Hidden smash day
Price action · Advanced · Daily bars · Popularized by Larry Williams
A day closes in the extreme 25% of its range but fails to take out the prior high/low — fade the weak push.
Sellers dominate the close but can't even reach yesterday's extreme. The weakness is real — the breakdown isn't. You get in before the obvious smash day forms.
How to trade it (bullish)
- Setup: Price closes in the bottom 25% of its range yet fails to take out the prior day's low.
- Entry: Next day, buy stop above the setup bar's high — the reclaim confirms the push had no follow-through.
- Stop and exit: Stop at the setup bar's low. Take profit at a target or trail.
How to trade it (bearish)
- Setup: Price closes in the top 25% of its range yet fails to take out the prior day's high.
- Entry: Next day, sell stop below the setup bar's low — the failure to make a new high confirms the push had no follow-through.
- Stop and exit: Stop at the setup bar's high. Take profit at a target or trail.
Why it works
A weak close normally implies follow-through selling. But if that weak close comes without any expansion beyond the prior day's low, the selling pressure is all show and no supply. Reclaiming the day's high confirms the push had no legs.
Watch out for
Stricter and rarer than the smash day. The 25% band is a parameter — widen it and you get more (noisier) signals. False signals are more common; this is the Advanced one for a reason.
Pairs well with
Turn Hidden smash day into a trading bot
Describe how you'd trade it and the AI writes an MT4 or MT5 bot for this pattern, with a stop loss on every trade and a plain-English explanation, and tells you which kinds of market it tends to suit. Your first bot is free.