Overkill, the consecutive candles indicator MT4 that calls the end of a one way run
Six green candles in a row look like strength. They usually are, right up to the bar where the last buyer has already bought. Overkill is a non repainting consecutive candles indicator MT4 that counts those runs, measures how far they stretched, and marks the candle where the run finally gives up.
It is not a tool for fighting trends. It is a tool for the moment a trend has gone further in one breath than it can hold.
Click the image to enlarge
Real chart, gold on M15. Five candles in a row take price down without a pause, and the dots track the run while it lasts. Then one candle closes the other way and the arrow prints on it, at 4315. With the stop under the whole run at 4304, gold turned and ran around 240 pips to 4339. We read every price off the chart scale, therefore each figure here rounds against us.
Counting is not enough
Plenty of tools shout after five candles in the same direction. The problem is that five tiny candles inside a quiet range mean nothing at all, while five large ones after a news release mean the move has probably spent itself.
Overkill therefore asks two questions instead of one. How long is the run, and how far did it travel compared with the normal candle of this market? Only when both answers are extreme does it start looking for the turn, which is the practical side of mean reversion.
How the count works
- The run. The engine walks backwards from the last closed candle and counts how many closed in the same direction without a break.
- The stretch. It compares the distance the run covered with the average body of the recent window, so the same setting works on gold and on a quiet currency pair.
- The turn. When the run is long enough and stretched enough, the first candle that closes the other way gets the arrow.
You can also switch the turn off. In that case the arrow prints as soon as the run reaches your limit, which suits traders who prefer to fade early and scale in.
How to trade the consecutive candles indicator MT4 signals
- Treat it as a pause, not a crash. Most of these turns give a pullback. Take profit like it is a pullback and you will keep more of them.
- Stop beyond the whole run, with room. The low of the run for a buy, the high for a sell, plus a little air. The last candles of a run often poke a bit further before the turn sticks, so a stop glued to the extreme gets picked off.
- Prefer signals against a stretched move. The arrow after eight candles and a vertical push is worth far more than the one after five lazy bars.
- Use it to exit, too. If you are already long and the sell arrow appears, that is a reasonable place to take something off the table.
Markets and timeframes
| Gold | M15, the one we recommend, where runs are violent and short |
| Any pair | M15 and above, the shape works the same everywhere |
| Indices and crypto | H1 and H4, after gaps and news |
Use it on M15 or higher, on any pair you follow, because below M15 most runs are just noise. Five is a sensible starting count on the intraday charts, and on H4 or above four is often enough, since every candle carries a lot more weight.
What is inside
- Run counter with an adjustable length, from three candles upwards.
- Stretch filter measured against the average body of the window.
- Reversal arrows on closed candles only, never repainted.
- Optional dots that mark the last candle of every qualifying run.
- Popup, sound, push and email alerts, each one switchable.
- Premium dark chart theme, applied on attach and restored on remove.
The whole engine reads price, so any broker and any account size works. For tools that trade without you, see our automated robots, and for the rest of the manual set, open our chart tools for traders.
Questions about this consecutive candles indicator MT4
Does it repaint? No. The run only counts closed candles, and the arrow needs a closed candle to appear.
Is this a trend reversal tool? Not exactly. It finds exhaustion, which often becomes a pullback inside a trend rather than a full reversal.
What if the market keeps running? Then your stop above the extreme takes you out quickly and cheaply. That is the trade off of fading, and it is why the stretch filter exists.
Do you have it for the other platform? Yes. This is the MetaTrader 4 build, and Overkill for MT5 carries the same counter and the same filters.
Trading involves risk. Signals are information, not advice, so try any new tool on a demo account first and only trade money you can afford to lose.
