TTM Squeeze
The TTM Squeeze is John Carter's signature volatility-breakout setup and one of the most popular breakout strategies going.
The TTM Squeeze is John Carter's signature volatility-breakout setup and one of the most popular breakout strategies going. It watches for a squeeze - a period of compressed volatility where the Bollinger Bands contract inside the Keltner Channel - and trades the release: when volatility expands back out, price tends to make a decisive directional move. The paired momentum histogram tells you which way to take it, and its cross back through zero is the exit.
It is a medium-difficulty, volatility-breakout strategy that works from 1-hour to daily timeframes, on stocks and crypto - anywhere volatility cycles between quiet and active.
How it trades
| Ingredient | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SQUEEZEON() | 1 while the Bollinger Bands sit inside the Keltner Channel (squeeze on), else 0 |
| MOMENTUM() | The TTM momentum histogram - positive when price leads its mean and rising |
Buy (squeeze releases with upside momentum):
SQUEEZEON() == 0 AND MOMENTUM() > 0
Sell (momentum rolls over):
MOMENTUM() < 0
The strategy sheet writes the entry as
SQUEEZEON() = FALSE.
When it works best
A very popular, versatile breakout method: it waits for volatility to compress, so entries come at low-risk coil points, and the momentum filter keeps you on the right side of the move. Its documented weakness is false breakouts - a squeeze can release and immediately fail, and because the entry fires the moment momentum ticks positive, some releases whipsaw. It works best where volatility genuinely cycles between quiet and active, and pairs naturally with a stop below the coil.
Backtest this strategy yourself
Build these rules on the Free plan, adjust them, and see how they would have traded.