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MTF Engulf / Engulf fail

  • #1
  • First Post: Edited Nov 9, 2025 7:58am Sep 21, 2023 6:39am | Edited Nov 9, 2025 7:58am
- i use engulf for 2 candles as per picture 1 at the bottom.
- Engulf does not apply to 2 candles only, it can be in multiple candles variations as per picture 2 at the bottom.
eg. the same 2 candles engulf in d1 appears as multiple candles in h4.
- Engulf becomes Engulf Fail acting like a break of structure as per picuture 3 at the bottom.

some videos are not available anymore probably because of copyright issues.
years had passed, i can't remember what videos are those.
the most beneficial videos i find would be from egsolutionsfx and king zulfan.
search these 2 names from youtube or the internet.

Get to know the overall concept in these 2 videos.

Inserted Video


Inserted Video



The formula is this:

1. Market open
2. Key level (confluence of htf direction and trade control)
3. Entry pattern ef/eg retest


Rules
3 Time Frames Alignment in same Direction Set Up

(1) HTF Direction Set Up (W1, D1, H4 Engulf/Engulf Fail)

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concept: of engulf / engulf fail flowing to the next engulf / engulf fail

https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/...7#post14608247
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/...9#post14608979
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/...3#post14610713

(2) Trade Control (H1, M30, M15 Engulf/Engulf Fail)
Also act as Road Blocks

When price pullback/returns to the htf h4 Engulf zone (the lowest direction time frame).
Drop down to h1 or m30 or m15 and find Trade Control Engulf/Engulf Fail set up at Current Market Price or at the back historically (more risky).
Or
take the Trade Control Engulf/Engulf Fail as the Trade Entry set up at Current Market Price as long as you are comfortable with the Stop Loss.
Entry upon retest of Engulf/Engulf Fail Trade Entry zone.
Stop Loss - candle close outside the trade entry eg/ef zone.
Take Profit - one or two opposite Engulf away or support / resistant.

(3) Confirmation Entry at Current Market Price (M15, M5 to M1 Engulf/Engulf Fail)

When price pullback/returns to Trade Control Engulf/Engulf Fail zone
Drop down to m15, m5 to m1 and find Engulf/Engulf Fail Trade Entry set up at CMP.
Entry upon retest of Engulf/Engulf Fail set up zone.
Stop Loss - candle close outside the trade entry eg/ef zone.
Take Profit - one (htf) or two (ltf) opposite Engulf away or support / resistant.

The ideal Trade Entry set up would be a combination of Engulf Fail first, then pullback to Engulf .
This would very much depend on the trader himself whether he has the discipline and patience to wait for it.

(4) The Importance of Market Open
Trade entry at the right price level and the right time.
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/...5#post14930745

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Always cultivate a daily habit to be disciplined, patient and consistent.

These are the 3 Pillars of Trading and are keys to a successful outcome.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” — Jim Rohn
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #2
  • Sep 21, 2023 6:40am Sep 21, 2023 6:40am
spotted m30 bearish engulf set up.
h4 bearish engulf support the flow direction.
m30 entry on retest of bearish engulf.
tp at bullish engulf.
some more examples to come.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #3
  • Sep 21, 2023 7:07am Sep 21, 2023 7:07am
spotted h4 bullish engulf fail set up.
d1 bearish engulf support the flow direction.
m30 entry on retest of bearish engulf.
tp at bullish engulf.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #4
  • Sep 21, 2023 7:38am Sep 21, 2023 7:38am
spotted h4 bearish engulf set up.
d1 bearish engulf support the flow direction.

it was 30 min after the fomc statement fed rate announcement.
m30 entry on retest of bearish engulf.
tp at bullish engulf.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #5
  • Sep 21, 2023 8:05am Sep 21, 2023 8:05am
gold touching the d1 bullish engulf.
there are also h4 bullish engulf, one within, one below.
i think price wants to go further down.
probably nyse open can provide some clue.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #6
  • Sep 21, 2023 9:42am Sep 21, 2023 9:42am
Hi Inthebox,

I love this Method of Trading.
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  • #7
  • Sep 21, 2023 10:03am Sep 21, 2023 10:03am
Quoting stevepatt
Hi Inthebox, I love this Method of Trading. {image} {image} {image} {image}
ya me too.
it is quite mechanical.
makes you wait for the entry with the sl.
like one shot one kill.
like a crocodile waiting by the river bank for prey.

maybe when traders are more familiar, can post the set up when its near or approaching the engulf zone.
then we can all have some discussion on that.
ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #8
  • Sep 21, 2023 10:44am Sep 21, 2023 10:44am
Quoting Inthebox
spotted h4 bearish engulf set up. d1 bearish engulf support the flow direction. it was 30 min after the fomc statement fed rate announcement. m30 entry on retest of bearish engulf. tp at bullish engulf. {image}
Greetings Inthebox, thank you for setting up this thread. I am interested in this HTF approach
I have viewed Engulfing from 'the old school' , I guess,
where a single candle encompasses an entire (shadows included) previous candle or candles.
The examples posted earlier are different from my experience.
Would you post some examples of Engulfing as you define them and apply them in your trading with the Rules posted .

Thank you kindly,
  • #9
  • Sep 21, 2023 10:45am Sep 21, 2023 10:45am
Quoting Inthebox
{quote} ya me too. it is quite mechanical. makes you wait for the entry with the sl. like one shot one kill. like a crocodile waiting by the river bank for prey. maybe when traders are more familiar, can post the set up when its near or approaching the engulf zone. then we can all have some discussion on that.

Hi Inthebox,

I must admit I only Trade GBP/USD and I use M15 for my Levels of Interet and M1 Price Action to Enter

I will start to look at HTF Confluence

Is it ok, for me, to Post Lower Time Frame Setups?

I don't want to start on the wrong foot
  • #10
  • Edited 11:07am Sep 21, 2023 10:55am | Edited 11:07am
GBP/USD H4 M30 Observations
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  • #11
  • Sep 21, 2023 11:55am Sep 21, 2023 11:55am
Quoting Lou
{quote} Greetings Inthebox, thank you for setting up this thread. I am interested in this HTF approach I have viewed Engulfing from 'the old school' , I guess, where a single candle encompasses an entire (shadows included) previous candle or candles. The examples posted earlier are different from my experience. Would you post some examples of Engulfing as you define them and apply them in your trading with the Rules posted . Thank you kindly,
yes there are different views of what engulfing is.
to me, we look at the body first, then the shadow.
the body has to engulf previous body.
if bearish the bottom shadow has to engulf the previous shadow, the top shadow need not.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #12
  • Sep 21, 2023 12:06pm Sep 21, 2023 12:06pm
Quoting stevepatt
{quote} Hi Inthebox, I must admit I only Trade GBP/USD and I use M15 for my Levels of Interet and M1 Price Action to Enter I will start to look at HTF Confluence Is it ok, for me, to Post Lower Time Frame Setups? I don't want to start on the wrong foot
as you are an experienced trader, you can use any time frame for set up.
however there has to be a higher time frame engulf to support the direction flow of the lower time frame set up.
ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #13
  • Sep 21, 2023 12:12pm Sep 21, 2023 12:12pm
Quoting Inthebox
{quote} yes there are different views of what engulfing is. to me, we look at the body first, then the shadow. the body has to engulf previous body. if bearish the bottom shadow has to engulf the previous shadow, the top shadow need not. {image}
Nice.. I like the added 'rule' where the shadow must engulf the previous shadow .. in the intended direction.
  • #14
  • Edited 4:59pm Sep 21, 2023 2:18pm | Edited 4:59pm
Hi, I looked at this some years ago (example no.2 in Inthebox's post no.11) to see if a potential/theoretical edge exists and at least on one pairing (gbpusd) over a very large historical sample on each t/f from 5min - daily there probably was one, but the ratio was something like 55% win: 45% lose...making a circa 2:1 reward:risk tactic essential for profitability across any given sample size of 20+ instances. Of course, this assumes you can get the psychology right as well, but using such a tactic it should just be a set-and-forget play? I made no allowances for movement of stop whilst a 2:1 successful trade was playing out. This could be looked at to try at least to minimize the losses? It may be different on other pairings/instruments of course, and indeed the pattern may have changed re the repeating market behaviour that gives rise to it, in the intervening years since my large-sample test. These factors may turn out to be positive or negative as regards whether an edge still exists on gbpusd, and/or other pairings/instruments, and t/f's.Remember with that 55% win rate your most typical consecutive max losing run of trades will be 6, and although lower in probability - up to 11, so your risk management should amply allow for this. An Ea would be easy to make too I guess.

Good Luck with it.
Trader with an Edge.
  • #15
  • Sep 21, 2023 8:59pm Sep 21, 2023 8:59pm
Quoting Inthebox
gold touching the d1 bullish engulf. there are also h4 bullish engulf, one within, one below. i think price wants to go further down. probably nyse open can provide some clue. {image}
h1 bullish engulf set up.
d1 bullish engulf support the direction flow.
m30 entry on retest of bullish engulf.
tp at bearish engulf.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #16
  • Sep 21, 2023 9:21pm Sep 21, 2023 9:21pm
i would like to mention here that at new york 10am there was a large candle closing above the bullish engulf.
i guess many traders like me would be wondering to buy or not.
will price shoot up to the top of resistant?
or will price retrace?
it's up to individual decision.
i bought and put tp at the top of m30 bearish engulf.
price went up 29 pips but got rejected at the base of bearish engulf.
shifted my SL to protect trade.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #17
  • Sep 21, 2023 9:34pm Sep 21, 2023 9:34pm
Quoting Headland
Hi, I looked at this some years ago (example no.2 in Inthebox's post no.11) to see if a potential/theoretical edge exists and at least on one pairing (gbpusd) over a very large historical sample on each t/f from 5min - daily
maybe you can do another exercise using 2 times frames as in post 1, instead of 1 time frame.
the analogy is like catching the 2nd wind of a higher time frame.
probably m30 engulf entry after a retracement to the h4 engulf zone.
ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #18
  • Sep 21, 2023 9:44pm Sep 21, 2023 9:44pm
i find it rather odd that these 2 pairs can travel in the same direction.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #19
  • Sep 21, 2023 9:52pm Sep 21, 2023 9:52pm
maybe something will happen.
but it's a big range.
note that there is a gbp pmi announcement.
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ITB - Seeing Orderliness amongst 'Randomness'
  • #20
  • Sep 21, 2023 11:01pm Sep 21, 2023 11:01pm
Quoting Inthebox
{quote} as you are an experienced trader, you can use any time frame for set up. however there has to be a higher time frame engulf to support the direction flow of the lower time frame set up.
Please correct me, if I got it wrong.

1. We are using engulfs across 3 TFs.
2. The Higher TF engulf is for the Directional flow.
3. The Mid TF engulf is for the Setup.
4. The Lower TF engulf is for the Entry.
5. TP will be the most recent opposite engulf in the SETUP TF (MID TF).

Also, what are the criteria to choose the TFs?

Success = Practice + Patience + Persistence
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