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RSI + BB strategy - the strong duo you will ever need to win

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Hello traders!

This article shares with you a strategy employing two famous indicators that have stood the test of time and used by professionals and amateurs alike. A solid trading plan needs at least one solid strategy which will be your bread and butter. You can always add more strategies or game plans to your repertoire but you need to master one. Trading can be as complicated or simple as you make it. To make sense of it all, you should always try to be realistic and stick to a trading plan which is "simple and stupid" so that you free your mind from overthinking and focus on the market movements instead. A good strategy, along with constant market trend analysis, good risk management, news awareness and emotion control can ultimately transition you to being a consistent profitable trader. Indeed, there are times where the odds will not be in your favour and you will have losing trades. However, the key to success is to think of trading as a game of probability and developing a winning edge that ensures you are profiting more than losing. A 1:2 RRR is the least you have to accept when entering a trade, else sit tight and wait for the next opportunity. As Jesse Livermore quoted, "It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!".

RSI
Developed by J. Welles Wilder Jr. In 1978, the relative strength index is a momentum indicator that measures the speed and magnitude of price changes. At 70+, RSI is considered overbought and a retracement in price may occur. At 30-, RSI is considered oversold and price may go up. The middle line is the mean of recent prices, usually during a 14 days period.

BB
Developed by John Bollinger much later in the 1980s, BB is a volatility indicator which measures the speed and extent of price changes. A wider band signals high volatility and a narrow band signals low volatility. When price reaches the upper band, the asset is considered overbought and price may retract. When price reaches the lower band, the asset is considered oversold, meaning there are less and less sellers in the market and price may go up. The middle line is usually a simple moving average, showing the mean price across a time period.

RSI + BB strategy
The combination relies, and truthfully so, on the fact that the price of an asset usually hovers around its mean. Unless there are significant macroeconomic changes and news are strong (ultimately forming a new trend), price does not deviate much from its mean. It continues and builds its existing trend and moves up and down the moving average. By meauring both the momentum and volatility of the price, while keeping an eye on the direction of the trend, a trader can place small trades with a minimum 1:2 RRR as the asset moves in a range, an uptrend or a downtrend. The indicators give you insight on where to buy and place your SL and TP.

Trading set ups
- RSI 70+, BB touching upper band, no news, BB horizontal (showing a ranging market), price at major resistance zone - sell because price is likely to move through the moving average towards to lower band
- RSI 30-, BB touching lower band, no news, BB horizontal (showing a ranging market), price at major support zone- buy because price is likely to move through the moving average towards to upper band
- RSI 70+, BB touching upper band (price climbing up the BB ladder), BB moving upwards (uptrend), strong good news - buy because price is in uptrend and trend is likely to continue
- RSI 30-, BB touching lower band (price falling off the BB cliff), strong bad news - sell because price is in downtrend and trend is likely to continue

Sitting tight
-Playing on a 1hr timeframe, there won't be many instances when all these stars align. That is when you sit tight and wait.
- When price is hovering in between the RSI grid and BB band - sit tight and wait because the odds are not in your favour and it is impossible to predict which way price will move. Let the market do its thing, protect your capital and wait for the market to show you what to do next.

Note
- When the conditions are met, always enter the trade as soon as you get confirmation. If you are late in entry, skip the trade and wait
- Place your SL just above the upper BB if selling or just below the lower BB if buying
- TP is essential so you can lock in profits, especially in ranging markets where price quickly touches the BB band and bounces back. If you are in a trade and not able to monitor it, a TP ensures you have closed your trade at your desired and predicted price. TP is placed close to the lower band if selling or close to the upper band if buying
-Ensure that all your other criteria such as news, RRR and emotion control are met to enter a trade. If one is not met, this trade is not for you.
- Familiarise yourself using alerts. You have to be able to be present when the opportunity presents itself. Tradingview's lowest paid plan gives you 20 alerts, which is more than sufficient if you are focusing on 4-5 assets only. Alerts add to your winning edge and enable you to be trading the best set ups when they form.

Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts if you do use RSI and/or BB and have had positive outcomes. :)

GL to all!





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