BOP (Balance of Power)¶
What it shows: whether buyers or sellers controlled the recent candles: how far each candle closed from its open, compared with its whole range, averaged over a few candles. From -1 to +1.
How people use it: above zero, candles have tended to close above their open (buyers in control); below zero, sellers.
Pairs well with: a moving average for the trend, and volume indicators such as OBV.
Settings¶
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 14 | How many candles are averaged. Shorter flips around zero often; longer is calmer. |
You set the defaults on the Indicators page. A condition can use its own settings, which override the defaults for that condition only.
Ready-made conditions¶
| For | Condition | Fires when |
|---|---|---|
| Buy | BOP crosses above zero | the one candle BOP moves from below 0 to above it |
| Buy | BOP above zero | every candle BOP is above 0 |
| Sell | BOP crosses below zero | the one candle BOP moves from above 0 to below it |
| Sell | BOP below zero | every candle BOP is below 0 |
"Above", "below", "is" and "rising" / "falling" stay true on every candle the state lasts, so they can fire many candles in a row. "Crosses" and "flips" fire once, on the candle it happens, so you get one signal per move.
Warnings you may see¶
- "BOP(14) only moves between -1 and 1, so 2 can never be reached.": a number you typed is outside the range this line can take, so the condition can never be true (or is always true). Check the number. You can still save it.
- "It can never be true: a cross happens on one candle, so it cannot happen on N candles in a row. Use 'within the last N candles' instead.": a "crosses" condition with a "… in a row" lookback of 2 or more. Switch the lookback to Within the last.
- "Length must be between 1 and 1000" / "Length must be a whole number": shown in the condition editor when a condition's own value is out of range. Fix the number; the condition can't be saved until then.
Where they show: on the Strategies page, open Create entry conditions / Edit entry conditions (or the exit ones). Each condition's messages appear right under it. The setting messages ("must be between", "whole number", "must be one of", "must be smaller than") start with the indicator's short name, for example "MACD: Fast must be between 1 and 1000", and keep the conditions from being saved until fixed. The other warnings never block saving and are repeated in the strategy's Entry or Exit section, starting with the condition's name.
Good to know¶
- It is worked out from each candle's open, high, low and close (not volume).
- A candle with no range (high equals low) counts as 0.
- It needs some history before its value settles: the length in candles (14 at length 14). Apathia loads that history for you.