Second entry pattern alongside the Keltner-breakout: enter on the
retrace to EMA21/KC-mid in an established trend (EMA >=3/4 aligned,
ADX>=20, retrace 0.8-6.0 ATR, resumption bar closed back in trend
direction, RSI in the pullback zone not the extended zone). Detector
lives in the aggregator so live and GPU-backtest paths share one
implementation. Own gates (composite floor 15, confirmation-TF
agreement, MTF opposition, vol regimes) with a diagnostic funnel.
PB stops anchor to the pullback swing (~$8 vs ~$25 breakout), so PB
trades get their own trail arm (0.8R vs 0.6R global) via per-trade
trail overrides in the backtester and strategy-aware Telegram alerts.
12mo M5 validation: PB alone +38.3R/254 trades, positive both halves
and all four full quarters; core breakout trades undisturbed
(+101.9R vs +105.0 baseline). Combined book: 549 trades (~10.6/wk),
+140.1R, PF 1.78, DD 11.3R vs 311 trades/+105.0R before.
Gates 5-6 in the M5 filter: block 'high' vol regime entries (chop
transition — 61% WR, negative total while low/normal/extreme all
positive) and block SELLs with RSI<25 (dip already extended, mean-
reverts before target). 365d: 419→311 trades, +41→+48.4R, DD 11.2→8.0R.
Replace the fixed RR-0.5 take-profit with a trailing stop: arm at
+0.6R favorable excursion, trail 0.75R behind best price, stop levels
update at bar close (conservative). The RR-0.5 target was the binding
constraint — winners kept running after TP. Whole trail parameter grid
(arm 0.4-1.2 × dist 0.5-1.25) lands +90-103R, a plateau not a spike;
also +91.7R on the pre-gate 419-trade population. TP1 stays advisory;
Telegram alerts include the arm price and trail distance. max_hold
200→300 bars (trailing exits need room; +10R).
12mo M5, same 311 trades: +105.0R total, PF 2.27, DD 7.9R, 61% WR,
train/val +54.6/+50.4, every quarter positive.
ATR was computed after EMAs so ribbon compression detection was dead code
on all timeframes — moved ATR first. Extended M5 swing S/R lookback from
50 to 120 bars. Added four M5-specific filters: min score, MTF agreement,
confirmation TF conviction, and SELL quality cap (A-grade M5 shorts enter
at dip extremes and lose). Fixed backtester blocked-hour check to use bar
close time matching the live bot. Added trade geometry config (spread gate,
SL floor, TP floor RR) and primary_tf mismatch guard in backtester.
Backtest: 1133 trades/+11.5R → 419 trades/+41.0R, PF 1.03→1.37, DD 21→11R.
Train/val split positive in both halves (+19.8R/+21.3R).
Live pipeline:
- Drop still-forming candle before analysis (signals no longer repaint)
- Direction-aware MTF agreement + opposition gate (no trade against 2-of-3 TF consensus)
- SELL volatility gate: block shorts in low/normal vol regimes (config sell_vol_regimes)
- Divergence: 40-bar lookback, price/indicator swings must align within ±2 bars
(fired on 0.5% of trades before, 29% after), trending weight 2.0→1.0
- RSI regime_aware by default; transitioning regime only signals at extremes
- ADX ±DM tie no longer nudges bearish; TP2 clamped beyond TP1
Backtester realism:
- Charge $0.30 round-trip spread (--spread), gap-through SL/TP fills at bar open
- Resolve trades on RAW price path (cache stores raw bars, cleaning runs on load)
- Weekend/session filters use bar-close decision time to match live wall clock
Validated per-step on M15 2025-03-30→2026-05-31 under identical pricing:
+46.9R → +66.8R, win rate 69.9% → 73.0%, SELL side -2.3R → +9.6R.
Tested-and-reverted: ROC weight removal (-13R), BB fade suppression (-11.6R),
candlestick de-weight (-2R) — composite thresholds are co-tuned with weight mass.
harwinder