# The Banana Strategy

The Banana Strategy is a **price-action continuation method** based on identifying an impulse move followed by a controlled pullback, then entering in the direction of the original impulse once the pullback completes.

The core idea: markets move in waves. After a strong directional push (the *impulse*), price retraces partially (the *pullback*) before continuing. Banana EA MT5 detects these structures on every **closed bar** and places an entry in anticipation of the continuation.

## The three-phase structure[​](#the-three-phase-structure "Direct link to The three-phase structure")

```
       Impulse ↑

    ┌────────────┐

    │            │  Pullback ↓

    │            └──────────┐

    │                       │  Signal / Entry ↑

    │                       └──────────────────►

 Swing                  Signal bar

  Low                  (closed bar)
```

1. **Impulse** — A sharp, directional move away from a swing point. The EA validates impulse strength using candle count, efficiency (net vs total range), and ATR comparison.
2. **Pullback** — Price retraces back toward the swing in an orderly fashion (limited wick violations, no progressive deep pullback).
3. **Signal bar** — The closed bar where the pattern completes. The EA places a pending stop order above the signal high (BUY) or below the signal low (SELL).

***

## Signal families[​](#signal-families "Direct link to Signal families")

| Family     | Patterns          | Character                       |
| ---------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------- |
| **Banana** | B1, B2, B3        | Momentum / swing continuation   |
| **Seed**   | Seed TP, Seed TTP | Precision inside-bar structures |

Each family is independently enabled or disabled. By default all three Banana patterns are active and Seed patterns are off.

***

## Entry engine modes[​](#entry-engine-modes "Direct link to Entry engine modes")

The **Entry engine** input selects the detection algorithm:

| Mode           | Description                                                   |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Current Banana | Production Banana engine, recommended default                 |
| Test           | Test harness mode used for development or support diagnostics |

For most users, leave this at **Current Banana**.

***

## How the EA fires a trade[​](#how-the-ea-fires-a-trade "Direct link to How the EA fires a trade")

1. On each bar close the EA evaluates the closed bar against all enabled signal patterns.
2. A detected pattern passes through the active market filters (EMA stack, ATR, daily range, session gate, etc.).
3. If all filters pass, the EA places a **pending stop order** (or market order, if configured) at the signal candle extreme plus the configured buffer pips.
4. The pending order is held for up to **Pending expiry in entry bars, 0 disables**. If price does not trigger it, the order is cancelled.
5. Once triggered, trade management (break-even, partial close, trailing) runs on every tick.

See [Banana Patterns](/banana-ea/mt5/docs/strategy/banana-patterns.md), [Seed Patterns](/banana-ea/mt5/docs/strategy/seed-patterns.md), and [Signal Filters](/banana-ea/mt5/docs/strategy/signal-filters.md) for full detail on each stage.