Alligator Long-Term Trend Following with Jaw, Teeth, and Lips

Summary

This strategy uses Williams Alligator lines to identify and follow upward trends. Its Jaw, Teeth, and Lips are smoothed moving averages calculated over different periods and plotted with forward shifts. A long position opens when the lines are ordered upward and the candle’s low is above all three lines; it closes when the close falls below the Jaw. The rules describe long entries and exits, with no short-side setup.

The document explains the indicator logic and discusses slippage, the lack of built-in position sizing or fixed risk controls, and the possibility of missing short-term moves. It gives published backtest settings for BTC-USDT futures over roughly a year, but reports no performance results, so it does not establish profitability. The article suggests adding risk controls or testing other parameters and markets. Its claims of broad applicability and no need for optimization are not supported by comparative evidence in the document.

Key ideas

• A long entry requires upward ordering of the Alligator lines and price above all three lines.
• The strategy exits a long position when the closing price falls below the Jaw.
• The Alligator lines use different smoothed-average periods and forward shifts.
• The rules have no fixed position sizing or additional risk-management method.
• Published BTC-USDT futures backtest settings are provided without performance results.

Tags

This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.