SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategyvsRSI dip with trend filter strategy
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy: Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds. · RSI dip with trend filter strategy: Buy oversold RSI dips, but only when price is still above the 50 EMA.
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy
Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds.
RSI dip with trend filter strategy
Buy oversold RSI dips, but only when price is still above the 50 EMA.
Indicators
- SMA (period 20)
- RSI (period 14)
- EMA (period 50)
Timeframes
Bias
Long only
Long only
Market fit
Volatility expansion
Filtered, selective
Entry rules
- Enter long when close crosses above the 20-bar SMA.
- 4-bar cooldown after exit reduces back-to-back whipsaws.
- RSI(14) below 35 AND
- Close is above the 50-bar EMA — the dip is with the trend, not against it.
Exit rules
- Close on a cross back below the SMA.
- Trailing 5% stop catches deeper retracements before the SMA flips.
- RSI(14) above 65, OR close drops below EMA(50).
- Hard 2.5% stop; 5% take-profit.
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.
Cleaner equity curve than vanilla RSI mean reversion because the EMA filter cuts the worst counter-trend trades. Fewer setups, but each one comes with a stacked deck.
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 RSI dip with trend filter strategy
- You expect filtered, selective — the thesis is "Buy oversold RSI dips, but only when price is still above the 50 EMA."
- You want a long-only bot on 15m–4h candles with a balanced rule-set.
- You're comfortable monitoring 2 indicators (RSI (period 14), EMA (period 50)).
Buy oversold RSI dips, but only when price is still above the 50 EMA.
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy
Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds.
RSI dip with trend filter strategy
Buy oversold RSI dips, but only when price is still above the 50 EMA.
Related comparisons
Other pairings that involve one of these strategies.
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