MA Crossover

What It Does

MA Crossover is the textbook moving-average crossover strategy, kept deliberately minimal.

It watches two simple moving averages of the close: a fast one and a slow one. When the fast average crosses above the slow, it flattens any short position and goes long. When the fast crosses back below, it flattens the long and goes short. The opposite crossover is the only exit; there are no stops or profit targets layered on top.

That means the strategy is always in the market once trading starts, and it accepts whatever drawdown the market delivers between crossovers. It is at its best in sustained directional moves and at its worst in choppy, range-bound regimes where it churns through whipsaws.

The fast and slow periods, the contract, and the timeframe are all chosen at submission time. Defaults are 20 and 50, a common starting pair.

Key Characteristics

• Always in the market after the first valid crossover
• No stops, no profit targets, flip-on-opposite-cross only
• Uses close prices for both SMAs
• Fast and slow periods configurable at submission

Known Weaknesses

• Whipsaws in chop. When the fast and slow MAs hover near each other in sideways tape, every small swing flips the position, producing a string of back-to-back small losses
• Lag at turning points. The cross fires after price has already moved, so on a sharp reversal the strategy gives back a real chunk of the move before flipping
• No protective stop. Always-in-market means an adverse move costs whatever it costs until the opposite cross arrives, regardless of how deep the drawdown gets
• Period sensitivity. The optimal fast/slow pair drifts by instrument and timeframe. The 20/50 default is a reasonable starting point, not a tuned answer for every contract
• No volatility filter. The same period pair behaves differently on a calm day versus a violent one, and the strategy treats both the same

Best In

• Sustained directional sessions with follow-through
• Timeframes where the chosen periods isolate real trend changes instead of noise
• Contracts that tend to move in expansions rather than tight ranges