Trade the system, not the impulse.
A practical reference for index / CFD intraday trading on 5m–15m charts. Twenty indicators explained without the academia, seven complete strategy playbooks, and — the part that matters — nine ways to combine them into a coherent decision process.
Indicators
What each one measures, day-trading settings, how to read it, the false-signal traps — and a worked scenario for every single one.
Browse indicators → 02 · 7 playbooksStrategies
Setup conditions, entry triggers, structure-based stops and targets, best and worst market conditions, full walk-throughs.
Browse strategies → 03 · 9 stacksCombinations
Regime → location → timing. Checklist-driven stacks including two harmonic setups: Bat + RSI divergence and Gartley + fib cluster.
Browse combinations →Elliott Wave
The extensive guide: 5-3 cycle, the three rules, every motive and corrective structure, Fibonacci projections, a counting flowchart — plus a data-science layer that makes it measurable.
Read the guide → Guide · 15+ patternsTradingView Patterns
Everything TradingView auto-detects — H&S to wedges — with diagrams, measured-move rules, published reliability stats, and the harmonic XABCD ratio table.
Open the library → Guide · 8 instrumentsFocus Markets
US, UK, German and Japanese indices, WTI, Gold and Silver: session maps, volatility profiles, wave tendencies, and which playbooks fit each market.
Know your market →Quick-reference table
One-line signal rules for fast lookup during live trading. Every row links to the full indicator card. Categories: trend momentum volatility volume levels
| Indicator | Category | Best use case | 1-line signal rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMA / SMA | trend | Trend direction + dynamic support/resistance | Price above rising 20 EMA = long bias; pullback touch of the EMA in a trend = entry zone. |
| MACD | momentum | Momentum shifts inside a trend | MACD line crosses signal line in the direction of the higher-timeframe trend = momentum confirmation. |
| RSI | momentum | Exhaustion + divergence at levels | RSI divergence at support/resistance = reversal warning; 40–60 zone holds in trends = continuation. |
| Stochastic | momentum | Timing entries in ranges | %K crosses %D from below 20 (or above 80) at a range edge = mean-reversion trigger. |
| Bollinger Bands | volatility | Range extremes + squeeze breakouts | Squeeze (bands pinch) then close outside band = breakout; band tag in a range = fade candidate. |
| ATR | volatility | Stop sizing + target sizing | Never a signal by itself — stop = structure ± 1×ATR; skip setups when ATR is abnormally low. |
| ADX | trend | Trend-strength filter | ADX above 25 and rising = trade trend setups; ADX below 20 = trade range setups only. |
| Fibonacci Retracement | levels | Pullback entry zones | Reaction at 38.2–61.8% of the last impulse leg, with confirmation candle = continuation entry. |
| VWAP | volume | Intraday fair value + institutional bias | Price above VWAP = long bias; first clean pullback to VWAP that holds = trend entry. |
| Ichimoku Cloud | trend | All-in-one trend filter | Price above cloud + Tenkan above Kijun = longs only; inside cloud = no trend trades. |
| OBV | volume | Confirming breakouts | OBV making new highs with price = genuine breakout; OBV flat while price breaks out = suspect. |
| Parabolic SAR | trend | Trailing stops in trends | Dots flip sides = trend change alert; use dot level as trailing stop, not as an entry signal. |
| Pivot Points | levels | Pre-mapped intraday S/R | Rejection candle at P/S1/R1 = fade level; clean break-and-retest of a pivot = continuation. |
| Andrews' Pitchfork | levels | Trend channel structure | Median line = magnet; reaction at outer fork line in trend direction = pullback entry. |
| Volume Profile | volume | Locating real S/R by traded volume | Rejection at high-volume node = fade; acceptance into low-volume node = fast move through it. |
| Supertrend | trend | Simple trend filter + trailing stop | Price above green Supertrend line = long bias only; line flip = exit/reverse alert. |
| CCI | momentum | Momentum extremes + zero-line trend | CCI crossing back inside ±100 from an extreme = reversion trigger; ±100 breakout with trend = continuation. |
| Williams %R | momentum | Fast overbought/oversold timing | %R exits −80/−20 zone at a mapped level = timing trigger; ignore mid-range readings. |
| Keltner Channels | volatility | Trend pullbacks + BB squeeze partner | In a trend, pullback to midline/opposite band = entry zone; close beyond band with ADX > 25 = strong trend, don't fade. |
| MA Envelopes | volatility | Simple overextension gauge | Price at envelope edge in a range = fade candidate; walking the band = trend, stand aside from fades. |