Levels GMMA Scalp Spot Trading Strategy

Levels GMMA Scalp is a spot strategy that trades around recent support and resistance while a slow Guppy Multiple Moving Average (GMMA) group confirms the broader direction.

It can buy a resistance breakout, a support bounce, or both. Every long entry also requires price above the slow GMMA band, with optional strict stacking of the individual averages.

warning

Support and resistance are based on recent extremes, not permanent price floors or ceilings. A break or bounce can fail, especially when volatility expands beyond the lookback range.

Trading behavior

Levels and ATR buffer

The strategy finds support from the lowest low and resistance from the highest high of the previous LGM_LEVEL_LOOKBACK candles. The current candle is excluded, so its movement cannot repaint the level it is being compared with.

An ATR-based buffer is added around those levels:

buffer = ATR × LGM_LEVEL_BUFFER_ATR

The buffer prevents a tiny touch from immediately counting as a break. Higher values demand more separation from the level.

GMMA filter

LGM_GMMA_SLOW_LENGTHS defines a comma-separated group of EMA lengths. Defaults are:

30,35,40,45,50,60

For a bullish setup, price must close above the highest EMA in the group.

With LGM_REQUIRE_GMMA_STACK enabled, each shorter EMA must also be at or above the next longer EMA. This requires an orderly bullish ribbon, not just price above a tangled group.

Keep lengths in ascending order. The stacking test follows the order entered in the setting.

Breakout entry

A resistance breakout requires:

1. Previous close was not already beyond previous resistance plus its buffer.
2. Current close moves above current resistance plus its buffer.
3. GMMA is bullish.

Breakouts are allowed when LGM_ENTRY_MODE is breakout or both.

Support-bounce entry

A support bounce requires:

1. Current low reaches support plus the ATR buffer.
2. Current close finishes back above support plus the buffer.
3. Current candle closes above its open.
4. GMMA is bullish.

Bounces are allowed when entry mode is bounce or both. They are also allowed whenever LGM_ALLOW_SUPPORT_BOUNCE is enabled.

tip

With the defaults, entry mode is breakout but support bounce is enabled separately. The strategy therefore trades both breakout and bounce setups. Disable LGM_ALLOW_SUPPORT_BOUNCE for breakout-only behavior.

After a signal, spread, optional New York-time session, news, cooldown, and order checks must pass. The strategy buys once and does not DCA.

Entry plan: target and stop

The strategy saves a target and stop at entry.

The fixed target and stop use percentage distances or pip distances, depending on LGM_USE_PIPS.

When level target is enabled:

• A bounce targets just below resistance.
• A breakout targets resistance plus 23.6% of the recent support/resistance range.

The closer valid value between fixed and level target is used.

When level stop is enabled:

• A bounce uses just below support.
• A breakout uses just below the broken resistance.

The closer valid value between fixed and level stop is used. Level controls therefore tighten the plan; they do not automatically widen it.

Every target remains above fee-adjusted break-even plus LGM_MIN_NET_GAIN_PCT.

Signal exits

LGM_EXIT_ON_BEARISH_LEVEL allows an exit after either:

• A confirmed break below support, or
• A bearish rejection near resistance while price is below the GMMA average.

LGM_EXIT_ON_GMMA_FLIP allows an exit when price is below the entire slow band and, when required, the EMA group is bearishly stacked.

Both signal exits only sell at or above break-even.

Protection, session, and news

LGM_USE_PROTECTION activates the stored stop and allows a planned loss exit.

The optional session filter uses New York time. Its default window is 08:00-17:00; daylight-saving changes are handled automatically.

Session and manual news controls restrict entries only. Open positions remain managed.

Good market conditions

Levels GMMA Scalp is suited to:

• Trends with a clearly separated, bullish slow EMA ribbon.
• Well-tested support and resistance.
• Breakouts that close beyond a volatility-adjusted buffer.
• Pullbacks that hold support while the larger trend remains bullish.

It is weaker in:

• Flat markets with intertwined GMMA lines.
• Sudden volatility that invalidates recent levels.
• Thin markets where a wick defines an unreliable extreme.
• Downtrends where price briefly bounces but remains below the GMMA band.

The default five-minute period makes a 50-candle level cover roughly four hours. Changing period changes the meaning of both levels and EMA lengths.

How to create the strategy

1. Create a new spot strategy in the advanced strategy editor.
2. Select levelsgmmascalp as both buy and sell method.
3. Start with the default five-minute period.
4. Align both trading-limit settings.
5. Decide whether you want breakout, bounce, or both.
6. Check the GMMA length list and keep it ascending.
7. Backtest level targets/stops on and off.
8. Include failed breakouts and falling periods.

A practical tuning workflow

Start with market structure:

• Increase level lookback for broader, slower-changing levels.
• Increase ATR buffer to demand cleaner separation.
• Keep GMMA stacking enabled to require an orderly trend.

Then isolate entry types. Do not compare breakout performance while support bounces remain enabled unintentionally.

Tune level exits after signal quality. A support bounce has a natural resistance target; a breakout's extension target may be ignored when it lies behind the actual entry price.

Finally, choose protection. Signal exits do not realize a loss, so a failed level can remain open without it.

Core settings

Label	Config parameter	Default	Description
Buy enabled	BUY_ENABLED	true	Allows level-based entries.
Sell enabled	SELL_ENABLED	true	Allows target, signal, and stop exits.
Period	PERIOD	5	Candle period in minutes.
Trading limit	TRADING_LIMIT	100	Compatibility fallback only. It is ignored while the strategy-specific trading limit is positive; the two values do not need to match. For USDT-BTC, this value is in USDT.
Funds reserve	FUNDS_RESERVE	0	For USDT-BTC, the amount of USDT the bot must leave unused.
Amount retained from sells	KEEP_QUOTE	0	For USDT-BTC, the amount of BTC the strategy must not sell.
Min volume to buy	MIN_VOLUME_TO_BUY	10	General minimum buy value. Keep it aligned with LGM_MIN_ORDER_VALUE. For USDT-BTC, this value is in USDT.
Min volume to sell	MIN_VOLUME_TO_SELL	10	General minimum sell value. Keep it aligned with LGM_MIN_SELL_VALUE. For USDT-BTC, this value is in USDT.
Gain	GAIN	0.35	General target value. Keep the intended value explicit in LGM_TARGET_PCT.

Execution and session settings

Label	Config parameter	Default	Description
LGM trading limit	LGM_TRADING_LIMIT	100	For USDT-BTC, the amount of USDT used for the single buy.
LGM min order value	LGM_MIN_ORDER_VALUE	10	Minimum value required for a buy. For USDT-BTC, this value is in USDT.
LGM min sell value	LGM_MIN_SELL_VALUE	10	Minimum position value required for a sell. For USDT-BTC, this value is in USDT.
LGM cooldown ms	LGM_COOLDOWN_MS	30000	Minimum milliseconds between live actions.
LGM max spread %	LGM_MAX_SPREAD_PCT	0.06	Maximum spread as a percentage of midpoint.
LGM max spread absolute	LGM_MAX_SPREAD_ABSOLUTE	0	Optional maximum spread in pair price units. For USDT-BTC, this value is in USDT.
Use session filter	LGM_USE_SESSION_FILTER	false	Restricts entries to configured New York-time windows.
Entry windows EST	LGM_ENTRY_WINDOWS_EST	08:00-17:00	Comma-separated entry windows in New York time.

Level, ATR, and GMMA settings

Label	Config parameter	Default	Description
Level lookback	LGM_LEVEL_LOOKBACK	50	Previous candles used to find support and resistance.
Level buffer ATR	LGM_LEVEL_BUFFER_ATR	0.2	ATR multiple around levels. Higher values require a larger break or recovery.
ATR length	LGM_ATR_LENGTH	14	Volatility lookback used for the buffer.
GMMA slow lengths	LGM_GMMA_SLOW_LENGTHS	30,35,40,45,50,60	Comma-separated EMA lengths. Enter them shortest to longest.
Require GMMA stack	LGM_REQUIRE_GMMA_STACK	true	Requires the ribbon to be ordered bullish for entry and bearish for a flip exit.
Entry mode	LGM_ENTRY_MODE	breakout	Accepts breakout, bounce, or both.
Allow support bounce	LGM_ALLOW_SUPPORT_BOUNCE	true	Enables support-bounce entries even when entry mode is breakout.
Exit on bearish level	LGM_EXIT_ON_BEARISH_LEVEL	true	Allows a bearish level break or rejection to sell at or above break-even.
Exit on GMMA flip	LGM_EXIT_ON_GMMA_FLIP	true	Allows bearish GMMA alignment to sell at or above break-even.

Target and stop settings

Label	Config parameter	Default	Description
Use pips	LGM_USE_PIPS	false	Uses pip target and stop distances instead of percentages.
Pip size	LGM_PIP_SIZE	0.0001	Pair-price value of one pip. For USDT-BTC, this value is in USDT.
Target pips	LGM_TARGET_PIPS	8	Fixed target distance in pip mode.
Stop pips	LGM_STOP_PIPS	8	Fixed stop distance in pip mode.
Target %	LGM_TARGET_PCT	0.5	Fixed target above entry in percentage mode.
Minimum net gain %	LGM_MIN_NET_GAIN_PCT	0.1	Minimum gain above estimated fee-adjusted break-even.
Stop %	LGM_STOP_PCT	0.35	Fixed stop below entry in percentage mode.
Use level target	LGM_USE_LEVEL_TARGET	true	Adds a setup-specific level target and uses the closer valid target.
Use level stop	LGM_USE_LEVEL_STOP	true	Adds a setup-specific level stop and uses the closer valid stop.
Use protection	LGM_USE_PROTECTION	false	Allows the stored stop to close below break-even.

News and backtesting

Label	Config parameter	Default	Description
News block	LGM_NEWS_BLOCK	false	Manually pauses new entries.
News block until	LGM_NEWS_BLOCK_UNTIL	0	Timestamp until which entries remain blocked.
Backtest since	BF_SINCE	0	Optional backtest start boundary.
Backtest until	BF_UNTIL	0	Optional backtest end boundary.
Deep testing	DEEP_TESTING	false	Enables deeper backtesting without changing live signals.

Important limitations

• Support bounce is enabled independently of entry mode by default.
• GMMA lengths must be entered in a sensible ascending order.
• The strategy opens one position and does not DCA.
• Bearish level and GMMA exits never realize a loss.
• Only enabled protection activates the stored stop.
• Session and news filters affect entries only.

Levels give the strategy a repeatable map, while GMMA supplies direction. The best configurations are those where both tell the same story before entry—not those that force either filter to accept every move.