# The Strat The Strat is an indicator on [Vela](https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart), our next-generation charting platform, written in Pine Script®. The complete toolkit for trading The Strat: every candle numbered 1, 2 up, 2 down, or 3, a custom combo search that boxes matching sequences on the chart, pivot machine gun detection, and a statistics dashboard with multi-timeframe numbers. Alerts cover specific candle numbers, custom combos, and PMGs. - Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published Mar 3, 2023. - Access: free. - Concepts: [The Strat](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/the-strat/) (primary), [Inside Bar](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/inside-bar/) - Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=cmpwn6ix50098vhsgmrmnq1n6 - Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/the-strat/ **The Strat** indicator puts the methodology's entire vocabulary on the chart, numbering every candle by its relationship to the bar before it: 1 for an [inside bar](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/inside-bar/) engulfed by the prior range, 2 up or 2 down for directional bars breaking one side of it, and 3 when an [outside bar](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/outside-bar/) engulfs it entirely. Around that core sit a custom combo search, pivot machine gun (PMG) detection, and a statistics dashboard, with alert settings for specific candle numbers, combos, and PMGs. ## How to Trade The Strat? - **Candle numbers**: read scenario context bar by bar; numbers can be labeled on the chart and candles styled by type. - **Custom combos**: enter a sequence such as 2-21 in the Combo field and every match appears as a highlighted box spanning its range. - **Pivot combos**: combos found at pivots, ranked by frequency on the dashboard and deduced over the pivot combo lookback rather than in real time. - **PMGs**: a single move breaking multiple successive prior highs or lows warns of potential cascades, with the broken levels available for reference. The dashboard rounds out the picture with the historical and real-time distribution of candle numbers, plus multi-timeframe numbers so a lower-timeframe combo can be checked against its higher-timeframe context. ## The Strat Settings - **Show Numbers On Chart** and **Color Candles**: label and color candles by number; coloring works best on candle-type charts with the script brought to the front. - **Combo**: the number series to search for, e.g. 2-21. - **Show Labels**, **Min Sequence Length**, **Min Breaks**, **Show Levels**: PMG display and detection criteria. - **Show Dashboard**, **Number Counter**, **Pivot Combos** (with **%**), **Pivot Combos Rows**, **Show MTF**, **Location**, **Size**: dashboard content, format, and placement. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is a Pivot Machine Gun? A PMG is one price movement that breaks several successive prior highs or lows in a row, a setup that can cascade as trapped positions unwind. Min Sequence Length and Min Breaks decide how strict detection is, and Show Levels draws the highs and lows that were broken. ### Can I quantify how often a setup appears? Yes, that is the dashboard's job. It counts candle numbers historically and in real time, ranks pivot combos by frequency, and can present detections as percentages, turning pattern feel into measurable base rates across timeframes. ### How do I get The Strat indicator? It comes free in the LuxAlgo Library and can be loaded into Quant, our coding agent, from this page for testing. If outside bars are your particular focus, the [Engulfing Bar](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/engulfing-bar/) tool isolates those engulfing events on their own. You can also copy the source code from this page and run it anywhere Pine Script® runs. ## Related indicators - [Candle 2 Closure](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/candle-2-closure/) (Two-bar Reversal): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/candle-2-closure.md - [Long Wick Detector](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/long-wick-detector/) (Pin Bar): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/long-wick-detector.md - [N Bar Reversal Detector](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/n-bar-reversal-detector/) (Three-bar Reversal): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/n-bar-reversal-detector.md - [Wide-range Bar](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/wide-range-bar/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/wide-range-bar.md - [Engulfing Bar](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/engulfing-bar/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/engulfing-bar.md - [CBC Flip with Targets and Filters](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/cbc-flip-with-targets-and-filters/) (Two-bar Reversal): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/cbc-flip-with-targets-and-filters.md - [Exhaustion Bar](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/exhaustion-bar/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/exhaustion-bar.md - [Three Bar Reversal Pattern](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/three-bar-reversal-pattern/) (Three-bar Reversal): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/three-bar-reversal-pattern.md --- Source: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/the-strat/ (LuxAlgo Library). Free to use with attribution: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/license/