Barky’s Diagonal Entry Model – Fully Automated

This indicator fully automates the core edges of Barky’s Diagonal Entry Model (DEM) for early-stage reversals and high-conviction continuations on any timeframe or market, right up to the decision making.

• Use the Reversal Bar to define risk into failed breakdowns
• Trade EMA5/12 Curl signals for confirmation breakouts.

Functions / Use

Failed Breakdowns
ECD SNAP alerts identify aggressive wedge breaks and are typically followed by a reversal candle to backtest the breakdown and set up the ‘RT’ (Reversal Trigger). An extended bar highlights the reversal zone.

The Backtest Sets Up the Entry
The distance between the reversal candle high and low defines risk for position sizing and projects the 1R target towards the setup high. After sellers have their shot at defence, the setup is A+ and ready for a trigger.

Continuation
The failed breakdown confirms as sellers stop out and buyers enter the trade. The 5/12 Curl label confirms the reversal and momentum shift as buyers take full control over price. Take partial profits as price sweeps the old high, then wait for the higher low to start trailing, and wait for the next setup to add.

Get Notifications
To set alerts for directional break attempts (continuation), select the indicator in your Tradingview indicator dialog, hit the three dots right next to the trash bin and select “Add alert”.

Select direction and timeframe to set the alert, and get notified every time price attempts EMA9 continuation on your timeframe of choice.

For example, if your edge is 5 minute failed breakdowns, set the alert to ECD SNAP – Bearish, and the timeframe to 5 minutes.

Customisation
Excellent ‘clutter control’.

• Can turn on/off any label alert without interrupting notifications
• Change text size, colours and toggle “shorten label texts” for ultimate noise reduction
• Offset labels vertically to get them away from price action
• Reduce the amount of historical labels to just one per direction, up to unlimited for backtesting

Trend State Dashboard — Chop vs Trend

The dashboard confirms whether price is in a trend or a chop stage. A trend is confirmed when price displaces consistently away from a range and holds beyond the previous chop zone — not simply when it moves higher or lower. When the dashboard switches from Trend to Chop, that is the actionable moment: price has neutralised the EMA9 and initiates the “EMA Dance”. A temporary high or low has been established, and a consolidation is setting up. This is the stage to come to the screen and look for a setup. Chop allows both reversal and continuation trades depending on context. A new trend is only confirmed when price displaces away from the chop range and holds — when the signal flips, the probability of price holding the EMA9 on the first pullback increases significantly. Until the EMA9 has been tested, assume consolidation is still in play and avoid treating any move as a breakout.

5/12 Curl Labels

The 5/12 Curl signal is intended to inform traders when momentum and timing are right for a strong counter trend move. When the signal forms, the EMA9 has to prove that it is ready to lead — meaning price has to backtest it for confirmation and push to a new high or low to confirm the entry. There is no guarantee that the EMA9 will hold the backtest, and traders can never front run the entry.

Confirmation is key and can be managed on the related timeframe below, where an entry model is always present at the time the 5/12 curl label plots.

The curl signal fails when the EMA9 doesn’t support price and the entry doesn’t trigger.

The 5/12 curl label only plots once per trend end. Continuation of the underlying trend has failed, and combined with a failed curl signal, the immediate reversal fails as well, initiating basing on the current timeframe, a sideways range that is governed by the EMA34/50 cloud for directional bias — that is the higher timeframe EMA9.

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Continuation Signals in Barky’s DEM Suite

The indicator has three main continuation signal systems:

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False Breaks – BT/RT Lines — Backtest/Reversal Trigger

The setup requires an existing trend to trade against. A range is isolated using the most recent setup high and low. Price breaks one boundary in the direction of the trend, triggering the BT/RT line alert, initiating the two-sided negotiation that underlies every continuation and reversal. The three concepts below are not independent entries — they describe the same move unfolding in stages, each one setting up the next.

9BT (EMA9 Push): The probe. When the higher low or lower high structure is already in place as the BT/RT line triggers, and the EMA9 is close and actively pushing price through the level, the immediate break can be entered. Without that underlying trend structure, the 9BT is a false break and requires a backtest to confirm. The stop sits at the base of the push candle in anticipation of the most common outcome — immediate exhaustion — which creates the first pullback along the EMA9 and sets up the BT.

BT (Backtest Entry): The confirmation entry, with a 97% success rate compared to the 9BT’s 70% failure rate. It is the most disciplined of the three because it requires the ability to suppress FOMO. Price breaks the level, closes away from the EMA9, then pulls back into it — sellers attempting to maintain balance and force price back inside the range. When the EMA9 holds, it confirms that the break is real and pushes price back through. That failed attempt to reclaim the range is the entry, triggering at least the stops of those that attempted to reclaim the range — but because the BT/RT line alert had fired, price is also making a significant new high or low, which draws breakout traders into the play. The combination of forced stop runs and fresh breakout entries is what creates the explosive follow-through that makes the BT so reliable. Without a higher low in uptrends or a lower high in downtrends, there is no BT — only an untested 9BT.

The orange 9BT level marks the EMA9 backtest level and the final invalidation line: a close above it confirms the break has failed.

RT (Reversal Trigger): The same formation that sets up the BT entry forms the reversal setup. When a backtest sets up, but doesn’t trigger the confirmation entry but instead closes back inside the range, it sets up a failed breakdown, exposing the opposing side’s stops. The first candle to close back inside the range is the RT entry, targeting EMA9 primarily, with the opposite boundary of the identified range secondary. The minimum requirement is a 1:1 risk/reward ratio to the first target. The RT is essentially a scalp, but when the setup coincides with a higher timeframe context, the RT is not a standalone signal — it emerges from a specific point within the Diagonal Entry Model, identifying where the earliest possible reversal entry exists, before price sets up a formal breakout consolidation. In practice it proves more consistent than the entry diagonal itself, primarily because the earliest entry offers the best risk/reward by far.

The sequential relationship: These three entries are not independent choices — they describe the same move unfolding in stages. The 9BT push frequently exhausts and creates the very higher low that validates the BT. The RT at the top of a failed swing sets up the BT entry on the return. Understanding that each stage feeds the next is what separates a structured, risk-informed entry from an impulsive one.

The elegance of this is that the BT trader and the RT trader are watching the exact same candle configuration — one needs it to break out, the other is waiting for it to fail. Same setup, opposite sides, both with defined risk.

What the BT/RT line does not tell you is whether a break is genuine or a sweep. That context comes from the surrounding imbalance structure — which boundary was broken, what timeframe imbalance sits above or below, and whether the move took out a significant pivot or merely a local one. A break that sweeps an old high or low with immediate rejection reads very differently from one that displaces cleanly through structure.

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Control Bar System — “CB” Candles

Barky’s Control Bars are unique in the trading world. They identify three-candle continuation and reversal patterns in alignment with EMA9 trend structure — plotting an orange signal line at the actionable level where a continuation attempt either confirms or fails.

Every Control Bar signal marks the moment a higher low or lower high has formed and the pattern is seeking continuation. The orange signal line is the actionable level — it can be traded direct on the timeframe observed, or used as context for a Diagonal Entry Model on the related lower timeframe. Combining with the lower timeframe DEM maximises precision and tightens risk. Whether price is contracted or expanded, the CB identifies where the next move initiates or fails. Read More

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Volatility Contractions

Barky’s Volatility Contractions identify where an expansion has paused and range has compressed to its tightest point — drawing a Neutralisation Box around the contraction zone and Trigger Levels at the body of the Trigger Bar. These are not standalone signals. They become high-probability setups when combined with EMA structure and a Diagonal Entry Model on the related lower timeframe. Read more

Reversal Bars (ECD-RT)

When price breaks a setup high or low, and ECD Snap alert fires, alerting that a setup is about to form. This can be a contraction (Diagonal Entry Model) or any of the other edges, but the ECD Snap function initiates the search for a Reversal Bar specifically.

They work as a two-step sequence: The ECD Snap is the trigger, the Reversal Bar forms the setup: the indicator draws a shaded box around a candle body and labels it “Reversal Candle.

The reversal candle is an ECD-RT when the highlighted candle has a small body that formed close to the setup low (during breakdowns) or high (during breakouts), with a long rejection wick pointing towards the EMA9. The smaller the candle body, the stronger the signal.

The entry parameter is specific: the next candle has to open near the close of the reversal bar, then push toward the exhaustion wicks first, and even better if it sweeps them, then move back through the body levels to confirm the entry.

This is a knife catch concept that is high probability when price comes into a key level or zone for acceptance, or other pre-planned levels after a strong flush.

The stop goes beyond the exhaustion wicks, risk is measured from the body to the extreme of the sweep (the lowest low or highest high). Typically good for 1R towards the reversal candle’s wick extreme, at which point partials can be taken and the stop moved to breakeven, making the remainder of the trade risk-free.

Important Notes:

• This is primarily a technical scalp or short-term bounce setup. As a ‘knife catch’ at a specific pre-planned level, it can sometimes turn into a larger reversal, but in the majority of cases, the target is simply the EMA9 and the breakdown backtest, where rejection has to be anticipated.
• The rejection then initiates a Diagonal Entry Model setup (setup low and setup high – exhaustion and rejection).

Continuation Gaps — “Conviction”

These are the core continuation confirmation tools. They fire when price breaks a structural pivot and leaves a gap (Fair Value Gap) behind.

How they work: The script tracks pivot highs and lows. When price breaks above a pivot high and the next candle leaves a gap (current low > two bars ago high), a green breakout box is drawn. The reverse applies for breakdowns — a red breakdown box forms.

These boxes serve two purposes. First, they confirm a strong directional move has begun. Second, they act as dynamic support/resistance as long as price stays on the correct side. If price closes back through a box, it’s automatically deleted — the gap is “filled” and the continuation signal is invalidated.

They also trigger KEY SUPPORT / KEY RESISTANCE labels at the pivot level that initiated the break, marking structurally ‘protected’ highs and lows. The concept of protection is suggested by the anticipation of resting orders to get filled the first time price tests the continuation gap.

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How They Work Together

Every signal in the indicator is an expression of the same underlying principle: price can only reverse through a failed break or a failed swing. The signals don’t just layer on top of each other — they describe the same move from different angles, and recognising that is what separates a readable chart from a cluttered one.

A BT/RT line fires when price makes a significant new high or low, marking the level that must hold for the move to continue. A CB signal plots when the EMA9 backtest confirms a higher low or lower high at that level — defining the entry. A Continuation Gap confirms that the break was real and that price has left the range behind.

The gap doesn’t always form before the entry. Often it forms as price accelerates away, confirming what the BT/RT line and CB signal already suggested. When all three align, the conviction is highest. When only two are present, the trade is still valid — but the missing piece is worth knowing about.

Each signal alone tells part of the story. Together, they tell you where price came from, where it broke, and whether the break is holding. That is the complete picture, and learning to read it in real time is what the course is for.

The honest version is simpler: the three signals describe one move, they just don’t always arrive in the same order. Sometimes the gap leads, sometimes it trails. The entry is the same either way.

The intended confluence flow is:

1. A Continuation Gap confirms a structural break and establishes direction
2. A BT/RT line marks the level to watch for a backtest
3. A CB signal forms at the EMA9 backtest inside or near the gap zone, providing the specific risk-defined entry

Alternatively:

1. A BT/RT line marks the level to watch for a backtest and establishes intended direction
2. A CB signal forms at the EMA9 backtest, providing the specific risk-defined entry
3. A Continuation Gap confirms the initiation of a strong structural break and the intended direction

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