First 1m candle

NAS100 · 1m chart · strategy s36_first_candle · 4 variations

The first minute of New York sets the direction. A strong opening candle gets a stop order at its high or low, so trades that fail straight away never start.

What it is about

The first 1-minute candle after the New York open often shows which way the session wants to go.

Most losing trades in this model die within minutes. A stop order beyond the opening candle only activates if price keeps going, and almost none of the big winners were missed.

How it trades

Chart & market

Nasdaq 100, 1-minute candles.

Direction

The direction of the 09:30 New York candle.

Filter

The body must be at least 70% of the candle, and the stop must sit outside the noise before the open: the 1-minute ATR at 09:29 must be at most 0.8 of the base stop (0.044% of the price).

Entry

A buy stop at the candle's high, or a sell stop at its low. The order lives until 10:00 and is cancelled by a close beyond the far side of the candle.

Exit

Stop at the middle of the candle, at least 0.044% of the price away. The stop trails 5R behind the best price once the trade reaches +5R. Flat at the last candle before 16:00 New York. One trade a day.

09:30-10:00 New York, about 3 trades a month on the filtered accounts, 18 on the unfiltered one.

What to expect

On s36-A about 3 trades in 10 win. Winners average about 7R, losers about -1R.
Backtest 2019-today (zero cost): 265 trades, +339.6R, largest drop 15.2R.
When the settings were picked blind in a walk-forward test the model made about +20-25R a year after the raw spread, far less than the headline.

Risks and caveats

The stop is tight, about 11 points on s36-A, and real spread at the open was 1.3 points against the 1.0 assumed. On 8 months of real ticks the original version made about 30% less than the backtest.
The filter's cut-offs were chosen with all the data visible, so its results may be flattering.
It works best on the Nasdaq 100. On gold and the Dow it lost in 2019-23 after the spread.
s36-C and s36-D use a market order at the 09:31 close. s36-D loses most of its 2024-26 result when the fill is 1-3 minutes late.

Where it comes from

The opening candle's direction comes from JJ Simon (2026-11-01). The buy stop at the candle's high is Victor's own idea (2026-11-02). The filter, stop and exits come from our testing.

Main variation: s36-D ★ Main

Live result

0.0R

0 closed · 0 open · zero cost

Backtest total

+414.6R

286 trades · +1.45R a trade · win 19%

Backtest max drawdown

−18.0R

total ÷ drawdown 23.0

Years won

7/8

3.1 trades / month

Backtest R per year (zero cost), s36-D

The variations

Each variation is the same strategy with a different approach, trading its own paper account. Click one to see exactly what it changes.

s36-DFiltered market order, wide trail★ Main

The filter with a market order at the candle's close, trail 10R behind the best price.

s36-AFiltered stop order, trailing stop

Stop order beyond a strong opening candle, stop at the middle of the candle, trail 5R behind the best price.

s36-BFiltered stop order, 20R target

The same order, with the stop 0.044% from the candle's close and a 20R target.

s36-CThe original: every day, market order

No filter and no stop order. A market order at the close of the opening candle, tight stop, 20R target.

Variations side by side

Live result of all 4 together: 0.0R (zero cost).

			Live paper account (R, zero cost)				Backtest 2018 – today (R, zero cost)

s36-D★ MainFirst 1m candle	NAS100	1m	–	0	–	–	+414.6R	+1.45R	7/8	3.1	19%	−18.0R
s36-AFirst 1m candle	NAS100	1m	–	0	–	–	+339.6R	+1.28R	7/8	2.8	28%	−15.2R
s36-BFirst 1m candle	NAS100	1m	–	0	–	–	+373.1R	+1.41R	6/8	2.8	17%	−19.3R
s36-CFirst 1m candle	NAS100	1m	–	0	–	–	+1,218R	+0.73R	8/8	17.9	10%	−68.0R

Main = the variation with the most backtest R per R of max drawdown (2018 – today, zero cost). It is picked on that history, so the live accounts are the real test.