Strategy template · early access
Fair value gap strategy, automated
Three candles leave a gap that price skipped; the first candle to come back into it is the signal. The bot runs it on real candles, draws each signal and posts it to your Telegram channel, built with you in early access.
What the fair value gap is
A fair value gap (FVG) is a space that price skipped over. When three candles run in one direction fast enough, the first candle's high and the third candle's low do not meet, and the gap between them was never traded. The idea is that price tends to come back and fill part of that space before it goes on.
The term is a trader's name for a pattern that charting books have long called an imbalance or a three-bar gap. The rules are mechanical: a gap of a set size, then the first candle that returns into it. That is why a bot can watch for it on every candle.
The bot's rules
- A bullish gap is three 15-minute candles where the third candle's low is above the first candle's high; a bearish gap is the mirror. The gap must be at least 0.8 times the ATR(14) tall, and is known at the third candle's close.
- Buy at the close of the first later candle, within 20 candles, whose low reaches the gap's top and which closes above its bottom (a sell mirrors it). If a candle closes through the gap first, it is void.
- Stop beyond the lowest low of the three candles (the highest high for a sell), plus 0.1 times the ATR(14). Targets at 1, 2, 3 times the stop distance.
- Each gap is traded once.
Which version. The three-candle gap, as it is usually taught: at least 0.8 times the average candle range tall, entry on the first retrace into it, the stop beyond the three candles that made it.
The settings
The defaults the example was found with. Each one is a setting, not a rewrite.
| Setting | Default | What you can change |
|---|---|---|
| Market | XAUUSD | Gold or any of the seven US-dollar majors; other markets need a price feed first. |
| Candles | 15 minutes | The gap is found and retraced on these. 5 minutes to 1 hour are all used. |
| Smallest gap | 0.8 × ATR(14) | A gap under this size is ignored. Raise it for fewer, larger gaps. |
| Retrace within | 20 candles | A gap not retraced by then is dropped. |
| Stop buffer | 0.1 × ATR(14) | Added beyond the three candles that made the gap. |
| Targets | 1, 2, 3 × the stop | Or the gap's far edge, or the last swing. |
The example, as the bot would post it
The signal in the chart above: found by the template's code on XAUUSD 15 min candles at . Its levels, and the message the bot would send with the chart:
- Entry4126.66
- Stop4142.04 · 15 pips
- TP14111.27 · +15 pips
- TP24095.88 · +31 pips
- TP34080.49 · +46 pips
🔴 SELL XAUUSD · Fair value gap Entry: 4126.66 (market) Stop: 4142.04 (15 pips) TP1: 4111.27 (+15 pips) TP2: 4095.88 (+31 pips) TP3: 4080.49 (+46 pips) Price came back into a 18-pip gap. Stop beyond the three candles that made it; targets at 1, 2, 3 times the stop. Not financial advice. Trade at your own risk.
The same signal in another of the bot's chart templates, Daylight, with a space for your logo:
How often it fires
Signals the template's code found with the defaults over the last twelve months of candles. A count of signals, not of wins: we publish no results for templates.
- Gold (XAUUSD)
- 31.7signals a month: 380 from 2025-10-23 to 2026-10-23
- EURUSD
- 38.3signals a month: 459 from 2025-10-23 to 2026-10-23
Automation, not an edge. A template does the work of watching the chart, finding the setup and posting it. It does not make the strategy win. Before it goes live in your channel we run it over past candles on your markets and show you every signal it would have sent, losses included, privately.
What can be changed
- The rules: every setting above, and any filter or confirmation you can write down.
- The markets: gold and the seven US-dollar majors, one or all of them.
- The chart: your logo where the placeholder is, a chart template in your colours, and the marks your method uses.
- The channels: every signal to a paid channel and a paced share to a free one, the way our own channels run.
Or bring a strategy that is not here: every template started as rules someone wrote down.
Questions
How big does a gap have to be?
This version counts a gap only if it is at least 0.8 times the average candle range (ATR over 14 candles) tall. A smaller gap shows up on almost every 15-minute chart and means little. The size is a setting: a higher one gives fewer, larger gaps.
What happens if price closes through the gap?
The gap is void and no signal is sent. A candle that closes beyond the far side of the gap has filled it completely, so the setup is over. A gap is also dropped if price takes more than 20 candles to come back.
Does it work on any timeframe?
The rules are the same on any candle size. This template uses 15-minute candles on gold. Shorter candles make more gaps and more noise; longer ones make fewer. The bot can run the same rules on gold or any of the majors, on the timeframe you choose.
Does the bot place trades?
No. It finds the setup, draws the chart, posts the signal to your Telegram channel and follows it with a reply at each target and at the stop. It does not connect to a broker or trade any account.
Can I change the rules?
Yes. Every setting in the table above is yours to change, and so is anything else that can be written down: a filter, a session, a second confirmation, a different stop. If a step is a judgement call, we work out with you how to write it as a rule.
Will it make money?
We do not say it will, for this template or any other. A template is automation, not an edge. Before it goes live we run it over past candles on your markets and show you every signal it would have sent, losses included, privately. How a strategy behaved on past candles is not what it will do.
Is it AI?
No. It follows the written rules on this page. The same candles always give the same signals.
Which markets and timeframes?
The seven US-dollar majors and gold today, on any timeframe from 5 minutes to daily. Other markets need a price feed for them first; ask us.
What does it cost?
Templates are in early access: built with you, for your channel, and priced before launch. Early-access members hear the price first. For a broker, prop firm or educator, write to us.
Other strategy templates
Opening range breakout
The first 15 minutes after the New York open set a range; the first 5-minute close outside it is the signal.
Liquidity sweep
Price runs through the previous day's high or low, then a 15-minute candle closes back inside the level: that close is the signal.
Order block
A strong candle breaks the last swing high; the last down candle before it is the block, and the first return into it is the signal.
EMA crossover
The 9 EMA closes across the 21 EMA in the direction of the 200 EMA: a buy above it, a sell below it.
Supertrend
The Supertrend line (ATR 10 × 3) flips from above price to below it, or the other way: the candle that closes through it is the signal.
London breakout
The Asian session sets a range; the first 15-minute close above its high or below its low after the London open is the signal.
Break and retest
Price closes beyond a swing high or low, comes back to the level within twelve candles and closes on the broken side: that close is the signal.
RSI divergence
Price makes a lower swing low while the RSI makes a higher one, the first in oversold territory: a buy once the second swing is confirmed. The mirror is a sell.
MACD crossover
The MACD line crosses its signal line below zero in an uptrend, or above zero in a downtrend, with price on the 200 EMA's side.
Silver bullet
A fair value gap forms in the 10:00 to 11:00 New York window; the first candle back into it before 11:00 is the signal.
Judas swing
A candle runs through the Asian range early in London, then a 15-minute candle closes back inside it: that close is the signal.