Advanced ORB Strategy with Filters & Targets

The Advanced ORB (Opening Range Breakout) Strategy I created is a sophisticated intraday trading system designed for TradingView, optimized for the US stock market open at 9:30 AM ET (New York time). It builds on the classic ORB concept—identifying the high (ORH) and low (ORL) of the initial market range after open and trading breakouts from those levels—while incorporating multiple layers of confirmation, risk management, and visual aids to filter out noise and capture high-probability momentum moves. This makes it more robust than basic ORB setups, aiming for higher profitability by reducing false signals and adapting to market conditions.

Core Concept
Opening Range Definition: The strategy uses the first 15 minutes (9:30–9:45 AM ET) as the primary opening range to establish ORH, ORL, and the midpoint (ORM). This window captures the initial volatility spike from overnight news, earnings, or economic data. You can optionally enable a secondary 5-minute range (9:30–9:35 AM) for added confirmation, requiring a breakout from both ranges.
Breakout Logic:
Long Entry: Triggered when price closes above ORH post-range, confirmed by filters (detailed below). This signals upward momentum.
Short Entry: Mirror for closes below ORL, indicating downward pressure.
Why 9:30 AM ET?: This aligns with the NYSE/NASDAQ open, where volume surges and institutional activity often lead to trend days (sustained moves). Statistically, about 30% of days are trend days, and ORB excels here by riding the breakout.
Key Advanced Features and Filters
To elevate it from a simple breakout strategy, I integrated multi-factor validation to avoid whipsaws (false breakouts common in choppy markets):

Candle Strength Filter: Requires the breakout candle to have a body >50% of the range width and wicks < body size, ensuring strong conviction (no doji-like indecision).
Volume Confirmation: Breakout volume must exceed 1.5x the 20-period average, verifying institutional interest.
Minimum Breakout Distance: At least 0.3% beyond ORH/ORL to ignore minor wick pierces.
Trend Alignment: Price must be above a 100-period EMA for longs (or below for shorts), favoring with-trend trades.
RSI Filter: RSI(14) <70 for longs (>30 for shorts) to avoid overbought/oversold traps.
Daily Bias: Compares today's ORM to yesterday's ORH/ORL; only longs if bullish overlap, shorts if bearish, skipping neutral days.
Secondary Range Layer: If enabled, breakout must also clear the 5-min range, adding confluence.
These filters collectively reduce trade frequency (focusing on quality) while aiming for a win rate >50% and risk-reward >2:1.

Risk Management and Exits
Stop-Loss: Placed at ORL (for longs) or ORH (for shorts), buffered by 1x ATR(14) for volatility adjustment. ORM can be used for tighter stops in ranging markets.
Take-Profit Targets: Scaled exits for profitability:
Target 1: 1x range width (e.g., ORH + (ORH - ORL)).
Target Fib: 1.618x Fibonacci extension.
Target 2: 2x range width.
Suggestion: Exit 50% at Target 1, trail the rest using a session EMA or 50% range retracement invalidation.
Position Sizing: Risk 1% of account per trade based on stop distance.
Additional Exits: Close all at 4:00 PM ET (market close) or if price retraces >50% of the range. A 30-min cooldown prevents re-entries after a signal.
Visuals and Implementation on TradingView
Plots: Green ORH, red ORL, orange ORM lines; optional clouds (green upper half, red lower) for the range.
Secondary Visuals: Dashed lime/maroon lines for the 5-min range (if enabled).
Signals: Green up-triangle for long breakouts, red down-triangle for shorts.
Targets/Stops: Horizontal lines extend from signals for targets (green/blue) and stops (dashed red).
Alerts: Built-in for breakouts, integrable with TradingView notifications.
Pine Script: The code is a custom indicator (convertible to strategy for backtesting). Use on 1-5 min charts for indices like SPY/QQQ or volatile stocks. Backtest via TradingView's Strategy Tester to optimize inputs.
What Works Best with This Strategy
Complementary Indicators:
EMAs (100/200-period): For broader trend confirmation.
Volume tools (e.g., VWAP or oscillators): Enhance volume filter.
Market internals (TICK, ADD): Gauge overall sentiment.
ATR/VWAP: Dynamic stops and volatility skips (e.g., ignore narrow ranges < average ATR).
Assets: High-liquidity, volatile ones like QQQ, SPY, or futures (ES/NQ). Avoid low-volume stocks.
Timeframes: 1-5 min for entries, daily for bias.
Market Conditions: Thrives on trend days with gaps/news; skip low-volatility or holiday sessions.
Why It's a High-Profitable Strategy
ORB's edge comes from exploiting post-open volatility, where 70-80% of daily range forms in the first hour. By adding filters, it cuts false breakouts (common in 50-60% of basic ORB trades) while targeting 2-3R rewards on winners. Backtests often show 1.5-2.5 profit factor on indices, with drawdowns <10% if risked properly. Profitability stems from:

Edge in Momentum: Captures "big moves" on trend days.
Risk Control: ATR-adapted stops and scaled exits preserve capital.
Adaptability: Customizable (e.g., range duration, filters) for different markets.
Psychological Fit: Mechanical signals reduce emotion, ideal for day traders.