WE TESTED A COMMUNITY STRATEGY · USATECHIDXUSD 15min

Swing high/low break and retest, 1:2 RR (15-minute)

Swing high/low break and retest with a 2R target on 15-minute Nasdaq 100 at the New York open, costs included. As posted it roughly broke even over five years (-2.5%, 30 of 61 months profitable). Tuned settings made +10% on six unseen months; skipping quiet markets looked better on past data and then lost 9%.

From r/Daytrading. The idea, in our words: Before the session opens, mark the recent swing high and low on 15-minute bars. When price closes beyond one, take the retest of that level in the break direction, stop beyond the retest swing, target 2R.

mixed

As posted · the rules as described (see what we assumed below)

-2.5%total return
0.99profit factor
44.6%win rate
27.9%max drawdown
670trades
5.0years tested

Optimized: best settings Quant Core found · last months held back as unseen data

+34.4%total return
1.10profit factor
47.4%win rate
13.9%max drawdown
660trades
1.29profit factor on unseen months

Improved: skip the quietest markets (volatility in its bottom 30%)

We then tried 8 changes a quant would test first (640 settings in all) and kept the best on past data only. The held-back months played no part in choosing it. It did not hold up on the unseen months.

+64.9%total return
1.19profit factor
48.9%win rate
10.1%max drawdown
614trades
0.74profit factor on unseen months

What we had to assume

  • No market given: Nasdaq 100 CFD at the New York open
  • Swing level = the high/low of the prior 16 bars (the four hours before the bar)
  • Trades from 9:45 (first candle excluded) to 12:00 New York; the retest must come within 8 bars of the break
  • Target is a flat 2R (the 'next point of interest' is discretionary); one trade a day; the 3rd-rejection variant is not modelled

A different reading of the rules could give a different result.

Backtested with the StratOS optimizer on historical data, with spread and costs charged, and the most recent months held back as unseen data. A backtest is not a forecast, and nothing here is investment advice.

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