⚡ Opening Range Breakout

Intraday breakout scans computed from minute data

Playbook Checklist

Core Idea

The first 5–15 minutes set the tone. When price escapes the opening range on strong relative volume, it often kicks off the day’s dominant trend.

Setup

Draw the high and low from 9:30 a.m. to your selected range length (default 15 minutes).
Track the average volume of the first five 1-minute bars to define the “normal” opening pace.
Watch for a 1-minute candle to close outside the range with volume above that opening average.

Execution

Long: Breakout close above the opening high. Stop just below the range low. Take partial profits at 1R and trail with EMA(9) or prior candle lows.
Short: Breakdown close beneath the opening low. Stop just above the range high. Scale out at 1R and trail with EMA(9) or prior highs.
Skip if the opening range is excessively wide; this often signals early indecision.

Optional Filters

Use ATR to size risk per share or define tiered position sizes.
Only trade in the direction of the pre-market drift to stay aligned with overnight sentiment.

All times are shown in US/Eastern.

Symbols (comma separated)

Opening range (minutes)

Volume factor

Max range %

Max range × ATR

ATR length

Align with pre-market trend

Auto refresh (30s)

Trade date (optional)

Active Breakouts

Symbol	Direction	Breakout Time	Entry	Stop	Target (1R)	Range High	Range Low	Range %	Volume x	Pre-Market	ATR	ATR ÷ Risk

Strategy Handbook: Using Opening Range Breakouts

What You’re Trading

The Opening Range Breakout (ORB) looks for a directional move once the market decides which way it wants to trend after the open. We define an “opening range” using the first 5–15 minutes (default 15). A breakout occurs only when a one-minute candle closes outside that range with volume running hotter than the opening average.

Daily Workflow

Start collecting data at the open (9:30 a.m. ET) but do not act until the chosen window (e.g., 9:30–9:45) completes.
Run the scan right after the range closes. Allow the first breakout candle to complete (you need a confirmed close outside the range).
Leave auto-refresh on (15s cadence) or manually rerun every few minutes to catch new breakouts for at least the next 60–90 minutes.

Interpreting the Table

Direction: LONG when price breaks the range high, SHORT when it breaks the low.
Entry / Stop / Target: Entry is the breakout close, stop lives just outside the opposing range edge, target marks +1R.
Range %: Sickly wide ranges (e.g., >2%) often lead to chop; tighter ranges mean less effort to break free.
Range Caps: We block setups if the opening range exceeds your chosen ATR multiple (default 0.60× ATR14), so you only see names whose early move still leaves room for follow-through.
Volume x: Anything >1 means the breakout candle had more volume than the opening average. Prefer 1.5x or greater for conviction.
Pre-Market: Gives directional context; matching the pre-market drift reduces fighting overnight bias.

Best Practices

Let the breakout candle close and confirm. Enter on the next candle or on a quick retest.
Scale out at 1R, then trail with EMA(9) or successive candle lows/highs.
Skip names with stratospheric spreads or extremely thin option/stock liquidity even if they flag.
Make sure broader market context (index level, news headlines, macro data) isn’t at odds with the breakout direction.

Automation Tips

Use the 15-second auto-refresh when actively trading. For a lighter workflow, toggle it on through the morning session (until ~11:00 a.m. ET), then switch to manual checks as volume and volatility taper.