Glossary
Quick reference for acronyms, metrics, and terms used throughout the system. This is the page the rest of the wiki points back to whenever a concept needs a deeper definition.
If a page gives a short plain-English explanation and you want the exact technical definition, come back here.
Metrics & Scores
| Term |
Full Name |
Definition |
| BQS |
Bounce Quality Score |
Precomputed 0-1 score per ticker combining historical bounce rate, magnitude, and consistency. Higher = better mean reversion candidate. Used as primary sort key in Plan Alpha. Refreshed weekly (Sunday 8 PM PT). |
| PF |
Profit Factor |
Gross profit / gross loss. PF > 1.5 = edge worth trading. PF > 2.0 = strong edge. |
| WR |
Win Rate |
Percentage of trades that are profitable. Context-dependent — high WR with thin PF can still lose. |
| RSI |
Relative Strength Index |
Wilder's RSI using EWM (com=period-1). System uses RSI(5) for Plan Alpha and RSI(14) elsewhere. |
| SMA |
Simple Moving Average |
Arithmetic mean of last N closes. SMA200 = 200-day SMA, primary trend filter. |
| EMA |
Exponential Moving Average |
Weighted moving average favoring recent prices. EMA5/9/21/50 used in Plan H and Plan C. |
| RV |
Realized Volatility |
20-day annualized volatility of daily returns. RV >= 15% qualifies Plan C. |
| MFE |
Maximum Favorable Excursion |
Best unrealized P&L during a trade's life. Used in forward test analysis. |
| MAE |
Maximum Adverse Excursion |
Worst unrealized P&L during a trade's life. Used to calibrate stops. |
| ATR |
Average True Range |
14-day ATR. Used for Plan M stop placement (2 ATR) and forward test milestones. |
| OI |
Open Interest |
Outstanding option contracts. Minimum OI = 5x estimated contracts for Plan Alpha. |
| DTE |
Days to Expiration |
Calendar days until option expiry. Plan Alpha: 30-120 DTE. Plan M: 30-120 DTE. |
| MFO |
Multi-Frame Overlap |
Breakout signal strength across timeframes. Used in Plan H dual-slot logic. |
| COT |
Commitment of Traders |
CFTC weekly report. Yen COT (75/25 raw signal) used for Plan M short sizing. |
Options Terms
| Term |
Definition |
| Delta (Δ) |
Probability proxy and directional exposure. 0.30Δ = ~30% ITM probability. Plan Alpha targets 0.30Δ calls; Plan M targets 0.80Δ puts/calls. |
| OCC Symbol |
Options Clearing Corporation format: SYMYYMMDDCSSSSSSSS (e.g. GILD260515C00150000 = GILD May 15 2026 150 Call). |
| Spread % |
Bid-ask spread as percentage of mid price. Max 15% for Plan Alpha. |
| Strike Walking |
Iterating through strikes to find the closest to target delta with acceptable liquidity. |
| Expiration Walking |
Iterating through expirations (monthlies first, then weeklies) within DTE range. |
Regime & Strategy
| Term |
Definition |
| Regime |
Market classification based on SPY 20-day return: Bull (>+2%), Choppy (-2% to +2%), Transition (-4% to -2%), Crash (<-4%). |
| Episode |
A cluster of Plan Alpha signal days within 7 calendar days. Entry window = first 2 signal days only. |
| Catastrophic Stop |
Emergency exit if stock closes below SMA200 * 0.93 (-7% from SMA200). |
| Hybrid Exit |
Plan Alpha exit rule: if green at day 4 close → exit; else hold to day 5 close. |
| SICADFU |
Sit In Cash And Don't F*** Up. The "do nothing" plan for regimes with no edge. Park in SGOV. |
| OVTLYR |
External signal provider for Plan M swing trades. Produces long/short candidates daily. |
Infrastructure
| Term |
Definition |
| PIT Universe |
Point-in-time S&P 500 membership. Avoids survivorship bias in backtests. |
| BQS Precompute |
Weekly Sunday job that calculates BQS and sector data for all S&P 500 tickers. |
| GCS |
Google Cloud Storage. Used for state sync between Mac Studio and GCP VM. |
| Warmup |
Plan Alpha 14:45 ET pre-screen. Runs RSI check before the main 1:30 PM PT screener. |
| Forward Test |
Live paper tracking of signals against backtest benchmarks. Plan M short tracker started 2026-03-14. |
SMA200 Distance Buckets (Plan Alpha)
Backtested 2016-2026. Distance = (close - SMA200) / SMA200.
This table answers a specific question: when a stock is above its 200-day trend line, how far above it is "healthy pullback" versus "too close to breaking down" or "already overextended"?
| Distance |
Win Rate |
Avg P&L |
Verdict |
| 0-1% |
64.5% |
0.90% |
Filtered out — too close to breakdown |
| 1-2% |
77.7% |
1.96% |
Strong |
| 2-3% |
75.6% |
2.31% |
Best avg P&L |
| 3-5% |
73.0% |
1.87% |
Solid |
| 5-10% |
79.2% |
1.74% |
Highest win rate |
| 10-20% |
75.6% |
1.06% |
Returns diminish |
| 20%+ |
47.1% |
-0.78% |
Net loser — skip |