Reading signals and evaluating entries

This tutorial covers everything that happens after the opening range closes — how APEX detects a valid breakout, what the signal looks like on the chart, and how to execute the trade with correct SL and TP placement.

How the setup confirms

APEX monitors every candle that closes after the session hour ends. A setup is identified when all of the following conditions are met on the same bar:

1. The session has closed and the range is locked in
2. The candle closes above the session high (bull signal) or below the session low (bear signal)
3. The candle closes in the direction of the breakout — a bull signal requires a bullish close (close above open), bear signal requires a bearish close
4. The candle body meets the minimum engulfing size — by default the body must be at least 50% of the candle's total range, filtering out small indecision candles
5. The signal is within the 5-hour window after the session closed
6. No previous signal has fired from this session today (one signal per session per day)

What you see on the chart

When a setup is identified, APEX draws three things instantly:

• A signal triangle — teal triangle below the bar (bull) or above the bar (bear). This is your entry confirmation.
• A signal label — shows the session name, time window and entry price. For example: EU LONG | 0800-0900 | 1.08824
• SL and TP lines — three horizontal lines drawn forward from the signal bar showing your stop loss and three take profit levels

Stop loss placement

The stop loss is placed automatically by APEX, 1 pip beyond the opposite side of the opening range:

• Bull signal: SL = session low minus 1 pip buffer
• Bear signal: SL = session high plus 1 pip buffer

The logic here is clear — if price returns to the opposite end of the session range after breaking out, the trade thesis is invalid. The 1-pip buffer gives a small amount of breathing room beyond the structural level.

Take profit levels

APEX draws three take profit levels based on the risk distance (entry to SL):

A common approach is to split your position across all three levels — for example taking one third of the position off at each TP. This locks in profit while letting part of the trade run for the larger move.

Entry execution

The setup confirms at bar close — meaning the entry price shown in the label is the closing price of the breakout candle. In practice you have two options:

1. Market order at bar close — the simplest approach. When the setup confirms, enter at market immediately. You will get close to the label price. This is the recommended approach for beginners.
2. Limit order on pullback — wait for price to pull back slightly toward the broken range level before entering. This gives a better entry price and improves your RR, but risks missing the trade if price continues without pulling back.

Trade management

Once in the trade, APEX has done its job. What happens next is down to your trade management plan. A few principles to guide you:

• Do not move your SL before TP1 is hit — give the trade room to breathe
• Once TP1 is hit, move SL to breakeven on the remaining position
• Let the remaining position run to TP2 and TP3, moving SL up as each level hits
• If price pulls back to the broken range level and stalls — watch carefully. A strong rejection there adds confidence. A close back inside the range is a reason to exit early.
• Do not chase a signal that has moved significantly before you could enter — let it go and wait for the next session

Candle pattern settings

Under Signal Settings you can enable additional candle patterns beyond the default engulfing body. Each one is off by default and can be switched on independently:

• Marubozu — full-bodied candle with tiny wicks. Very strong momentum confirmation.
• Pin Bar / Liquidity Grab — long wick sweeping into the range then closing back beyond it. Maps directly to the ICT liquidity grab concept.
• Two-Bar Reversal — small candle followed by a larger engulfing candle. More confirmation, slightly later entry.
• Fakey / False Break — prior candle briefly breaks one side of the range then the current candle reverses and closes the other way. The classic stop hunt pattern.

Patterns use OR logic — a setup confirms if the breakout candle matches any enabled pattern. Start with Engulfing only and add patterns one at a time as you learn how each behaves on your instruments.