Price extremes outside the Bollinger Bands often snap back toward the middle band. This approach fades those extensions, buying dips below the lower band when the candle finishes green and selling rallies above the upper band after a red candle.
Testing indicates an average annual return of about 94%. It performs best in the stocks market.
The algorithm calculates Bollinger Bands on each bar and checks whether the close breaches the outer band. If a bullish candle closes below the lower band a long is opened; if a bearish candle closes above the upper band a short is taken. The stop relies on an ATR multiple while exits occur when price returns to the middle band.
Mean reversion trades typically last only a few bars, making this setup suitable for short-term volatility contractions.
Details
Entry Criteria: Close below lower band with bullish candle or close above upper band with bearish candle.
Long/Short: Both.
Exit Criteria: Price crossing middle band or stop-loss.
Stops: Yes, ATR based.
Default Values:
BollingerPeriod = 20
BollingerDeviation = 2.0
AtrMultiplier = 2.0
CandleType = 5 minute
Filters:
Category: Mean Reversion
Direction: Both
Indicators: Bollinger Bands, ATR
Stops: Yes
Complexity: Basic
Timeframe: Intraday
Seasonality: No
Neural networks: No
Divergence: No
Risk level: Medium
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Ecng.Common;
using StockSharp.Algo.Indicators;
using StockSharp.Algo.Strategies;
using StockSharp.BusinessEntities;
using StockSharp.Messages;
namespace StockSharp.Samples.Strategies;
/// <summary>
/// Bollinger Band Reversal strategy.
/// Enters long when price is below the lower Bollinger Band and candle is bullish.
/// Enters short when price is above the upper Bollinger Band and candle is bearish.
/// Exits at middle band.
/// </summary>
public class BollingerBandReversalStrategy : Strategy
{
private readonly StrategyParam<int> _bollingerPeriod;
private readonly StrategyParam<decimal> _bollingerDeviation;
private readonly StrategyParam<DataType> _candleType;
private readonly StrategyParam<int> _cooldownBars;
private int _cooldown;
/// <summary>
/// Bollinger Bands period.
/// </summary>
public int BollingerPeriod
{
get => _bollingerPeriod.Value;
set => _bollingerPeriod.Value = value;
}
/// <summary>
/// Bollinger Bands deviation multiplier.
/// </summary>
public decimal BollingerDeviation
{
get => _bollingerDeviation.Value;
set => _bollingerDeviation.Value = value;
}
/// <summary>
/// Candle type.
/// </summary>
public DataType CandleType
{
get => _candleType.Value;
set => _candleType.Value = value;
}
/// <summary>
/// Cooldown bars.
/// </summary>
public int CooldownBars
{
get => _cooldownBars.Value;
set => _cooldownBars.Value = value;
}
/// <summary>
/// Constructor.
/// </summary>
public BollingerBandReversalStrategy()
{
_bollingerPeriod = Param(nameof(BollingerPeriod), 20)
.SetGreaterThanZero()
.SetDisplay("Bollinger Period", "Period for Bollinger Bands", "Indicators");
_bollingerDeviation = Param(nameof(BollingerDeviation), 2.0m)
.SetNotNegative()
.SetDisplay("Bollinger Deviation", "Standard deviations for Bollinger Bands", "Indicators");
_candleType = Param(nameof(CandleType), TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1).TimeFrame())
.SetDisplay("Candle Type", "Type of candles to use", "General");
_cooldownBars = Param(nameof(CooldownBars), 500)
.SetRange(1, 1000)
.SetDisplay("Cooldown Bars", "Bars to wait between trades", "General");
}
/// <inheritdoc />
public override IEnumerable<(Security sec, DataType dt)> GetWorkingSecurities()
{
return [(Security, CandleType)];
}
/// <inheritdoc />
protected override void OnReseted()
{
base.OnReseted();
_cooldown = default;
}
/// <inheritdoc />
protected override void OnStarted2(DateTime time)
{
base.OnStarted2(time);
_cooldown = 0;
var bollingerBands = new BollingerBands
{
Length = BollingerPeriod,
Width = BollingerDeviation
};
var subscription = SubscribeCandles(CandleType);
subscription
.BindEx(bollingerBands, ProcessCandle)
.Start();
var area = CreateChartArea();
if (area != null)
{
DrawCandles(area, subscription);
DrawIndicator(area, bollingerBands);
DrawOwnTrades(area);
}
}
private void ProcessCandle(ICandleMessage candle, IIndicatorValue bollingerValue)
{
if (candle.State != CandleStates.Finished)
return;
if (!bollingerValue.IsFormed)
return;
if (!IsFormedAndOnlineAndAllowTrading())
return;
if (_cooldown > 0)
{
_cooldown--;
return;
}
var bb = (BollingerBandsValue)bollingerValue;
var upperBand = bb.UpBand;
var lowerBand = bb.LowBand;
var middleBand = bb.MovingAverage;
var isBullish = candle.ClosePrice > candle.OpenPrice;
var isBearish = candle.ClosePrice < candle.OpenPrice;
if (Position == 0 && candle.ClosePrice < lowerBand && isBullish)
{
BuyMarket();
_cooldown = CooldownBars;
}
else if (Position == 0 && candle.ClosePrice > upperBand && isBearish)
{
SellMarket();
_cooldown = CooldownBars;
}
else if (Position > 0 && candle.ClosePrice > middleBand)
{
SellMarket();
_cooldown = CooldownBars;
}
else if (Position < 0 && candle.ClosePrice < middleBand)
{
BuyMarket();
_cooldown = CooldownBars;
}
}
}
import clr
clr.AddReference("StockSharp.Messages")
clr.AddReference("StockSharp.Algo")
clr.AddReference("StockSharp.Algo.Indicators")
clr.AddReference("StockSharp.Algo.Strategies")
from System import TimeSpan
from StockSharp.Messages import DataType, CandleStates
from StockSharp.Algo.Indicators import BollingerBands
from StockSharp.Algo.Strategies import Strategy
class bollinger_band_reversal_strategy(Strategy):
"""
Bollinger Band Reversal strategy.
Enters long when price is below the lower Bollinger Band and candle is bullish.
Enters short when price is above the upper Bollinger Band and candle is bearish.
Exits at middle band.
"""
def __init__(self):
super(bollinger_band_reversal_strategy, self).__init__()
self._bollinger_period = self.Param("BollingerPeriod", 20).SetDisplay("Bollinger Period", "Period for Bollinger Bands", "Indicators")
self._bollinger_deviation = self.Param("BollingerDeviation", 2.0).SetDisplay("Bollinger Deviation", "Standard deviations for Bollinger Bands", "Indicators")
self._candle_type = self.Param("CandleType", DataType.TimeFrame(TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1))).SetDisplay("Candle Type", "Type of candles to use", "General")
self._cooldown_bars = self.Param("CooldownBars", 500).SetDisplay("Cooldown Bars", "Bars to wait between trades", "General")
self._cooldown = 0
@property
def candle_type(self):
return self._candle_type.Value
def OnReseted(self):
super(bollinger_band_reversal_strategy, self).OnReseted()
self._cooldown = 0
def OnStarted2(self, time):
super(bollinger_band_reversal_strategy, self).OnStarted2(time)
self._cooldown = 0
bb = BollingerBands()
bb.Length = self._bollinger_period.Value
bb.Width = self._bollinger_deviation.Value
subscription = self.SubscribeCandles(self.candle_type)
subscription.BindEx(bb, self._process_candle).Start()
area = self.CreateChartArea()
if area is not None:
self.DrawCandles(area, subscription)
self.DrawIndicator(area, bb)
self.DrawOwnTrades(area)
def _process_candle(self, candle, bb_value):
if candle.State != CandleStates.Finished:
return
if not bb_value.IsFormed:
return
if self._cooldown > 0:
self._cooldown -= 1
return
upper_band = bb_value.UpBand
lower_band = bb_value.LowBand
middle_band = bb_value.MovingAverage
if upper_band is None or lower_band is None or middle_band is None:
return
close = float(candle.ClosePrice)
ub = float(upper_band)
lb = float(lower_band)
mb = float(middle_band)
cd = self._cooldown_bars.Value
is_bullish = candle.ClosePrice > candle.OpenPrice
is_bearish = candle.ClosePrice < candle.OpenPrice
if self.Position == 0 and close < lb and is_bullish:
self.BuyMarket()
self._cooldown = cd
elif self.Position == 0 and close > ub and is_bearish:
self.SellMarket()
self._cooldown = cd
elif self.Position > 0 and close > mb:
self.SellMarket()
self._cooldown = cd
elif self.Position < 0 and close < mb:
self.BuyMarket()
self._cooldown = cd
def CreateClone(self):
return bollinger_band_reversal_strategy()