01Overview
Caliber is a fully automated Pine Script v5 strategy for NQ/MNQ futures, designed for the 1-minute chart and executed through TradingView → TradersPost → Tradovate or Topstep/ProjectX. The strategy identifies high-probability reversals at named structural levels (daily, weekly, monthly highs/lows, Asian session range, prior Friday close) and enters using one of six confirmed signal types.
Every aspect of Caliber follows an evidence-first development principle: no code change is made without forward test data supporting it. Reference cases (RC-xxx) are logged for every observed issue, and fixes are validated against live trade data before being considered permanent.
v1.7.1 Master is the active production version, running on funded prop firm accounts. 76.8% true win rate (BE excluded) across forward test data, 1.31 profit factor, zero lockout days at current contract sizing.
02Setup & Install
1. Add to chart
Open Caliber on a 1-minute MNQ or NQ chart on TradingView. Set chart timezone to America/New_York in chart settings — all session times in Caliber are calculated against this timezone regardless of your account's display timezone.
2. Configure Properties panel
In the strategy Properties tab, set Order Size to match your intended baseContracts input value. These two settings must match — a mismatch can cause the contract cap logic to behave unexpectedly in backtests.
3. Create the TradingView alert
- Condition: Caliber v1.7.1 Master → "Any alert() function call"
- Message box: leave completely blank — Pine Script sends the JSON payload directly
- Webhook URL: your TradersPost webhook URL
- Expiration: set to "Open-ended" for continuous operation
Never type anything into the TradingView alert message box. Quantity, direction, and all order details are calculated dynamically by the script. Manual entries in this field will override the correct values and can cause incorrect position sizes.
4. TradersPost configuration
Connect your TradersPost webhook to your broker (Tradovate or Topstep/ProjectX). Caliber's partial exit alerts (P1/P2) use action: "exit" with a specific quantity — this is TradersPost's native partial-close format and requires no special configuration on your end.
03Structural Levels
Caliber tracks six named levels plus the Asian session range. Each level can independently be toggled on/off, and each has its own flip-detection logic — when price closes beyond a level multiple times, it "flips" from resistance to support (or vice versa) and become a valid entry zone in the new direction.
| Level | Source | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| PDH / PDL | Previous day high/low | Resistance / Support |
| PWH / PWL | Previous week high/low | Resistance / Support |
| PMH / PML | Previous month high/low | Resistance / Support |
| Asian High/Low | 18:00–02:00 ET session range | Both |
| Prev Friday Close | Weekly close anchor | Both |
Touch & Retest Confirmation
A level only qualifies for entry after a two-touch retest: Touch 1 confirms a wick rejection at the level, Touch 2 confirms price has returned and is reacting again. This filters out single-touch noise and requires the level to prove itself before an entry is considered.
Liquidity Sweep Reclaim (RC-SWEEP-03)
An alternative entry path: if price sweeps beyond a level (genuine break past the touch zone) and then closes back on the correct side within a speed-gated window (default 3 bars), this is treated as a liquidity grab and triggers an entry without requiring a separate signal. Applies to PDL/PDH, PWL/PWH, PML/PMH, and the Asian Low/High.
04Entry Signals
Six signal types can confirm an entry at a structural level. Each fires independently and any one (combined with a valid level) is sufficient to trigger an entry, subject to grade and risk gating.
| Signal | Pattern |
|---|---|
| Pin Bar | Long wick rejection, small body, at level |
| Engulfing | Current candle body fully engulfs the previous |
| 3-Bar Reversal | Three-candle reversal pattern at the level |
| Morning/Evening Star | Classic three-candle exhaustion pattern |
| Liquidity Sweep | Wick through level, close back on correct side |
| Momentum | Large directional candle (use with caution — see note) |
Momentum fires on bars that are already moving strongly, meaning the signal confirms at the peak of a move rather than at a reversal point. On broker connections with higher latency (e.g. Tradovate via TradersPost), this can produce meaningful slippage between the signalled price and the actual fill. Consider disabling this signal type if you observe consistent negative slippage on Momentum entries specifically.
05Grade System
Every entry is assigned a grade based on confluence strength and market context. Grade determines position sizing, exit type, and which risk gates apply.
Grade B Restrictions
- London first-trade block (RC-FT-02): Grade B is blocked on the first trade of the day during the London session (02:00–08:00 ET) — evidence showed a 43% SL rate on these specific entries before the gate was added.
- Tighter ATR gate: Grade B requires ATR conditions within the Momentum Exhaustion Gate before firing.
A+ Trend Suppression Bypass (Asymmetric)
A+ entries bypass sustained trend suppression for shorts only when the broader trend reads bullish — allowing high-conviction reversal shorts to fire during intraday trend changes. A+ longs remain suppressed when the broader trend reads bearish, since evidence showed A+ longs firing in clearly bearish contexts produced poor results (RC-TREND-01).
06Fibonacci Entry
When price sweeps beyond the Asian High or Asian Low and rejects, a Fibonacci retracement arms automatically, anchored to the sweep extreme and the Asian boundary. The 0.618–0.750 zone ("golden zone") is the entry area.
Direction Logic
- Bear Fib armed (swept above Asian High) → SHORT entries only
- Bull Fib armed (swept below Asian Low) → LONG entries only
0.618 Precision Entry (RC-FIB-PRECISION-01)
Rather than entering anywhere across the golden zone, Caliber requires a wick confirmation specifically at the 0.618 level: price must wick through 0.618 and close back on the correct side. Entries deeper in the zone (closer to 0.750) without this wick rejection are not taken — forward test evidence showed 0.750-zone entries without wick confirmation underperformed materially against clean 0.618 rejections.
Session Timing (RC-FIB-LONDON-01)
The Fib can arm from the start of the London session (03:00 ET) onward, not just after the Asian session technically closes — giving earlier visibility of the golden zone when a sweep occurs early.
07PO3 Phases
Power of Three (Accumulation → Manipulation → Distribution) is displayed visually on the chart as three sequential coloured boxes, tracking the session narrative from Asian range consolidation through to the post-sweep directional move.
| Phase | Trigger | Box bounds |
|---|---|---|
| 🔵 Accumulation | Asian session ends, price inside range | Fixed to Asian High/Low |
| 🟠 Manipulation | Price sweeps beyond Asian range + buffer | Expands to sweep extreme |
| 🟢 Distribution | First close back inside range after sweep | Expands with the directional move |
PO3 phase display is informational only — it does not gate, block, or redirect entries. It exists to give visual context for why a setup is forming.
08Exit Architecture
Caliber uses a three-stage partial exit system designed to lock in profit progressively while letting winners run.
| Stage | Trigger | Action |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | +30pts | Close 1/3 position · SL moves to breakeven |
| P2 | +80pts | Close 1/3 position · SL moves to entry +10pts |
| Runner | Remaining 1/3 | 25pt trailing stop · hard cap at entry +100pts |
Breakeven (BE) Exits Are Not Losses
When P1 fires and the SL subsequently exits at breakeven, this is capital preservation, not a loss. BE exits do not count toward consecutive loss streaks, the same-level loss re-entry block, or the RC-FT-01 first-trade SL tracking. Across 90 days of forward test data, the BE system saved an estimated $5,319 compared to taking full stop losses on those same trades.
TradersPost Partial Close Format
P1 and P2 alerts use TradersPost's documented action: "exit" format with a specific quantity — this correctly reduces the open position regardless of direction, without requiring a sentiment field.
09Risk Management
Contract Sizing
Position size is calculated from MDD × 10% (max drawdown × 10%) rather than raw account size — this is the actual risk budget your prop firm enforces. Use the Risk/Reward Calculator to find your recommended contract size and proportionally-scaled bracket.
First-Trade Protection (RC-FIRSTTRADE-01)
70% of all full stop-loss hits historically occurred on the first trade of the day. Caliber reduces position size to 50% on the first trade until market direction is established, then returns to full size for subsequent trades.
Same-Level Loss Block
After a full loss at a specific level, re-entry at that same level is blocked for a configurable number of bars (default 20). This does not apply to BE exits — only true losses.
Daily & Weekly Limits
Configurable daily profit target and daily loss limit, plus a weekly profit target that locks trading for the remainder of the week once hit. All limits reset correctly at session/day/week boundaries.
News Planner (CT-19)
A two-layer system closes open positions around scheduled high-impact news events: Layer 1 closes on approach to the event window, Layer 2 is a safety-net close that fires the moment the event window itself begins, in case Layer 1 was missed.
10Dashboard Guide
The on-chart dashboard is intentionally neutral (black background, white/silver text) for most rows, with colour reserved for the metrics that need immediate attention.
| Row | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Caliber Status | Current state — Scanning, In Trade, Blocked, Out of Session |
| London / NY / Asian | Trades and P&L per session (P&L colour-coded) |
| Week | Trade count, P&L (teal background when weekly target hit) |
| Entry Grade | Current qualifying grade, shown as coloured text |
| PO3 Phase | Current Accumulation / Manipulation / Distribution state |
| RC-FT-01 | First-trade SL rate by session — red ≥40%, amber ≥25% |
11Alerts & Webhooks
All execution alerts are gated to barstate.isrealtime (RC-ALERT-01) — this prevents "ghost trades" where loading the strategy on a new timeframe replays historical signal bars and fires real executions for already-closed historical setups.
Available Alert Types
- Execution alerts — entry, P1, P2, Runner, and full close, sent as TradersPost-formatted JSON
- Fib Armed — fires when the golden zone first activates after a sweep
- Approaching/Inside Golden Zone — fires as price nears or enters the 0.618–0.750 zone
- Contract Roll Warning — fires within a configurable window of the 3rd-Monday rollover date
12Glossary
| RC-xxx | Reference Case — a logged, evidence-backed observation or fix |
| BE | Breakeven — SL moved to entry price after a partial exit |
| MDD | Max Drawdown — the prop firm's enforced risk limit |
| PO3 | Power of Three — Accumulation / Manipulation / Distribution |
| Golden Zone | The 0.618–0.750 Fibonacci retracement band |
| Flip | A level changing from resistance to support (or vice versa) |
| Sweep Reclaim | Price breaks beyond a level then closes back — liquidity grab pattern |