Hunter3BP — 3-Bar Play Strategy for NinjaTrader 8

Overview

Hunter3BP is an automated 3-bar play strategy for NinjaTrader 8. It looks for a specific three-bar price action sequence: a wide-range ignition candle, a small-bodied pause that holds the move, then a directional break that triggers the entry. The pattern is universal — the strategy runs on any liquid futures market without needing market-specific tuning.

How It Works

The strategy checks each new bar for the setup pattern. Bar [2] must be an ignition candle — a wide-range bar with a body that meets a minimum ATR-relative size, a high close-in-range fraction, and a small counter-wick. Bar [1] must be a pause — a small-bodied bar with a body smaller than a configurable fraction of the ignition body, optionally required to hold the ignition midpoint. Bar [0] is the trigger — a break above the pause and ignition high (long) or below their low (short), with an optional ATR buffer to filter weak breaks.

Stops sit beyond the pause low (long) or pause high (short) with an ATR cushion. Targets are measured moves: TP1 at a configurable multiple of the ignition range, TP2 at a larger multiple. A runner can be left on for trends that extend past TP2.

Why 3-Bar Plays

The ignition-pause-trigger sequence is one of the cleanest identifiable price action setups. The ignition shows participants are committed in one direction, the pause shows the move is holding rather than reversing, and the trigger confirms continuation rather than chasing the top of an extended move. Hunter3BP automates this pattern with explicit, measurable rules instead of discretionary judgment.

Risk Management

Every trade carries a predefined stop, profit target, and position size. Because every threshold is ATR-relative, the same parameters scale naturally across instruments with different tick sizes and daily ranges. The strategy supports static, trailing, ATR, and 3BP-native exit modes. A daily trade cap, weekly trade counter, daily P&L limits, force close, and three configurable blackout windows all keep exposure inside session boundaries.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Backtests assume realistic slippage and commissions.

Methodology

Hunter3BP follows the same disciplined development process applied to every Hunters Algo strategy. Visit the methodology page for details on testing and validation.

Access

Hunter3BP is included in the NinjaTrader Suite subscription. See the pricing page for current plans and a free trial.