to break down.
Entries are written for self-directed traders — from someone assembling their first rule-based system to someone auditing a strategy they've traded live for a year. No prior system is assumed.
The order matters: read the entry, then test the rules on past price before risking anything on them. A strategy that looks good on the trades you remember is not evidence — backtesting is where a strategy earns a place in a trading plan, or loses one.
Frequently asked
What makes something a complete trading strategy, rather than just a setup?
A setup is one condition — a pattern forming, an indicator crossing a level. A strategy adds the rest: exactly when you enter, where the stop and target sit, how you manage the trade if it moves against you, and when you stop taking the setup altogether. Missing any of those pieces means it's an idea, not something you can test yet.
What's the difference between an intraday and a swing strategy?
An intraday strategy opens and closes within a single session and leans on things that reset every day — the opening range, VWAP, session highs and lows. A swing strategy holds across multiple sessions and leans on higher-timeframe structure instead. The two need different data and different position sizing, so know which one an entry describes before you try it.
Do these strategies work as written, or do they need to be adjusted?
Assume they need adjusting. Each entry describes a strategy the way it's commonly defined, not a rule tuned for a specific market, timeframe or account size. Treat it as a starting rule set rather than a finished plan — the adjustment is part of the work, and testing is how you find out whether an adjustment actually helped.
How do I know if a strategy fits how I actually trade?
Match it to your available time and the market you trade. An intraday strategy isn't workable if you can only check charts once a day, and a strategy built for a trending futures contract can behave very differently on a range-bound pair. Test the exact rules on the exact market and timeframe you intend to use.
How do I test whether a strategy actually works?
Write the rules down precisely enough that someone else could follow them without asking you a question, then run them over past price and record every trade they would have produced — including the losers. Traders Journal's backtesting lets you step through history bar by bar, so you get a real sample instead of a memory of the trades that worked.
Will more strategies be added to this library?
Yes. Entries are added as they're written and reviewed, not promised ahead of time.
Test a strategy before you trade it
Reading a strategy's rules on charts you've already seen the outcome of proves nothing. Traders Journal steps through price history bar by bar, so you can apply the exact entry, exit and management rules and record every trade they would have produced — including the ones that failed.
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