Larry Williams %R Trading Strategy

Explore the Larry Williams %R strategy for S&P 500, using the Williams Percent Range indicator to identify overbought/oversold conditions.

Published · Updated · Methodology: Technical Indicators

Part of: Algorithmic & Automated Trading

  • Methodology: Technical Indicators
  • Content type: strategy
  • Timeframes: Not explicitly stated, but implies daily or higher for S&P 500 backtest.
  • Markets: S&P 500

Indicators used

  • Williams Percent Range (WPR)

Source video

Decoded from: Larry Williams %R Trading Strategy (Backtest+Performance) by Quantified Strategies — watch the original

Key timestamps:

  • 0:00 - Introduction to Williams %R
  • 0:08 - Williams %R definition
  • 0:12 - Strategy annual return
  • 0:15 - Trading rules look-back period
  • 0:20 - Backtesting results overview
  • 0:30 - Performance during crises

Strategy overview

Williams %R, developed by Larry Williams, is a bounded oscillator that measures where the current close sits inside the high-low range of a chosen look-back period, scaled from 0 to -100. That definition is decades old and public, which is why the interesting part of this entry is not the indicator but the format of the source: this is a Quantified Strategies video titled "Larry Williams %R Trading Strategy (Backtest+Performance)", and the artifact it presents is a performance study rather than a new setup.

The running order tells you what the video prioritizes. The definition takes about eight seconds, an annual return figure appears at 0:12 — before the rules — and only then does the index reach the trading rules, where the single dimension singled out is the look-back period. Backtesting results follow at 0:20, and the segment closes at 0:30 with behavior during crisis periods, framed as a separate claim from the headline result. In other words, the look-back setting is treated as the whole rule surface, and the equity index used for the test is treated as the natural habitat for the signal.

That structure is worth reading critically. The timeframe is never stated outright — the S&P 500 backtest implies daily bars or higher, but %R computed on daily data and %R computed intraday are different statements about different things, and a look-back number means nothing until the bar size is fixed. A result reported on one index with one parameter also says little about parameter sensitivity, and "performance during crises" draws on a handful of episodes, so it is a small-sample observation rather than a regime rule. No trading rules were extracted from this video, so this page covers the concept and the source's framing rather than a reconstructed rule set.

Topics

larry williams r · williams percent range strategy · trading strategy · technical indicators · s&p 500 strategy · swing trading · pine script · tradingview strategy · overbought oversold strategy · daily timeframe strategy · indicator trading

Frequently asked questions

What is the Williams %R indicator?

Williams %R, created by Larry Williams, is a momentum oscillator that expresses where the latest close falls within the highest high and lowest low of a selected look-back period, on a scale from 0 (top of the range) to -100 (bottom). It is commonly read as an overbought/oversold gauge.

What does this Quantified Strategies video actually show?

It is a backtest-and-performance format: the video defines %R, states an annual return for the strategy, identifies the look-back period as the key rule input, reviews backtesting results, and then discusses how the approach behaved during crisis periods. It reports outcomes rather than teaching a discretionary method.

Why does the look-back period matter so much for Williams %R?

The look-back defines the range %R is measured against, so it determines whether the reading reflects a short burst of momentum or a longer positional context. It is the parameter the source video calls out explicitly, and changing it changes what the same -80 or -20 reading actually means.

How should I evaluate an indicator strategy that is presented as a backtest?

Check what the test does not state: the bar size, the market or markets used, the parameter values tested, and how many independent episodes support any claim about crisis behavior. Strategy Decoder catalogs strategies like this one from video sources so you can see the framing and run your own test on TradingView before committing capital.

About this strategy page

This trading strategy was decoded by Strategy Decoder's AI from a public YouTube trading video and turned into a structured, reviewable specification. In the interactive app this page shows the full entry and exit logic, risk management settings, the indicators involved with their parameters, AlgoWizard-compatible logic and a Pine Script export ready for TradingView backtesting — plus an automated backtest verdict when one has been computed for this strategy.

Strategy Decoder catalogs 2,229 decoded strategies. Each one is extracted with confidence scoring, cross-linked to the indicators it uses, and kept up to date as new videos are processed daily. Load this page with JavaScript enabled to use the interactive tools, or start from the strategy explorer to filter by methodology, market and timeframe.

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