SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategyvsPrior Period Levels strategy
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy: Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds. · Prior Period Levels strategy: PDH / PDL breakouts — long above the prior day high, short below the prior day low.
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy
Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds.
Prior Period Levels strategy
PDH / PDL breakouts — long above the prior day high, short below the prior day low.
Indicators
- SMA (period 20)
- Prior Period Levels (daily / weekly / monthly)
- SMA(1) close wrapper
Timeframes
Bias
Long only
Long & short
Market fit
Volatility expansion
Strong directional trends
Entry rules
- Enter long when close crosses above the 20-bar SMA.
- 4-bar cooldown after exit reduces back-to-back whipsaws.
- Long when close crosses above the prior day's high.
- Short when close crosses below the prior day's low.
Exit rules
- Close on a cross back below the SMA.
- Trailing 5% stop catches deeper retracements before the SMA flips.
- Opposite-side breakout closes the trade.
- 4% trailing stop, 2-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.
Intraday classic — fires on the first decisive break of yesterday's range. Strong in trend days, choppy when price oscillates around the PDH/PDL.
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 Prior Period Levels strategy
- You expect strong directional trends — the thesis is "PDH / PDL breakouts — long above the prior day high, short below the prior day low."
- You want a long & short bot on 15m–4h candles with a balanced rule-set.
- You're comfortable monitoring 2 indicators (Prior Period Levels (daily / weekly / monthly), SMA(1) close wrapper).
PDH / PDL breakouts — long above the prior day high, short below the prior day low.
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy
Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds.
Prior Period Levels strategy
PDH / PDL breakouts — long above the prior day high, short below the prior day low.
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