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Dracula Strategy: The "Blood-Sucking" Philosophy of the Dark Lord

Nickname: The Dark Lord / Bollinger Band Hunter
Occupation: Specializes in waiting for price to drop to the Bollinger lower band and then "sucking blood" (buying)
Timeframe: 1 Minute + 5 Minute Informational Layer

1. What's This Strategy?​

Put simply, Dracula is a strategy that:

  • Waits for price to drop to the Bollinger lower band (aka the "floor price")
  • At the same time checks if money is flowing in (CMF > 0)
  • Then checks if there's a support level nearby
  • If all checks pass, it buys

Think of it like shopping on Taobao: you only buy when there's a "limited-time discount" + "in stock" + "store is still open" 😏

2. Core Settings: "How Low Will You Buy?"​

Take-Profit Rules (ROI Table)​

Hold Time       Min Profit      Plain English
--------------------------------------------------
0 minutes       10%             Jumped 10% right away? Run!
30 minutes      5%              Held for half an hour, still up 5%? Could also run
60 minutes      2%              Held for an hour, 2% profit — sell it

Translation: This strategy sets a pretty high take-profit target right off the bat — 10%! Probably because if price has already dropped to the Bollinger lower band, the bounceback should be significant.

Stoploss Rules​

Hard stoploss: -20%
Trailing stop: activates after 1% profit, triggers on 3% pullback from high

Translation:

  • Dropped 20% after buying? Cut your losses, no hesitation!
  • Making money? Pull back 3% from the high and run — don't get greedy!

3. 2 Buy Conditions: Here's the Breakdown​

This strategy's buy conditions are pretty complex, so I've grouped them into 2 categories:

🎯 Type #1: Lower Band + Money Inflow + Support Confirmation​

Core Logic: Price just touched the lower Bollinger band, was above support previously, and money is still flowing in

Plain English:

"Wow! Price hit the floor (lower Bollinger band), and money is still pouring in (CMF > 0), there's support ahead holding it up — it won't fall too far. Buy!"

Key Conditions:

  • bb_bbl_i == 1: Price touched lower Bollinger band
  • cmf > 0: Money inflow (money running into the market)
  • close >= support: Price not below support
  • lost_protect: EMA hasn't skyrocketed over the past 10 candles

🎯 Type #2: Lower Band + Direct Support​

Core Logic: Price directly dropped to the lower Bollinger band, open price is above support

Plain English:

"Opened above support, and price just touched the lower Bollinger band — perfect!"

Key Conditions:

  • bb_bbl_i == 1: Touched lower band
  • open >= support: Open price above support
  • Other conditions same as Type #1

4. Protection Mechanism: 1 Layer of "Pitfall Protection"​

This strategy has a "stoploss protection" (lost_protect), like adding a fuse for you:

Protection TypeEffectPlain English
lost_protectEnsures EMA hasn't gone crazy"Don't catch a falling knife after it's already rallied!"

How it works: Over the past 10 candles, EMA has never been above 107% of the close price. If EMA has skyrocketed, it means the coin has already rallied a lot — so we stop buying to avoid chasing.

This strategy is pretty cautious — it knows that "chasing leads to death" 😅

5. Exit Logic: Fancier Than the Buy​

Dracula has 5 types of exit scenarios — even more complex than the buy:

5.1 Resistance Reversal Exit​

Trigger Conditions:
- Previous candle broke through upper Bollinger band
- Current candle closes bearish (down)
- Price near resistance level

"Hit resistance and starting to close bearish — run!"

5.2 Strong Reversal Exit​

Trigger Conditions:
- Current candle broke through upper Bollinger band
- Current candle closes bearish
- Open price far from resistance

"Rallied too hard, broke through the upper band — it's gonna pull back, run!"

5.3 Trend Reversal Exit​

Trigger Conditions:
- Current candle closes bearish
- EMA way above close (over 7%)

"EMA has gone wild, price starting to drop — trend is shifting, run!"

5.4 Lower Bollinger Band Take-Profit​

Trigger Conditions:
- Current candle closes bearish
- Price near lower Bollinger band
- Currently has profit

"Dropped back to the lower band again — take the profit and run!"

5.5 SMA Signal Exit​

Trigger Conditions:
- Buy tag contains "sma"
- Profit >= 1%

"Up 1%, SMA signal triggered — run!"

6. The Strategy's "Personality Traits"​

✅ Pros (The Praise Section)​

  1. Strict conditions: Must satisfy Bollinger + money flow + support simultaneously — fewer fake signals
  2. Money flow filtering: CMF > 0 ensures real money inflow, not "fake rally"
  3. Dynamic support/resistance: Support levels are calculated in real time, not rigid fixed values
  4. Protection mechanism: Prevents chasing after rallies
  5. Multiple exit scenarios: 5 different exit methods covering various situations

⚠️ Cons (The Rant Section)​

  1. Too strict: Often can't find qualifying trades
  2. 1 minute too short: Candle noise is too high, easy to get fooled by "fake signals"
  3. No trend judgment: Doesn't check if you're in an uptrend or downtrend — easy to trade against the trend
  4. Parameters hard to tune: buy_bbt, ewo parameters need careful adjustment

7. When to Use It?​

Market EnvironmentRecommended ActionReason
📈 UptrendCan use itMoney flow confirmation catches trends
🔄 Oscillating marketHighly recommendedBollinger bands work best in ranges
📉 DowntrendDon't useNo trend filtering, easy to catch a falling knife
⚡️ Low volatility consolidationDon't useBollinger bands narrow, no signals

8. Bottom Line: How's This Strategy Really?​

One-Line Verdict​

"A cautious 'buy at the floor' strategy, but conditions are too strict — often can't find opportunities"

Who It's Good For:​

  • ✅ Patient people (few signals, need to wait)
  • ✅ People who like "buying the dip" (specializes in buying at Bollinger lower band)
  • ✅ People who value signal quality (multi-condition confirmation, fewer fake signals)

Who It's NOT For:​

  • ❌ People who want frequent trades (conditions too strict, no signals)
  • ❌ Beginners (code is complex, hard to understand)
  • ❌ People who like chasing rallies (this strategy buys on the way DOWN)

My Suggestions​

  1. Change timeframe from 1m to 5m: 1-minute candles are too short, too noisy
  2. Add trend filtering: Add EMA200 trend check — only go long in uptrends
  3. Don't be greedy: 10% take-profit target is already high — take it when reached
  4. Observe more: This strategy has few signals, but each one is "carefully selected"

9. What Markets Does This Strategy Make Money In?​

9.1 Core Logic: Building a Safety Margin with "Buy the Dip"​

Dracula is a classic mean reversion + money flow confirmation strategy. Code volume is about 300 lines, including a custom support/resistance calculator — like a small textbook on "quantitative investing" 📚

Its money-making philosophy:

  • Price always reverts: Dropped to the lower Bollinger band, it will bounce back eventually
  • Money flow determinesauthentic vs fake: Only a bounce with real money inflow is a real bounce
  • Support is the floor: With support holding, it can't fall much further

9.2 Performance in Different Markets (Plain English Version)​

Market TypeRatingPlain English Explanation
📈 Uptrend⭐⭐⭐⭐☆Catches trends but might sell too early
🔄 Oscillating market⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐This is its home turf!
📉 Downtrend⭐⭐☆☆☆Support levels may not hold — too many knives
⚡️ Consolidation⭐⭐⭐☆☆Bollinger bands narrow, not many opportunities

One-liner: Best in oscillating markets — handle other markets as needed!

10. Want to Run This Strategy? Check These Configs First​

10.1 Trading Pair Configuration​

Config ItemRecommended ValueComments
Number of pairs20-40Strict conditions, need more coins
Max open trades3-5Few opportunities, but don't over-allocate
Timeframe5mSTRONGLY recommend changing! 1m is too short

10.2 Key Config Settings​

# Recommended config
timeframe = "5m"        # Go up a level, don't use 1m
stoploss = -0.20        # Keep default
minimal_roi = {          # Can leave this as is
    "0": 0.10,
    "30": 0.05,
    "60": 0.02
}

10.3 Hardware Requirements (Important!)​

Strategy has moderate computational load, not too demanding on VPS:

Number of PairsMin RAMRecommended RAMExperience
20-40 pairs512MB1GBSmooth
40-80 pairs1GB2GBDecent

10.4 Backtesting vs. Live Trading​

Notes:

  • 1m timeframe may differ between backtesting and live
  • Support/resistance levels are dynamically calculated — may have "future function" issues
  • Recommend backtesting with 5m or higher timeframe

Recommended Process:

  1. Backtest first, observe signal frequency
  2. Dry-run for 2-4 weeks
  3. Small capital live trading for 1 month
  4. Scale up only after confirming effectiveness

Don't go all-in from the start — even the best strategy needs arun-in period period!

11. Bonus: The Strategy Author's "Little Tricks"​

Looking closely at the code, you'll find some interesting things:

  1. Custom Support/Resistance Calculator

    "I wrote the SupResFinder class myself to calculate support and resistance levels!"

  2. CMF Money Flow Indicator

    "I just watch where the money flows — a bounce without money inflow is a fake bounce!"

  3. lost_protect Protection

    "Want to chase? No way! If EMA goes crazy, I won't buy!"

12. Last but Not Least​

One-Line Verdict​

"A strict-condition, high-signal-quality 'buy at the floor' strategy — but requires patience to wait"

Who It's Good For:​

  • ✅ Patient people
  • ✅ People who value signal quality
  • ✅ People who can handle low-frequency trading
  • ✅ People with some quantitative background

Who It's NOT For:​

  • ❌ People who want to trade every day
  • ❌ Beginner players
  • ❌ People who like chasing rallies and cutting losses quickly

Manual Trading Tips​

For manual trading, you can reference it like this:

  • See price drop to the lower Bollinger band
  • Open your trading software, check if CMF > 0
  • Check if there's a support level ahead
  • All three conditions met? Buy!

Remember: The core of this strategy is "wait for the floor, then buy" — don't chase rallies!

⚠️ Final Warning: Risk Re-emphasis (Must Read!)​

Backtesting Looks Great, Live Trading Requires Caution​

Dracula's historical backtesting performance looks good — but there are pitfalls:

Because support/resistance levels are dynamically calculated, backtesting may use "future data" to calculate past support levels, which inflates backtest results.

Simply put: The support levels used in backtesting are actually you "peeking at the future"!

Hidden Risks of Complex Strategies​

In live trading, complex logic may cause:

  • Fewer signals: Conditions too strict, often can't find opportunities
  • Parameter sensitivity: Slight changes in buy_bbt etc. can completely change signals
  • Calculation delay: Dynamic support/resistance needs real-time calculation, may have delays

My Suggestions (Sincere Advice)​

1. Test with 5m timeframe first, don't use 1m
2. Run dry-run for 2-4 weeks, observe signal frequency
3. Small capital live trading for 1 month, scale up after confirming effectiveness
4. Always set stoploss — never gamble!
5. Remember: oscillating markets are its home turf

Remember: Even the best strategy can't withstand the market teaching you a lesson. Test with small capital — survival is the top priority! 🙏