NR4 & NR7 (Narrow Range 4 & 7) and ID (Inside Days) | Toby Crabel

Narrow range patterns were described by Tony Crabel in his book, "Day Trading with Short Term Price Patterns & Opening Range Breakout". Even though it was published in 1990, many of Crabel's concepts and set-ups are still effective, and in particular his NR4 (Narrow Range 4) and NR7 (Narrow Range 7) patterns became quite popular with short-term traders. The idea for set-ups is similar to the Bollinger Band Squeeze or Short-Squeezes and Long-Squeezes in general: a volatility contraction is followed by a volatility expansion; narrow range days mark price contractions that precede price expansions. The NR7 day and the NR4 day as such are 'neutral' when it comes to future price direction, and other tools need to be employed to determine directional bias. Because NR4/NR7 days are relatively commonplace and the range is small by definition, the chances of whipsaw are above average. A break above the NR7 high can fail and be followed by a break below the NR7 high. Just be aware of this probability and keep the bigger picture in mind. In other words, be wary of sell signals within a bullish pattern, such as a falling flag or at a support test.

 

Examples of Narrow Range 7 Inside Days (IDnr7) in the Nasdaq.

Traders will want to qualify NR7 signals because they are quite frequent. A typical instrument will produce dozens of NR7 days in a twelve month period and a daily scan of US stocks will often return hundreds of stocks with NR7 days. Traders can increase or decrease the number of narrow range periods to affect the results. A decrease from NR7 to NR4 would increase the number of instruments fitting the criteria, while an increase from NR7 to e.g. NR20 would decrease the number of signal days. Consider NR7 and NR4 days that are at the same time Inside Days (IDnr4, IDnr7) also as signal days (see chart above).

Strategy: This strategy starts with the day's range, which is simply the difference between the high and the low. Crabel used the absolute range, as opposed to the percentage range, which would be the absolute range divided by the close or the midpoint. Because we are only dealing with four and seven days, the difference between the absolute range and percentage range is negligible. Crabel focused on two different narrow range timeframes: four days and seven days. An NR4 pattern would be the narrowest range in four days, while an NR7 would be the narrowest range in seven days. It is a very short-term pattern designed to initiate a trade based on an "opening range breakout", which is another term from Crabel's book. Look for an upside breakout when prices move above the high of the narrow range day and a downside breakdown when prices move below the low of the narrow range day.

Bull Signal:

1. The daily bias is bullish.
2. Identify a NR4, a NR7, an IDnr4 or an IDnr4 day.
3. Buy on move above high of narrow range day high.
4. Set trailing stop-loss.

Bear Signal:

1. The daily bias is bearish.
2. Identify a NR4, a NR7, an IDnr4 or an IDnr4 day.
3. Sell on move below low of narrow range day low.
4. Set trailing stop-loss.

Targets: Because this is a short-term setup, it is important that the trade starts working right away. Failure to continue in the direction of the signal is the first warning. After a buy signal, a move below the low of the narrow range day would be negative. Conversely, a move above the high of the narrow range day would negate a sell signal. Consider profit targets and stop-losses. Crabel took profits quite quickly, usually at the close of the first trading day or on the first profitable close. Again, this is very short-term-oriented and might not be suitable for all traders. Alternatively, profits can be taken near the next resistance levels or a percentage target can be used. Base stops on previous highs and lows, the Average True Range (ATR), etc. For example, the stop-loss on a long position could be set two ATR values below current prices and trailed higher.

 

Reference:
Toby Crabel (1990) - Day Trading With Short Term Price Patterns and Opening Range Breakout.

Toby Crabel (1990) - Inside Days in the S&P 500.

 Oddmund Groette (2023) - NR7 Trading Strategy (We Improved It).
Oddmund Groette (2023) - Inside Day Trading Strategy – Does It Work? (Backtest). 

TPR (2023) - Trend Continuation Entry Strategies.

Toby Crabel - Definition of Patterns

Toby Crabel wrote a book called Day Trading With Short Term Price Patterns and Opening Range Breakout which is no longer in print and sometimes sold on eBay for more than $1,000. In this book he defines a number of trading patterns which have become popular numbers to calculate and watch among day traders and swing traders. He is a United States self-made millionaire commodities trader. The Financial Times called him "the most well-known trader on the counter-trend side" He is the fund manager of "Crabel Capital Management". ranking number 101 out of 196 funds on Absolute Return magazine list Absolute Return survey of U.S. groups with more than $1 billion AUM, July 2005. This is the latest current ranking of the top 196 money managers in the country. Mr Crabel manages 3.2 billion dollars and had a growth of 16.7% in 2005. A producer of consistent returns whatever the weather, Crabel has avoided having a losing year from 1991 to 2002 (Wikipedia).

Stretch

The Stretch is calculated by taking the 10 day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of the absolute difference between the Open and either the High or Low, whichever difference is smaller.
 

For example, if the Open is 1250, the High is 1258, and the Low is 1240, then we would take the value of 8 for that day because 1258-1250 is 8 which is smaller than 1250-1240 which is 10. We then add together all of these values for the last 10 trading days and divide this by 10 to get the 10 day SMA. This value will then become the Stretch. Stretch Calculation:

1.  Take the Open, High and Low of each day.
2.  Find delta of High - Open.
3.  Find delta of Open - Low.
4.  Which ever is lower between step 1 and step 2 take that value for each day.
5.  Stretch = average of the values of past 10 days.

The Stretch is used in calculating where to enter the trade and where to place a stop using the ORB and ORBP trading strategies. Before buying and selling the Stretch, also consider support and resistance-levels derived from the Daily Classic Pivot Point.

Daily Classic Pivot Points

The formula used in the calculation of Classic Pivot Points are:
 

R4 = R3 + RANGE (same as: PP + RANGE * 3)
R3 = R2 + RANGE (same as: PP + RANGE * 2)
R2 = PP + RANGE
R1 = (2 * PP) - LOW
PP = (HIGH + LOW + CLOSE) / 3
S1 = (2 * PP) - HIGH
S2 = PP - RANGE
S3 = S2 - RANGE (same as: PP - RANGE * 2)
S4 = S3 - RANGE (same as: PP - RANGE * 3)

Where R1 through R4 are Resistance levels 1 to 4, PP is the Pivot Point, S1 through S4 are support levels 1 to 4, RANGE is the High minus the Low of yesterday's daily EOD.

Opening Range Breakout = ORB

Using this strategy, the trader places a buy stop just above the Open price plus the Stretch and a sell stop just below the Open price minus the Stretch. The first stop triggered enters the trader into the trade and the other stop becomes the protective stop.
 

Crabel's research shows that the earlier in the trading session the entry stop is hit the more likely the trade will be profitable at the close. A market movement that kicks off a trend quickly in the current trading session could add significant profit to a trader's position by the close and should be considered for a multi-day trade.
 

The ORB can be utilized as a general indicator of bias every day. Whichever side of the stretch is traded first will indicate bias in that direction for the next two to three hours of the session. This information alone will keep you out of trouble, if nothing else.
 

Multiple contracts can be used when entering on an ORB or ORBP. This allows for some profit taking as the move continues to guarantee at least some profit in the case of a pullback to the break-even stop. A trailing stop is also very effective.
 

If you miss the ORB and early entry occurred, any 3/8 to 1/2 retracement of the established range can be used as an entry point with stops beyond the 5/8 level. This technique can be utilized twice, but becomes treacherous on the third retracement.

Extending Crabel's research results it is obvious that as time passes and we are not filled early on then the risk increases and it becomes prudent to reduce the size of the position during the day. Trades filled towards the end of the day carry the most risk and the later in the day the trade is filled the less likely the trader will want to carry that trade overnight. Variations of this strategy include the Opening Range Breakout Preference (ORBP - HERE).

Opening Range Breakout Preference = ORBP

An ORBP trade is a one sided Opening Range Breakout (ORB) trade. If other technical indicators show a strong trend in one direction then the trader will exercise a "Preference" for the direction in which to trade the ORB trade. A stop to open a position would be placed on the side of the trend only and if filled a protective stop would then be placed. The calculation of where to place the "stop to open" would be the same as that for the ORB trade: For longs, the Open price plus the Stretch and for shorts the Open price minus the Stretch. The ORBP trade is a specialized form of the ORB trade (HERE).  

Narrow Range = NR

If a price bar's Range is less than the previous bar's range it is said to have an NR. The opposite of NR is Wide Spread (WS). NR is technically NR2 when compared to NR4, NR5, and NR7.
Type: Trend-Continuation or Short-Term Breakout Set-up
Conditions: The current bar has the narrowest range (high - low) of the last X bars. The bar may or may not be an inside bar. Buy and Sell reference are the high and low of the NR bar.
 

Narrow Range 4 = NR4

If a price bar's Range is less than the previous 3 bars' ranges (measured independently) it is said to have the narrowest range in 4 days or NR4. The opposite of NR4 is WS4. NR, NR5, and NR7 are also closely watched price patterns.Type: Trend-Continuation or Short-Term Breakout Set-up

Narrow Range 5 = NR5

If a price bar's Range is less than the previous 4 bars' ranges (measured independently) it is said to have the narrowest range in 5 days or NR5. The opposite of NR5 is WS5. NR, NR4, and NR7 are also closely watched price patterns.Type: Trend-Continuation or Short-Term Breakout Set-up

Narrow Range 7 = NR7

If a price bar's Range is less than the previous 6 bars' ranges (measured independently) it is said to have the narrowest range in 7 days or NR7. The opposite of NR7 is WS7. NR, NR4, and NR5 are also closely watched price patterns.

Type: Trend-Continuation or Short-Term Breakout Set-up

Wide Spread = WS
If a price bar's Range is wider than the previous bar's range it is said to have a WS. The opposite of WS is NR. WS is technically WS2 when compared to WS4, WS5, and WS7.
WS4 = Wide Spread 4: If a price bar's Range is wider than the previous 3 bars' ranges (measured independently) it is said to have the widest range in 4 days or WS4. The opposite of WS4 is NR4. WS, WS5, and WS7 are also closely watched price patterns.

Inside Day = ID
If the high of the current day is lower than the high of the previous day AND the low of the current day is higher than the low of the previous day then we have an ID or Inside Day. The opposite to an ID is an Outside Day (OD).  
Type: Trend-Continuation or Short-Term Breakout Set-up.

Outside Day = OD
If the high of the current day is higher than the high of the previous day AND the low of the current day is lower than the low of the previous day then we have an OD or Outside Day. The opposite to an OD is an Inside Day (ID).

Bear Hook
A Bear Hook occurs when you have an NR with the Open less than the previous bar's Low AND the Close greater than the previous bar's Close.

Bull Hook
A Bull Hook occurs when you have an NR with the Open greater than the previous bar's High AND the Close less than the previous bar's Close.

Inside Day Narrow Range 4 = IDnr4
IDnr4 is an Inside Day (ID) with a Narrow Range 4 (NR4).
An IDnr4 is a combination of an ID and an NR4. This happens when the current day's high is lower than the previous day's high AND the current day's low is higher than the previous day's low AND the range is the narrowest when compared to the previous 3 trading days.
See also HERE 

2 Bar Narrow Range = 2BNR
If the 2-day-range (the higher of the 2 highs less the lower of the 2 lows) is the narrowest 2-day-range in the last 20 trading sessions then we are currently sitting on a 2BNR.

3 Bar Narrow Range = 3BNR
If the 3-day-range (the higher of the 3 highs less the lower of the 3 lows) is the narrowest 3-day-range in the last 20 trading sessions then this is true.

4 Bar Narrow Range = 4BNR
If the 4-day-range (the higher of the 4 highs less the lower of the 4 lows) is the narrowest 4-day-range in the last 30 trading sessions then this is true.

8 Bar Narrow Range = 8BNR
If the 8-day-range (the higher of the 8 highs less the lower of the 8 lows) is the narrowest 8-day-range in the last 40 trading sessions then this is true.

Credits: www.mypivots.com

Range, 3 Day SMA, Day Counts & Reversal Harbingers

A day in which there is a new high followed by a lower close is a downwards reversal day (RB). An upwards reversal day is a new low followed by a higher close. A reversal day by itself is not significant unless it can be put into context with a larger price pattern, such as a clear trend with sharply increasing volatility, or a reversal that occurs at the highest or lowest price of the past few weeks. Short-term reversals are likely after wide-ranging (WR4) and narrow-ranging days (NR4), especially when the open, high, low and close of the daily price bar are altogether above or below of a simple three-day moving average line of daily close prices.

A wide-ranging day is likely to be the result of a price shock, unexpected news, or a breakout in which many orders trigger one another, causing a large increase in volatility. A wide-ranging day could turn out to be a spike or an island reversal. Because very high volatility cannot be sustained, a wide-ranging day will likely be followed by a reversal, or at least a pause. When a wide-ranging day occurs, the direction of the close (if the close is near the high or low) is a strong indication of the continued direction. An outside day (OB) often precedes a reversal. An outside day can also be a wide-ranging day if the volatility is high, but when volatility is low and the size of the bar is slightly longer than the previous bar, it is a weak signal. As with so many other chart patterns, if one day has an unusually small trading range, followed by an outside day of normal volatility, there is very little information in the pattern. Context and selection are important.

An inside day (IB) is one where the high is lower than the previous high and the low is higher than the previous low. That is, an inside day is one where both the highs and lows are inside the previous day’s trading range. An inside day represents a narrow range consolidation and lower volatility. In turn, lower volatility is most often associated with the end of a price move. After a burst of activity and a surge of direction, price has reached a point where buyers are already in and price has moved too far to attract more buyers. Volume drops, volatility drops, and an inside day follows. An inside day is definitely followed by a breakout, either into a continuation of the previous trend or into a change of direction. 

 

References:

 Larry Williams (2011) - Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading
Toby Crabel (1990) - Day Trading With Short Term Price Patterns and Opening Range Breakout

Oddmund Groette (2022) - S&P 500 Trading Strategies (ES and SPY) 

Larry Connors & Cesar Alvarez (2009) - High Probability ETF Trading

Larry Connors & Linda Bradford Raschke (1995) - Street Smarts: High Probability Short-Term Trading Strategies 

TPR (2022) - Inside Days in the S&P 500 │ Toby Crabel
TPR (2018) - Contraction > Breakout > Expansion | Toby Crabel's Price Patterns    

Inside Days in the S&P 500 │ Toby Crabel

Toby Crabel (1990) - Computer studies suggest that Inside Days (ID) provide very reliable entries in the S+P market. The data used in the studies is daily open, high, low and close prices from 1982 to 1987. All of the following patterns are defined for a computer but can be seen easily on a daily bar chart.

• Pattern (1) is simply an inside day followed by a sale (s) on a lower open or buy (b) on a higher open. Entry is on the open with an exit on the same day's close with no stop. This procedure produced sixty-eight percent winning trades with profits of $18,000 after an $18 commission. This is a reasonably high percentage and suggests a strong bias in the direction of the open after any ID.

• Pattern (2a) is defined as an ID with a higher close than the previous day followed by a higher open. A buy is taken on the open and exited on the close. The same is done on the sales (Pattern (2b)) if there was an ID with a lower close followed by a lower open. Again, stops were not used. There were forty-four trades as such with seventy-four percent of them profitable. Net profit was $14,914. The percentage has improved and profits are better per trade than Pattern (1). This supports the premise that the closing effects the next day's action and potential breakout. Further tests uncover some variations to above results. Although the opening direction after an inside day appears to be a valid indicator of upcoming direction, there are same specific patterns that show very high percentage profitability without the use of the previous day's closing direction. Specifically, two patterns; one a sale (Pattern (3)), one a buy (Pattern (4)).

• Pattern (3): The day of entry is called Day 1. The day of immediately preceding the entry is Day 2 and each preceding day - 3, 4, 5, etc. On Day 1 an open lower than Day 2's mid-range and lower than Day 2's close is necessary. Day 2 must be inside of Day 3. Day 3 must have a higher low than Day 4. A sale is made on the open of Day 1 with exit on the close of Day 1. Profits were eighty percent with winning trades five times the size of losing trades. The only shortcoming is that only ten trades could be found from 1982-1987.
  

• Pattern (4) is similar to Pattern (3) with opposite parameters. The only exception is the open on Day 1 need only to be higher, not above mid-range. So to review Pattern (4), Day 1 a higher open than Day 2. Day 2 inside Day 3. Day 3 lower high than Day 4. Results were as follows: Ninety-one percent profits; 860 to 820 average winner to average loser. No stops were used.  Only eleven patterns to the upside were found.

The market action implied in each pattern is a short-term trend with a loss of momentum on the Inside Day.  The open on Day 1 is in the opposite direction of the trend and is an indication of a shift in sentiment. This shift in sentiment causes those who still have existing positions against the opening direction to liquidate longs or cover shorts. Participants covering their positions is more than enough to tip off a directional move.

A slightly different perspective on the same type of pattern is to look for a retracement to the previous day's close after the opening and take a position at that point in the direction of the open. I tested four patterns to demonstrate this principle.

• Pattern (5) shows an Inside Day with a lower close on Day 2 than Day 3.  Day 1's open is above Day 2's close. The chances are sixty-two percent that the market will close above Day 2's close on Day 1.
• Pattern (6) is an Inside Day on Day 2 with a higher close than Day 3. Day 1's open is above Day 2's close. The chances are seventy-nine percent that the market will close above Day 2's close on Day 1.
• Pattern (7) shows an Inside Day on Day 2 with a lower close than Day 3's close. Day 1's open is below Day 2's close. The chances are fifty-nine percent that the close on Day 1 will be lower than Day 2's close.
• Pattern (8) shows an Inside Day on Day 2 with a higher close than Day 3's close. Day 1's open is below Day 2's close. There is a sixty-seven percent chance that the market will close below Day 2's close on Day 1.

How can you use this information? It suggests a strong bias in the direction of the open especially after a higher open. The prolonged bull market obviously had an impact on these results but in general, a counter move back to Day 2's close after the opening direction is known, should be observed for a loss of momentum and possible entry in the direction of the open.
 
Another totally different test in the S+P has same interesting implications and could be tied in with the previous patterns. On any day that the market has moved two hundred points above the open intra-day, it has closed above the open ninety percent, of the time. Also, on any day that the market has moved two hundred points below the open it has closed below the open eighty-eight percent of the time. This was during the period from 1982-1988.

An application of these results is as follows: Enter in the direction of the initial trend on any low momentum move back to the open and exit on the close of the session. This can be done after the initial trend is established with a two hundred point move in one direction off the open. The main qualification is price action on the pullback. A high momentum move back through the open leaves the initial two hundred point move in question. This can also be applied after an Inside Day very effectively.

I think it is necessary to shed light on how extraordinary the results for Inside Days are: A test on a sale of a higher open or buy of a lower open with no other information to work with provides a winning trade fifty-six percent of the time when exiting on the close the same day of entry. This suggests a natural tendency for the market to reverse the opening direction by the time of the close.

This natural tendency is reversed after an ID. Why? What is it about an ID that produces follow through after the open? An ID is narrower than the previous day. Any narrowing day shows loss of momentum and when within a previous day's range it forms a congestion area. A congestion is directionless trade with the market searching for new information. A temporary state of balance or equilibrium exists.

There is a tendency for the market to trend after a congestion. If an Inside Day is a valid congestion, it will produce an imminent trend day. One can assume from the above tests that there is a tendency to trend after these patterns (ID). These tests support the premise that Inside Days are valid congestion areas. It appears that market participants act on the first piece of information indicating trend after the Inside Day - the open. Also, the direction of the close on the ID will provide further clues on the direction of the breakout when added to the information of opening direction. The increase in percentage profit and relative profits when these variables are added supports this conclusion.

The ID pattern acts as a continuation 62% of the time. A breakout occurs when price closes either above the top of the pattern
or below the bottom of it. Since inside days act as a continuation pattern, expect the breakout to be in the same direction as
the inbound price trend. Wait for price to either close above the top or below the bottom of the pattern before taking a position.
The ID can form midway in a price trend, just like bull flags, wedges and pennants.

Why do these indications work so well in the S+P? The S+P generally is an urgent market. The distinguishing characteristic of this market is its tendency to trend throughout the session. This market is notorious for big, fast moves intra-day. Peter Steidlmayer (Markets and Market Logic) calls it a One-Time Frame market. One may reason that in a One-Time Frame market the inside day is a more reliable indication of upcoming trend than in a Two-Time Frame market. The market principle that is in force is contraction/expansion. The Inside Day is contraction, and in a One-Time Frame market 1-Day contraction is all that is necessary to tip off a directional move.

In summary, the above tests suggest that an Inside Day is a valid congestion area and it follows that all breakout rules for congestion areas should be implemented after an Inside Day forms. The resulting breakout is expansion.

Three-Bar Inside Bar Pattern by Johnan Prathap - HERE & HERE

[...] The Principle of Contraction / Expansion is defined as the market phenomenon of change from a period of rest to a period of movement back to a period of rest. This interaction between the phases of motion and rest are constantly taking place, with one phase directly responsible for the others' existence. A Trend Day is defined as a day when the first hour's trade comprises less than 10% of the day's range or the market has no dominant area of trade throughout the session. Trend days are characterized by an opening near one extreme and a close on the opposite extreme of the daily range. Trend days fall into the category of expansions. Congestion is a series of trading days with no visible progress in either direction. Usually associated with narrow range days or non-trend days. Contraction is a market behavior represented by a congestion or dormant period either short-term (ID) or long-term narrow range (8 Bar NR) and usually reaching its narrowest phase at the end of the period.

References:

Toby Crabel (1990) - Day Trading With Short Term Price Patterns and Opening Range Breakout
Contraction > Breakout > Expansion | Toby Crabel's Price Patterns 

Perry J. Kaufman (2019) - Trading Systems and Methods

Alex's Options - Trading Inside Bars

Capturing Trend Days | Linda Bradford-Raschke

Linda Bradford Raschke (1995) - A trend day occurs when there is an expansion in the daily trading range and the open and close are near opposite extremes. The first half-hour of trading often comprises less than 10% of the day’s total range; there is usually very little intraday price retracement. Typically, price action picks up momentum going into the last hour — and the trend accelerates. 

A trend day can occur in either the same or the opposite direction to the prevailing trend on daily charts. The critical point is that the increased spread between the high and low of the daily range offers a trading opportunity from which large profits can be made in a short time. Traders must understand the characteristics of a trend day, even if interested only in intraday scalping. A trader anticipating a trend day should change strategies, from trading off support/resistance and looking at overbought/oversold indicators to using a breakout methodology and being flexible enough to buy strength or sell weakness. 

A trader caught off guard will often experience his largest losses on a trend day as he tries to sell strength or buy weakness prematurely. Because there are few intraday retracements, small losses can easily get out of hand. The worst catastrophes come from trying to average losing trades on trend days. Fortunately, it is possible to identify specific conditions that tend to precede a trend day. Because this can easily be done at night when the markets are closed, a trader can adjust his game plan for the next day and be prepared to place resting buy or sell stops at appropriate levels.

Classic Trend Day: A large opening gap created a vacuum on the buy side.
The market opened at one extreme and closed on the other. Note how it made higher highs and higher lows all day.
Also, volatility increased in the latter part of the day–another characteristic of trend days.

 

The Principle of Range Contraction/Expansion: Several types of conditions lead to trend days, but most involve some type of contraction in volatility or daily range. In general, price expansion tends to follow periods of price contraction, the phenomenon being cyclical. The market alternates between periods of rest or consolidation and periods of movement, or markup/markdown. Volatility is actually more cyclical than is price.

When a market consolidates, buyers and sellers reach an equilibrium price level — and the trading
range tends to narrow. When new information enters the marketplace, the market moves away from
this equilibrium point and tries to find a new price, or “value” area. Either longs or shorts will be
“trapped” on the wrong side and eventually forced to cover, aggravating the existing supply/demand imbalance.

 

Trend Day Down: In turn, the increase in price momentum attracts new market participants, and pretty soon a vicious cycle is created. Local pit traders, recognizing the one-way order flow, scramble to cover contracts. Instead of price reacting back as in normally trading markets, “positive feedback” is created — a condition in which and no one can predict how far the price will go. The market tends to gain momentum rather than to check back and forth.

We can tell when the market is approaching the end of contraction or congestion because the average daily range narrows. We know a potential breakout is at hand. However, it is difficult to predict the direction of the breakout because buyers and sellers appear to be in perfect balance. All we can do is prepare for increased volatility or range expansion!

Most breakout trading strategies let the market tip its hand as to which way it wants to go before entering. This technique sacrifices initial trade location in exchange for greater confidence that the market will continue to move in the direction of trade entry.

The good news is that breakout strategies have a high win/loss ratio. The bad news is that whipsaws can be brutal!

Tick Readings for Short-term day trading – Volatility conditions are important to quantify even if you are a short term
day trader. In a normal consolidation market, overbought/oversold type indicators, such as intraday tick readings,
can work well for S&P scalps.

• NR7 — the narrowest range of the last 7 days (Toby Crabel introduced this term in his classic book, Day Trading With Short-term Price Patterns and Opening-range Breakout);
• A cluster of 2 or 3 small daily ranges;
• The point of a wedge-type pattern (which usually exhibits contracting daily ranges);
• A Hook Day (wherein the open is above/below the previous day’s high/low — and then the price reverses direction; the range must also be narrower than the previous day’s range; leads traders to believe that a trend reversal has occurred, whereas the market has instead only formed a small consolidation or intraday continuation pattern);
• Low volatility readings, based on such statistical measures as standard deviations or historical volatility ratios or indexes;
• Large opening gaps (caused by a large imbalance between buyers and sellers);
• Runaway momentum (markets with no resistance above in an uptrend or no support below in a downtrend. This condition differs from the above setups in that volatility has already expanded. In a momentum market, however, the huge imbalance between buyers and sellers continues to expand the trading range.

 

 

Fading extreme tick readings can be dangerous – On a trend day, a counter-trend strategy of fading extreme tick readings could result in substantial losses.

Average True Range highlights range contraction/expansion – The 3-Day Average True Range Indicator highlights how cyclical the phenomenon of range contraction/range expansion is. Volatility tends to be more cyclical than price.

Trading Strategies: A breakout strategy, or intraday trend-following method, can best capture a trend day. Wait for the market to tip its hand first as to which direction it is going to trend for the day. Rarely can this be determined by the opening price alone. Thus, most breakout strategies enter only after the market has already begun to move in one direction or the other, usually by a predetermined amount.

Add the following techniques to your repertoire. All of them will ensure you participate in a trend day. 

• Breakout of the Early-morning Trading Range. The morning range is defined by the high and low made in the first 45-120 minutes. Different time parameters can be used, but the most popular one is the first hour’s range. Wait for this initial range to be established and then place a (1) buy stop above the morning’s high and a (2) sell stop below the morning’s low. A protective stop-and-reverse should always be left in place at the opposite end of he range once entry has been established.
• Early Entry. Toby Crabel defined this as a large price movement in one direction within the first 15 minutes of the opening. The probability of continuation is extremely high. Once one or two extremely large 5-minute bars appear within the first 15 minutes, a trader must be nimble enough to enter on the next “pause” that usually follows. With many of these strategies, the initial risk can appear to be high. However, a trader must recognize that as the trading volatility increases so too does the potential for good reward. 
• Range Expansion off the Opening Price. A predetermined amount is added or subtracted from the opening price. Though Toby Crabel also described this concept in his book, it was really popularized by Larry Williams. The amount can be fixed, or it can be a percentage of the previous 1-3 days’ average true range. With resting buy and sell stops in place, the trader will be pulled into the market whichever way price starts to move. Entry, often made in the first hour, can be made earlier than the breakout from the first hour’s range. In general, the further price moves away from a given point, the greater are the odds it will continue in that same direction. The ideal is continuation in the direction of the initial trend once the trade is entered.

Volatility tend to increase as a trend matures – Trend days also frequently occur in runaway momentum markets. There is little range contraction evident in the latter part of this trend move. Rather, emotions run high as the imbalance between supply and demand reaches an extreme. 

• Price Breakout from the Previous Day’s Close. This strategy is similar to the above, with buy and sell stops based on a percentage of the previous 1-3 days’ range added to the previous close. The advantage to using the closing price is that resting orders can be calculated and placed in the market before the opening. The disadvantage is the potential for whipsaw if the market moves to fill a large opening price gap. (Another version of a volatility breakout off the open or closing price is the use of a standard-deviation or price-percentage function instead of a percentage of the average true range. All the above methods can be easily incorporated into a mechanical system.)
• Channel Breakout. One of the more popular types of trend-following strategies in the nineties, Donchian originally popularized the concept by employing a breakout of the 4-week high or low. Later, Richard Dennis modified this into the “Turtle System,” which used the 20-day high/low. Most traders don’t realize that simply entering on the breakout of the previous day’s high or low can also be considered a form of channel breakout. (Another popular parameter is the 2-day high or low.)

Exit Strategies: One of the easiest and more popular ways to exit a breakout trade is simply to exit “Market-On-Close. ” The ideal trend day closes near the opposite extreme of the day’s range from the opening. This strategy keeps the trader in the market throughout the day, yet requires no overnight risk. Most breakout strategies actually test out better for trades held overnight because the next opening will so often gap in a favorable direction. Thus, another simple strategy is to exit on the next morning’s opening.

Instead of a strategy based on time, such as the close or the next day’s open, one can also use a price objective. One popular method is to take profits near the previous day’s high or low. One can also determine a target based on the average true range. For the classic market technician, point-and-figure charts can provide a “count” which establishes a price target. This method is valid only if price breaks out of congestion or a well-defined chart formation.

Trade Management: In general when testing volatility breakout systems, the wider the initial money-management stop, the higher the win/loss ratio. With breakout strategies, the initial trade must be given room to breathe.

However, a discretionary day-trader will learn that the best trades move in his favor immediately. In this case, move the stop to breakeven once the trade shows enough profit. The stop can be trailed as the market continues to trend, but not too tightly. Because a great majority of the gains can occur in the last hour as the trend accelerates, try not to exit prematurely.

When trading multiple contracts, scale out of some to ensure a small profit in the event of a reversal. However, do not add to a position: The later the trade is established, the more difficult it is to find a suitable risk point.

A Few Words on Volatility Breakout Systems: Trading a mechanical breakout system can provide invaluable experience. The average net profit for the majority of these systems is quite low, so they may not guarantee a road to riches; but they serve as a terrific vehicle to gain a wealth of experience in a very structured format.

If you are going to trade a mechanical system, you must be willing to enter all trades! It is impossible to know which trades will be winners and which ones losers. Most traders who “pick-and-choose” have a knack for picking the losing trades and missing the really big winners. The hardest trades to take tend to work out the best! With most systems, a majority of the profits come from less than 5% of the trades.

Though most breakout methods have a high initial risk point, their high win/loss ratio makes them easier to trade psychologically. You might get your teeth kicked in on the losers, but, fortunately, big losses do not happen very often. Also, if trading a basket of markets, as one should with a volatility breakout system, diversification should help smooth out the larger losses.

To summarize the main benefits of trading a breakout system:

•     it teaches proper habits, in that there is always a well-defined stop;
•     you get lots of practice executing trades;
•     it teaches the importance of taking every trade;
•     it teaches respect for the trend.

Additional Considerations when using Breakout Strategies

•     overall average daily trading range (must be high enough to ensure wide “spread”);
•     volume and liquidity;
•     seasonal tendencies (e.g., grains are better markets in spring and summer);
•     relative strength;
•     commercial composition.

Quoted from:

Linda Bradford-Raschke (1995) - Capturing Trend Days.

 

See also:

Toby Crabel (1990) - Day Trading With Short Term Price Patterns and Opening Range Breakout.

Contraction > Breakout > Expansion | Toby Crabel's Price Patterns

Larry Williams described all of market's action
in 8 patterns characterized by direction, contraction
and expansion (e.g. HERE)

In 1990 Toby Crabel published Day Trading With Short Term Price Patterns and Opening Range Breakout. The book is about the fundamental nature of price action, about contraction and expansion, the ebb and flow of price in all markets. Looking at daily bar charts, expect breakouts and / or changes in trend after the following price bar patterns:

 

Narrow Range (NR): A price bar's range less than the previous bar's range. The opposite of NR is Wide Spread (see below). NR is technically NR2 when compared to NR4, NR5, and NR7 (see below; more e.g. HERE).  

Narrow Range 4 (NR4): A price bar's range less than the previous 3 bars' ranges is the narrowest range in 4 days or NR4. The opposite is WS4 (see below; more e.g. HERE). 

On Dec 13 (Thu) the E-mini Nasdaq 100 Futures and other US stock indices performed a IDnr4 down day.

Narrow Range 5 (NR5): A price bar's range less than the previous 4 bars' ranges is the narrowest range in 5 days or NR5. The opposite is WS5.
 
Narrow Range 7 (NR7): A price bar's range less than the previous 6 bars' ranges is the narrowest range in 7 days or NR7. The opposite is WS7 (more e.g. HERE).

Wide Spread (WS): A price bar's range wider than the previous bar's range is a WS. The opposite is NR. WS is technically WS2 when compared to WS4, WS5, and WS7 (more e.g. HERE).
 
Wide Spread 4 (WS4): A price bar's range wider than the previous 3 bars' ranges is the widest range in 4 days or WS4. The opposite is NR4.
 
Wide Spread 5 (WS5): A price bar's range wider than the previous 4 bars' ranges is the widest range in 5 days or WS5. The opposite is NR5. 

Wide Spread 7 (WS7): A price bar's range wider than the previous 6 bars' ranges is the widest range in 7 days or WS7. The opposite is NR7.

Inside Day (ID): If the high of the current day is lower than the high of the previous day AND the low of the current day is higher than the low of the previous day we have an ID or Inside Day. The opposite is an OD (more e.g. HERE).

Outside Day (OD): If the high of the current day is higher than the high of the previous day AND the low of the current day is lower than the low of the previous day then we have an OD or Outside Day. The opposite is an ID (more e.g. HERE).

Inside Day (ID) and NR4 (IDnr4): An IDnr4 is a combination of an ID and a NR4. This happens when the current day's high is lower than the previous day's high AND the current day's low is higher than the previous day's low AND the range is the narrowest when compared to the previous 3 trading days (more e.g. HERE).

2 Bar Narrow Range (2BNR): The 2-day-range (the higher of the 2 highs less the lower of the 2 lows) is the narrowest 2-day-range in the last 20 trading sessions.

3 Bar Narrow Range (3BNR): The 3-day-range (the higher of the 3 highs less the lower of the 3 lows) is the narrowest 3-day-range in the last 20 trading sessions.

4 Bar Narrow Range (4BNR): The 4-day-range (the higher of the 4 highs less the lower of the 4 lows) is the narrowest 4-day-range in the last 30 trading sessions.

8 Bar Narrow Range (8BNR): The 8-day-range (the higher of the 8 highs less the lower of the 8 lows) is the narrowest 8-day-range in the last 40 trading sessions.

BearHook: A NR with the Open less than the previous bar's Low AND the Close greater than the previous bar's Close (more e.g. HERE).

BullHook: A NR with the Open greater than the previous bar's High AND the Close less than the previous bar's Close (more e.g. HERE).

Stretch: The Stretch is calculated by taking the 10 period SMA of the absolute difference between the Open and either the High or Low, whichever difference is smaller. For example: if Open = 1,250, High = 1,258, Low = 1,240, then take the value of 8 for that day because 1,258 - 1,250 = 8 which is smaller than 1,250 - 1,240 = 10. Then add together all of these values for the last 10 trading days and divide this by 10 to get the 10 day SMA. This value will then become the Stretch. The Stretch is used in calculating where to enter the trade and where to place a stop using the ORB and ORBP trading strategies (see below). 

Simple Moving Average (SMA): An SMA is calculated over a number of candles/bars in a chart as the simple average value of that number of bars, e.g. the SMA for the last 10 days closing prices of the DJIA: add together the closing prices for the last 10 days of the DJIA and then divide that by 10 = 10 day SMA. You do not need to use just the closing price to calculate this. You can also use the Open, High, Low, and Close or a combination of any of those, e.g. HLC/3.

Opening Range Breakout (ORB): Using this strategy, a buy stop is placed just above the Open price plus the Stretch and a sell stop just below the Open price minus the Stretch. The first stop triggered enters the trader into the trade and the other stop becomes the protective stop. The earlier in the trading session the entry stop is hit the more likely the trade will be profitable at the close. A market movement that kicks off a trend quickly in the current trading session could add significant profit to a trader's position by the close and should be considered for a multi-day trade. As time passes and we are not filled early on then the risk increases and it becomes prudent to reduce the size of the position during the day. Trades filled towards the end of the day carry the most risk and the later in the day the trade is filled the less likely the trader will want to carry that trade overnight (more e.g. HERE).

Variations of this strategy include the Opening Range Breakout Preference (ORBP): An ORBP trade is a one sided ORB trade. If other technical indicators show a strong trend in one direction then the trader will exercise a "Preference" for the direction in which to trade the ORB trade. A stop to open a position would be placed on the side of the trend only and if filled a protective stop would then be placed. The calculation of where to place the "stop to open" would be the same as that for the ORB trade: For longs, the Open price plus the Stretch and for shorts the Open price minus the Stretch. The ORBP trade is a specialized form of the ORB trade (more e.g. HERE).