X-Bar Fractals for Adjustable Swing Detection
Summary
This indicator generalizes the conventional fractal by letting users choose how many bars must appear on each side of a price extreme. The left and right counts can differ, so an asymmetric configuration can require more historical confirmation on one side than the other. A 10-bar left and 5-bar right example illustrates this flexibility.
The document recommends larger side counts for identifying broader highs and lows that may serve as support or resistance, or as anchors for trend lines. Smaller or asymmetric settings can filter candidate local extremes; comparing equal counts such as 2 and 2 with settings such as 7 and 2 is offered as an example. These are qualitative suggestions only: no market, backtest, or performance evidence is provided, and the indicator’s usefulness depends on the chosen parameters and instrument.
Key ideas
- Users can set the number of confirming bars independently on each side of a fractal.
- Asymmetric settings allow different confirmation requirements before and after an extreme.
- Larger side counts are suggested for finding broader potential support and resistance levels.
- Fractal points can also provide anchors for drawing trend lines.
- The document offers parameter suggestions but no quantitative validation.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.