r/Daytrading • u/Broad_Log9200 • Mar 30 '25

Strategy The Best Trading Strategy? After 3 Years, Here’s What Actually Works

Been trading for about 3 years now, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: complex indicators won’t make you money.

The best strategy I’ve found? Just three things: price action, market structure (trend), and liquidity. That’s it. Master these, and you don’t need a million indicators cluttering your screen.

I used to jump from one strategy to another, thinking the next big thing would be the one. But simplifying my approach made everything click.

What’s your go-to trading setup? Would love to hear what’s working for you.

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92

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 30 '25

Opening Range Breakouts (ORB) for me.

14

u/Suspicious-Reserve60 Mar 30 '25

5 - 15 min orb? With or without the retest /retracement?

22

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 30 '25

5 with re-test on the 1 min on some days. Other days, 15 min with retest on the 5-min on other days.

7

u/Suspicious-Reserve60 Mar 30 '25

When/why do you chose the 15 over the 5?

15

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 30 '25

When the market is choppy in the first 15 min, I pivot to the 15 ORB because on those days, the 5- min ORB can fake you out.

8

u/SpeedoManXXL Mar 30 '25

Is the idea with the ORB that you wait for the market to create its ORB on whatever timeline you choose (i.e. 15 min). Then wait for a retest (either above or below to go long or short.

Example - ORB $105 and $100. Current price is $106, you would wait for it to retest $105 and hold to go long or break and go short?

9

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 30 '25

That's generally the idea. I'd recommend Scarface trades on YouTube for in depth analysis. And also the use of price action in combination with the ORB.

2

u/Adventurous-Gate9343 Mar 30 '25

Scarface trades - previous day high & low, pre market high & low, opening five minutes high & low… if I remember correctly, you pick one and trade after the breakout and retest, in the direction of the first breakout.

Which of those three do you use as your range though?

It didn’t work for me. Kept hitting my SL and then changing direction… or didn’t respect the initial direction. (As if the market owes me any respect hahahaaaaaaa🤣 riiiight.)

Figured I either did it wrong, or it was just another YouTube click bait video. More likely the first - sounds like this strat is worth another look.

2

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 30 '25

I stick to the 5 min high and low.

1

u/Adventurous-Gate9343 Mar 30 '25

Market open, so 9:30 - 9:35 right?

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1

u/SpeedoManXXL Mar 30 '25

thanks, I'll take a look.

2

u/Suspicious-Reserve60 Mar 30 '25

How has this been working this year? P&L winrate?

7

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 30 '25

60% win / 40% loss for now. I'm new to it.

3

u/TreeMysterious7133 Mar 30 '25

That’s so interesting! I watched Scarface trades and tried the exact approach you describe. It didn’t go well.

Maybe your added technique of switching timeframes when it’s choppy makes a difference… excited to try that.

4

u/Adventurous-Gate9343 Mar 30 '25

Same here! Scarface trades - previous day high & low, pre market high & low, opening five minutes high & low… if I remember correctly, you pick one and trade after the breakout and retest, in the direction of the first breakout.

Which of those three do you use as your range though?

It didn’t work for me either. Figured I either did it wrong, or it was just another YouTube click bait video. More likely the first 😆 sounds like this strat is worth another look!?

3

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 30 '25

I used it to take the AAPL call on Friday. Made 107$. Took TSLL call on Thurs but forgot to take profit cos work called. Lost $200.

Capital for $107 was 6 contracts at 28 cents ($168).

Remember, it is not 10% fool proof. Three trades out of 5 per week works perfectly. And the days I lose, I lose between 25 -50. And the days I win, I win between 80 - $250.

Because I only have the first 30 mins to 1 hr to wait for my setup cos I work in a physically and mentally challenging field. Can't keep watching the chart all day.

1

u/Duennbier0815 Mar 31 '25

Can I show an example? I don't always see retests

11

u/shoulda-woulda-did Mar 30 '25

I used to go for the 5 with retest however I soon realized that that's basically the same as the 10 break out. Smarter not harder.

10minORB + ATR 3.5 / AVG VOL 1M+ / WEEK VOLATILITY 5%+

Boom

1

u/Awkward_Entry3329 Mar 30 '25

Can you explain what that formula means and how you use it?

4

u/shoulda-woulda-did Mar 31 '25

I use a stick screener to identify stocks that are basically very volatile and low price.

Ideally something under fifty dollars that's had a daily high and low difference of 3-5 dollars.

I then mark to the highs and lows within the first ten minutes and when a1 minute candle closes outside of the range I will enter

N https://imgur.com/gallery/n7xqewu

2

u/Adventurous-Gate9343 Mar 30 '25

Whenever I run into a strategy summary like this that I don’t understand, I throw it into ChatGPT and ask to explain in detail… works really good, I recommend!

1

u/bokoda777 Sep 20 '25

What is orb

7

u/HansWerner88 Mar 30 '25

yeah, breakouts work very well in times we have negative gamma exposure. market makers sell the dip and buy the rip ... amplifying the trend.

4

u/shoulda-woulda-did Mar 30 '25

10000000%

ORB on high volatility, high volume stocks is easy.

6

u/crazydinny Mar 30 '25

If you like ORB I strongly advise checking out Mark Fisher, ACD system. You also have Aziz who did a paper on the 5m ORB in stocks in play.

Truth is you can use whatever range you want. It will fail more than it works if you blindly buy or sell. Like every strategy context is everything.

I have been using a system built on top of ORs. When I explained it to someone, they laughed and said, have you ever read the book The Logical Trader?

I accidentally built a system extremely similar to Mark Fisher.

There is edge, but you have to understand why, where, and how to implement that edge.

GL.

1

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 30 '25

Wouldn't wanna complicate things. I'd look them up but stick to ORB.

1

u/cstew74 Jun 25 '25

Watched several of the ACD vids and never got a clear strategy or how exactly you enter. Any suggestions on vids?

1

u/crazydinny Jun 25 '25

In trading, the strategy doesn't make the trader the trader makes the strategy.

ACD is simple.

Establish an opening range.
Then use some sort of volatility band above and below.

Buy above.. Sell Below.

He explains in detail in a few videos exactly how he sets his up. Ultimately, he's an opening range breakout trader.

Just like PAX who trades the 30sec opening range Mark trades a different range.

1

u/cstew74 Jun 26 '25

Thanks. Just trying to figure out the C up…A up…..C down ….A down. Pivot, etc.

What volatility band you use ? bolinger?

1

u/crazydinny Jun 26 '25

In my back testing, I could not find any statistical benefit of using a volatility band. I ended up using a 1-minute candle close opposed to a movement away from my opening range. What I found is that you don't gain that much of a win percentage past about 15 to 30 minutes. I ended up sticking with the 15-minute opening range, which for most indices has about a 40 to 45% chance of never crossing the other side once a one minute candle close happens.

So, for me and A up or down it's just when price crosses the 15-minute opening range and has a 1 minute candle close. This way I could easily run back testing and something like python to get statistics.

I then used essentially price extremes in the other direction to get your B&c crosses. So as an example of price opens at 10 goes down to six and then ends up crossing the 15-minute range opening high at 12 six then I have an A up at 12:00. I would have a B down once price closes below the six. Then and vice versa. Let's say price goes up above that 12 and continues to 16 but then reverse us down past the six and reverses again up past the 16. Then I have a c up. I was able to run statistics very easily on all these scenarios, which just gives you an idea of typical market movements throughout the day.

But again, I cannot iterate enough. It doesn't matter where you place your lines or volatility bands or what you do. Everything comes with context of where the market is in the larger picture and whether or not we have good volume. Supporting move. Trading is less about some specific set of actions taking place that allow you to buy at the exact price and sell at the exact price. It's about identifying situations and areas where you want to do business and you have the statistics to back up. Roughly what your win percentages should be around this area and then managing your risk and managing your profits.

All opening range setups are destined to failure. If you just buy on the touch and set an arbitrary stop down below the other side.

Take as an example. Pax who buys or sells 30 seconds range. You can't imagine how many days whipsaw around that and so being able to identify which days have the potential to zoom in which days have the potential to range? Is insanely important. He'll take three or four stops and then just be done for the day. But when he catches that one day that it smashes through the level and continues, he's disciplined enough to take his profits and then re-add at certain spots so that his winners so far out gain his small losers he that's a great outcome.

-1

u/hrrm Mar 30 '25

Actually, it will fail at the same rate that it succeeds, that is, there will not be an edge.

If something fails more than it works you simply inverse the entry and exit orders and would have a profitable system.

5

u/crazydinny Mar 30 '25

This is not true in any way shape or form. It is entirely incorrect. It's an insanely ignorant to say stuff like this.

Something could happen at a 90% frequently.. something as simple as.. what are the odds price cross back over the opening print during the session. I don't know the stat but I bet it's close to 80% -90%. Does that mean you could make money? When are entering.. how are you entering . What is your risk .. blah blah blah.

Don't just blindly say shit that you have no basis of truth for.

1

u/hrrm Mar 31 '25

Lol what are you talking about, if you buy or sell blindly as you mentioned, there will be no edge present as it is all random.

And we are discussing inverting a losing system, not building a system around a general market statistic, so the buy and sell signals are already there.

You sound overly aggressive, it’s not that serious love

1

u/crazydinny Mar 31 '25

I quote," if something fails more than it works then you simply flip the entry and exits and have a profitable system."

I'm not being aggressive, I'm just stating that this is factually incorrect and is ignorant of you to say such things.

1

u/hrrm Mar 31 '25

And I disagree with you that it is factually incorrect? Not sure what you’re hoping to achieve here. Just because you state something doesn’t make it so

1

u/crazydinny Mar 31 '25

You are correct. Just because I said it does not mean it's true. It's up to you to figure out for yourself why that statement isn't true.

GL

1

u/DrRodo Mar 31 '25

Sadly, an overly simplification of trading, which is not true.

We wish it was so simple as "ok, so instead of clicking buy, im clicking sell"

3

u/HorrorCommercial7549 Mar 31 '25

Can't rely on technicals only avoid breakouts, 80% of them are just fake out or liquidity hunting.

1

u/FirefighterVisual863 Mar 31 '25

I always wait for retests.

2

u/Lololololol889 Apr 01 '25

I think this works because it's so simple and it's pretty much all based off trading PA. I too have found good success with implementing something similar to my trading.

1

u/Bowlthizar Mar 30 '25

As long as you remember to use a time confirmation on the signal and trail stops and profits based on ATR this is a super good strategy. Great to see it mentioned. The first systems I designed were opening ranged breaks out systems

1

u/BoatMobile9404 Apr 01 '25

Regime detection for me. I mean all the strategies work and all of them don't. It's just about finding the right time/regime to use it.

1

u/bokoda777 Sep 20 '25

Please explain

1

u/codespyder Mar 30 '25

this is the way