SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategyvsFair Value Gap strategy
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy: Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds. · Fair Value Gap strategy: Buy the imbalance bar of a fresh bullish FVG; short the mirror. Exit when the gap fills.
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy
Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds.
Fair Value Gap strategy
Buy the imbalance bar of a fresh bullish FVG; short the mirror. Exit when the gap fills.
Indicators
- SMA (period 20)
- Fair Value Gap (min gap 0.1%)
Timeframes
Bias
Long only
Long & short
Market fit
Volatility expansion
Range-bound
Entry rules
- Enter long when close crosses above the 20-bar SMA.
- 4-bar cooldown after exit reduces back-to-back whipsaws.
- Long on the bar a bullish FVG opens (bull_signal > 0).
- Short on a bearish FVG.
Exit rules
- Close on a cross back below the SMA.
- Trailing 5% stop catches deeper retracements before the SMA flips.
- Position closes the bar the gap is filled (rebalanced).
- 4% trailing stop, 3-bar cooldown.
Expected behavior
Trendy growth in directional regimes punctuated by ugly chop when price oscillates around the SMA. Best paired with a higher-timeframe trend filter to skip the chop.
Momentum-into-imbalance — fires on explosive bars, exits when the imbalance reverts. Equity curve is choppy with frequent small trades; works best when price respects imbalances and gives the bot a chance to ride the displacement.
Complexity
Which one is right for you?
Derived from the bias, timeframe and indicator profile of each strategy — not a back-test forecast.
When to pick SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy
- You expect volatility expansion — the thesis is "Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds."
- You want a long-only bot on 1h–1d candles with a balanced rule-set.
- You're comfortable monitoring 1 indicator (SMA (period 20)).
Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds.
When to pick Fair Value Gap strategy
- You expect range-bound — the thesis is "Buy the imbalance bar of a fresh bullish FVG; short the mirror. Exit when the gap fills."
- You want a long & short bot on 5m–4h candles with a balanced rule-set.
- You're comfortable monitoring 1 indicator (Fair Value Gap (min gap 0.1%)).
Buy the imbalance bar of a fresh bullish FVG; short the mirror. Exit when the gap fills.
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy
Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds.
Fair Value Gap strategy
Buy the imbalance bar of a fresh bullish FVG; short the mirror. Exit when the gap fills.
Related comparisons
Other pairings that involve one of these strategies.
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