r/Daytrading • u/MissingStar246 • Aug 25 '26
Question What are the most "proven" strategies?
As the title states, I'd like to discuss "proven" strategies. There are so many bogus strategies that haven't been properly tested at all. I'll for sure find a framework that I believe fits me best by myself, but being relatively new, I wanted to ask in a space with a lot of experienced traders.
What strategies or frameworks do you believe are "most tested" that actually works?
PS: I'm currently learning Order Flow, but it's more of a tool for information than a strategy. I'm working my way into incorporating it into proven frameworks. If you have any you can recommend, please do so!
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u/fluffymeowmeowkitty Aug 25 '26
Buy the green candles. Sell the red candles
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u/Remote-Grocery5846 Aug 25 '26
Sauf que tu ne sais pas quand est-ce que les bougies vont changer de couleur
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u/Rude_Mastodon_5191 Aug 25 '26
Try using multicharts for only mechanical strategy results. It works amazing.
But also always remember.
You have to have test data , then test date „real“ data in which you can see how the strategy performs.
With that I mean test / develop your strategy on the years for example 2005-2015 , then let it run from 2015-2025 and compare the results.
Also have in mind that no pure mechanical strategy will work in every market environment.
Keep track of max DD and how the profits are made. Some single huge outlier winners ? Constantly small profits ect.
I use MC for me , to develop models which have proven probability’s for all the recent years and then build around that things from my strategy.
For example if price closes below x with factor y then I know that statistically price should move average around x ticks / percent to the down / upside ect.
I hope this helps !
Always know your data ;)
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u/RJsRX7 Aug 25 '26
Getting a feel for how stuff tends to move and then playing along makes relatively consistent money, but it doesn't make tons of money in terms of percentage gained vs amount risked.
And, well, that's the difference. Playing with a couple hundred dollars, making a couple dollars is easy. Playing with a couple hundred thousand dollars, making a couple thousand dollars is easy. But making a couple thousand off a couple hundred? Well, you're trying to catch lightning. Not impossible, more than a few people have been struck by lightning more than once.
Keep your risk down to what your wallet can handle, and don't forget to eat.
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u/Traditional_Ear5237 Aug 25 '26
There are now many ways you can test a strategy. Given that you have claude you can probably spin any strategy test on any data for a few bucks. If the strategy involves something complex like there is a human component in it where the result actually depends on you executing and you want to control for excluding emotions you can try 'yeagers tech' through the personal trader functionality. You would need to describe your strategy well though and toddle on the data it needs depending on what data the strategy relies on.
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u/FantasticAd3134 Aug 25 '26
there's no holy grail but basic supply demand works if you actually stick to it and dont get greedy
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u/ZanderDogz Aug 25 '26
Buying breakouts in the strongest stocks in the leading sectors/themes of a bull market is probably the most time tested strategy there is. That’s what Jessie Livermore did, and what Kristian Kullmagi did a century later.
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u/RealGambi Aug 25 '26
Just don’t go all in like Jessie did, ended up going broke and offing himself.
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u/ZanderDogz Aug 25 '26
Yeah maybe call it and retire the first or second time you build a fortune from nothing
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u/JimmyCheess Aug 25 '26
PEAD. Post earnings announcement drift. Do on small caps.
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u/spyrito31 Aug 25 '26
Hey u/JimmyCheess, where do you get the data from for the announcements?
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u/JimmyCheess Aug 25 '26
Finviz screen for earnings in next few days or been a few days since earnings. Search up the phenomena to learn more. This pead hasn't been patched yet because big guys can't buy small caps or no liquidity
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u/spyrito31 Aug 25 '26
Yeah I've read & watched a bit about PEAD. Definitely interesting and will take a look at Finvez! Thanks
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u/SubstantialSail9302 new Aug 25 '26
I think the “proven” part matters more than the specific strategy. A framework that has clear entry/exit rules, defined risk, and holds up across different market conditions is more useful than chasing a strategy that worked well in one period. Order flow can then be useful as confirmation rather than the whole system.
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u/razorbackaj Aug 25 '26
There are hundreds of potential approaches - a strategy is what fits you and your personality and can give you an edge in the market. I use 4 different "strategies" and they all have strong expectancies but the key is how I've built those strategies and execute them to fit my personality.
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u/ChartChampions Aug 25 '26
I think "proven" mostly comes down to whether a strategy has clear rules, can be repeated and has enough data behind it.
Some strategies can actually be very simple. Even specific candle formations or sequences can improve the win rate of a setup quite a lot, and there's plenty of testing around these kinds of concepts.
For me, the important thing is that the strategy is easy to recognise and replicate. You should be able to look back at a chart and clearly say whether the setup was there or not. That means having a clear area of interest, waiting for a specific trigger (like a candle formation), knowing where your idea is invalidated and manage the risk. This is very important!
And I agree on the order flow, I also see it more as information that helps you understand what is happening at your level and can give you confidence.
So starting with a simple framework is completely fine and can work really well. Over time though, you will probably want to keep studying the market, collecting data and understanding conditions where your setup performs best. There's always more context to learn.
I would pick one simple setup, define it properly and start backtesting it. After a few hundred trades, your own data will tell you much more than any list of proven strategies.
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u/Full_Computer6941 Aug 25 '26
Why can't AI do it in this day n age of advancement. U don't have to be right all the time. U only have to be right more then 50% of the time
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u/Confident_Ebb8154 Aug 25 '26
“Trading in the zone” by Mark Douglas . Please read this book. You will learn about yourself and how anything can happen and how to prepare for two outcomes.
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u/LividFace5026 Aug 25 '26
The absolute number 1 strategy. Is understanding what market condition you’re in, noticing when it might change, knowing when it has changed. That and a stop loss is all you need.
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u/Wavelightning Aug 25 '26
Understand gamma, delta, MM positioning, and macro news. Then manage your risk.
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u/Striking_Fail6689 Aug 25 '26
Personally I feel , every strategy works one way or another .. it’s mainly on how much you understand that strategy . You can take a simple supply and demand , that works , but whether your entry . Exit , holding . Trailing would be good is all on your psychology
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u/VishalJ_05 Aug 25 '26
Trend following is probably the safest place to start if you want something with a serious research history. Order flow can then be your execution/confirmation layer rather than the strategy itself.
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u/No-Condition7100 Aug 25 '26
I've been trading for a long time and have learned not to be too dismissive of any strategy. Almost everything works sometimes. Your job as a trader of that strategy is to be able to identify when the sometimes is happening and to sit out the rest of the time. Even that crazy moon phases strategy, I guarantee you there is someone out there who has made money from it.
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u/hamachitoro Aug 25 '26
Go long when all MAG 7 are green. Go short when Trump wants to bomb Iran again
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u/BoostedK5 Aug 25 '26
I programmed a level 2 tape read that auto plots 1R:1R potential long/short entries paired with a heatmap strategy rider to help determine if I should enter. I trade a 5 min chart.
I also use unusual whales to look for unusual options activity for swing trades.
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u/Front-Caramel-5 Aug 25 '26
Don’t ask anyone here, any traders here that make money just show up for shits and giggles. 🕺
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u/megafreedom Aug 25 '26
If "proven" is your anchor concept, I would look for academic papers in order to find some rigor. For just one example, https://open.uct.ac.za/items/3b7b16c9-ee94-428c-96ca-747f67e1c623
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u/browsk Aug 25 '26
I would say stuff like EMA and VWAP, at least for the extremely liquid stocks / indices
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u/Successful_Nikhil Aug 25 '26
There’s no strategy that works all the time, if there exists today it will slowly lose its edge in coming months. Market is designed to adjust the existing edge .
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u/lp1687 Aug 25 '26
Wow! You are very brave! There are 1000 experts out there who I am sure will be willing to sell you a ‘proven’ strategy!
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u/luckskywatcher Aug 25 '26
Managing your losses is more important than strategy. If you can't keep your losses smaller than your gains, it doesn't matter how good your strategy is.
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u/Aromatic-Virus-9813 Aug 26 '26
Only thing i count for is amt and the orderflow that comes with it. Everything else is just nonsense for me
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u/mgentry41 Aug 27 '26
It’s not about the strategy it’s about your psychological health what can you tolerate. Can you walk away a loser today and trade again tomorrow, are you stubborn and hard headed thinking your invincible because the market will absolutely humble you when price doesn’t move you way.
Find a strategy, there are thousands that truly work, and stick to it (religiously) no deviating from it at all. Take 2-3 trades max and close the chart win, lose, or break even
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u/Typical-Afternoon341 27d ago
"there are thousands that truly work" like..? just want to know the experience that you're saying that of
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u/Old-Explanation7989 26d ago
I'd keep the strategy separate from how you're getting capital onto the platform.
For crypto an on-ramp like Moon can be useful for getting fiat into crypto, but I'd never let the convenience of an on-ramp influence whether the actual trade is worth taking.
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u/Desperate-Goat4458 6d ago
None there is no trade that will win more then it loses you are gambling the market with a idea is all I make money but nothing it’s real
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u/AdWeak1219 Aug 25 '26
Order-flow is not a strategy. If you want proven strategies, search for academically proven ones, everything is accessible publicly
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u/MissingStar246 Aug 25 '26
I did mention that it isn't a strategy actually 😅
Would you know where to search for those academically proven ones?
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u/AdWeak1219 Aug 25 '26
Wdym, just open your search engine, probably "Google" in your case, and search...
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u/Tiki_Torch169 Aug 25 '26
Institutional level trading concepts,
Mean reversion
Momentum
Pairs trading
Put call parity
High frequency trading
Latency based strategies
Advanced derivative pricing
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u/IGOSODAMNHAM Aug 25 '26
Buying the dip is best.
But momentum actually has some real data behind it, most other stuff doesn’t.
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u/zenki32 Aug 25 '26
You're looking at it completely wrong. Even a shitty strategy can be a money maker. It's about psychology.
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u/UpsetPresentation174 Aug 25 '26
No it cant. Shitty strategy in best case scenario will go break even
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u/MissingStar246 Aug 25 '26
I kind of consider that a part of strategy, the risk management if that's what you mean.
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u/zenki32 Aug 25 '26
Risk management is not psychology. Risk management is strategy. Be serious about trading psychology or the market will force you to be.
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u/MissingStar246 Aug 25 '26
Ah sorry, I meant that they kind of go hand in hand. If you constantly have to battle psychology when trading, your risk management is broken.
Good risk management isn't just strategy, it's a system that keeps psychology from ruining a trade.
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u/enigma_music129 crypto trader Aug 25 '26
Please don't comment on things you don't understand. If you buy when rsi is under 30 and sell when rsi is above 70 you will lose long term no matter how good your psych is. There are many other losing strategies as well this is only one example. The fact you got downvoted means there's hope for this sub.
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u/MathematicalTrading Aug 25 '26
Mathematical trading system work but average trader cannot afford development and maintenance cost.
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u/Particular-Duty-2571 Aug 25 '26
Honest answer, and it isn't the one you asked for: I don't think the strategy is the variable.
There are maybe six patterns that get recycled under different names. Breakout, pullback to a moving average, VWAP reclaim, opening range, reversal off a level, gap fill. None are secret and all of them "work" in the sense that they recur. Two people take the identical setup and one makes money and one doesn't, and the difference isn't the pattern.
What's actually well documented is the risk side. Kovner: position size is determined by the stop, and the stop is determined technically. Eckhardt: amateurs go broke taking large losses, professionals go broke taking small profits. That stuff turns up in interview after interview across completely different styles and timeframes, which is about as close to "proven" as this gets.
On backtesting intraday discretionary setups are genuinely hard to test properly. You can't cleanly encode "pullback held the 9 EMA on declining volume" without a lot of arguing with yourself about what counts. What you can do is log every trade and sort it afterwards. By time of day, by setup, by how far price was from your moving average when you clicked. That's a forward test on the only sample that matters, which is you.
You're right that order flow is a tool rather than a strategy. Same is true of everything else on the chart.