The DIBS Method, developed and popularised by Peter Crowns on ForexFactory is a simple yet powerful way of trading inside bars on the hourly chart.

It’s built on one core principle: trade breakouts in the direction of the day’s bias (up or down from the daily open).

By combining tight risk, clear rules, and market timing, it offers traders a structured way to catch intraday trends with favourable risk/reward.

How the Strategy Works

1. Define the Daily Open (06:00 GMT)
   • The method always starts from a fixed opening point: 06:00 GMT.
   • At any moment, price is considered “up” if it’s above the daily open and “down” if it’s below.
2. Spot Inside Bars (IBs)
   • An inside bar is a candle whose high is lower than the previous bar’s high and whose low is higher than the previous bar’s low.
   • Focus on inside bars forming within the first 6–10 hours of the session, when institutional flows are strongest.
3. Trade Breakouts in the Day’s Direction
   • If price is above the daily open, place a buy stop 1 pip above the inside bar’s high (plus spread).
   • If price is below the daily open, place a sell stop 1 pip below the inside bar’s low (plus spread).
   • Stops go on the opposite side of the inside bar.
4. Manage Risk and Profits
   • Close half at 1:1 reward/risk (the “Free Trade Target”), moving the rest to a “free trade.”
   • Let the remainder run with the original stop or trail behind support/resistance or a moving average.

Key Principles

• Trade with the daily bias: Only buy on up days, only sell on down days.
• Low risk, high reward: Small stops give trades excellent risk/reward potential.
• Simplicity works: The best trades often break and run with little retracement.
• Losses are normal: Expect frequent small stops — the winners ‘should’ more than make up for them.