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October 22, 2026FrançaisEspañol

Tight range and breakout: what they are, and how to test them

A tight range is a stretch where the last 20 bars all fit inside a narrow band. A breakout is the first close out of that band. Traders read the quiet as energy building up. Here is the exact rule QuantLogic uses, and how to test both directions.

20-bar rangeBreakout
The level the idea readsThe bar where the idea firesA drawn example, not market data.

What it is

Tight means small compared with how much the market usually moves in a day, so the same rule adapts to NQ, ES, Gold or Crude.

Tight range alone is a starting idea too: every bar while the range stays tight.

The exact rule QuantLogic uses

Breakout up from a tight range, on one-minute bars. Down is the mirror image.

  1. The 20 bars before this one span no more than 15% of the average daily range (ATR), from their highest high to their lowest low.
  2. The bar before closed inside its own 20-bar range.
  3. This bar closes above the 20-bar high.

When is it known? Known when the breakout bar closes. The range uses only the 20 bars before it, and the average daily range is known before the open.

Versions you can build

  • Tight range (20 bars). The last 20 bars inside 15% of the ATR.
  • Breakout up from a tight range. The first close above it.
  • Breakout down from a tight range. The first close below it.

What to look at around it

In QuantLogic, every time the idea happened is laid out with the data points around it, so you can see where it held and where it didn't:

Time of day and sessionEconomic calendar and newsVWAP distanceGamma regime, flip and wallsYesterday's value area and pivotsVolatilityNQ vs ES since the openUp or down on the day

Traps when you test it

  • Drawing the box after the breakout. The box here is always the 20 bars before the breakout bar.
  • Forgetting lunch. Tight ranges are common in quiet hours; time of day is a data point worth checking.
  • Testing only upside breakouts. Check the downside ones too.

Build it and test it yourself

Open Breakout up from a tight range in Build with QuantLogic. See every time it happened on NQ, ES, Gold or Crude since September 2025, check the long and the short side, add your own filters and run the luck test.

Build this setupSee plans

Nothing is proven until it holds live. We give no trading signals and no advice, we never hold your money or your accounts, and we never trade for you.

Questions

How tight is tight?
The 20 bars span 15% of the market's average daily range or less.
Does a wick out of the range count?
No. Only a close beyond the range is a breakout.

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Educational content, not investment advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss. See the risk disclosure.