Open Range Breakout (ORB) Trading Strategy – How to Trade the Session Open (With a Simple Trend Filter)

Curated by Andrew Lockwood, London Futures Exchange Veteran (35+ Years Exp)

The Open Range Breakout (ORB) is one of the simplest, most time-tested price-action strategies out there. In plain English: you mark the market’s “opening range” (the first chunk of the session), then you only trade if price breaks out and closes outside that range.

The ORB concept has been around for decades, but markets aren’t the same as they were back then. Today we’re in a fast, electronic environment, and raw “break the range and go” entries can get chopped up by false breakouts and sideways price action.

So in this lesson, I’m going to share my variation of the ORB strategy, what it is, how it works, and the small refinements I use to make it more effective in modern markets (including a straightforward trend filter and a simple liquidity check).

Quick reminder: all examples discussed in this lesson are from a simulated trading environment at Funded Trading Plus using virtual funds. Nothing here is financial advice or an invitation to trade. It’s educational content designed to help you build a structured, repeatable process.

Watch the ORB Strategy Video

Watch the full walkthrough with chart examples, including:

– How to mark the opening range cleanly

– How to use the 4-hour EMA filter

– How to avoid chop and false breakouts

– How to structure stops and targets inside a rules-based plan

📄 [Download the PDF Guide]

🛡️ [Most Trusted Prop Firm]

What Is the Open Range Breakout (ORB) Strategy?

The ORB strategy is built around one idea: the opening part of the session often sets the tone. Once you define the initial range (high and low), you wait for price to show its hand.

At its core, the ORB rules are simple:

• Define the opening range (the high and low of a fixed opening window, often the first hour)
  
• Drop to a lower timeframe (like 15-minute or 5-minute)
  
• Trade the breakout only after you get a close outside that range
  
• Place the stop on the other side of the range
  
• Target a predefined risk-to-reward (often starting at 1:1, then extending once you’re consistent)
  

The problem is: simple doesn’t always mean easy—especially when the market is choppy.

ORB Basics: Candles, Ranges, and Why the Lower Timeframe Matters

A candlestick gives you the same information whether you’re looking at a 1-hour candle or drilling down:

• Open
  
• High
  
• Low
  
• Close
  
• And the body colour shows who was in control (buyers or sellers)
  

The range is simply the distance between the high and the low.

A 1-hour candle is made up of smaller candles (15-minute, 5-minute, 1-minute). The opening range is still the same high and low, but the lower timeframe lets you time entries more precisely and reduces guesswork.

How to Mark the Opening Range (By Market)

There are many ORB variations, but for this lesson we’ll use the first hour of the session.

UK / Europe (indices and many liquid instruments)

• Opening range: 08:00–09:00 (UK time)
  
• Often used for instruments like the FTSE, DAX, CAC, and many major FX pairs as liquidity ramps up
  

US (stocks and US indices)

• US cash open is 09:30 (New York time)
  
• Opening range: 09:30–10:30 (New York time)
  (that’s 14:30–15:30 UK time)
  

Once you’ve got the range marked, you don’t predict. You wait.

The “Raw” ORB Entry Rules (The Simple Version)

On a 15-minute (or 5-minute) chart:

Buy setup

1. Price breaks above the opening range high
   
2. You wait for a candle to close above the range high
   
3. Enter long
   
4. Stop goes below the opening range low
   
5. Target 1:1, 2:1, or the next logical structure/liquidity level
   

Sell setup

1. Price breaks below the opening range low
   
2. You wait for a candle to close below the range low
   
3. Enter short
   
4. Stop goes above the opening range high
   
5. Target 1:1, 2:1, or the next logical structure/liquidity level
   

That’s the classic ORB. Now here’s the catch.

Why the “Raw” ORB Can Struggle in Modern Markets

Breakout strategies work best when the market is actually trending, and they often struggle in choppy conditions. In the raw version, it’s common to see multiple losing trades when price is trending the other way, or when the market is simply ranging.

So the goal becomes simple:

Keep the ORB structure, but filter out the worst trades.

The Simple Refinement That Can Improve ORB: A Trend Filter

Here’s the filter used in this lesson:

• Go up to the 4-hour chart
  
• Add two EMAs:
  
  • 10 EMA
    
  • 50 EMA
    

Trend rules

• Only take buys when the 10 EMA is above the 50 EMA
  
• Only take sells when the 10 EMA is below the 50 EMA
  
• Ideally, you want price clearly above (for buys) or below (for sells) the EMAs
  
• Avoid trading when price is stuck in the “jaws” of the moving averages (that compressed, messy zone)
  

This is where discipline shows up. A lot of traders see a breakout and feel like they have to take it. But the best ORB trades tend to happen when the broader trend is already doing the heavy lifting.

The Second Refinement: Don’t Trade Into Liquidity

Before you take any breakout, ask one question:

Is my target running straight into a major liquidity area (big support or resistance)?

If your profit target sits right on the other side of a strong level, you’re often paying for a breakout that has very little room to breathe.

So the rule is:

If the trade would need to push through a major support/resistance level just to reach your target, skip it.

Again: hardest trade in the book… sitting on your hands.

ORB Strategy Rules (Andrew’s Version With Trend Filter)

Here’s the complete framework from this lesson:

1. Establish the opening range after the first hour of trading
   

• UK/Europe example: 08:00–09:00 UK time
  
• US example: 09:30–10:30 New York time
  

2. Confirm trade direction on the 4-hour chart using EMAs
   

• 10 EMA above 50 EMA = only look for buys
  
• 10 EMA below 50 EMA = only look for sells
  
• Avoid chop and EMA compression
  

3. Drill down to the 15-minute chart (or 5-minute)
   

• Wait for a break and a close outside the range in the trend direction
  

4. Avoid trades where the target is blocked by liquidity
   

• Don’t buy into major resistance
  
• Don’t sell into major support
  

5. Place your stop the other side of the range
   

• Position size to match your predetermined risk (e.g., 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%)
  

6. Start with a minimum 1:1 risk-to-reward
   

• Once consistent, consider extending to 1.5:1 or 2:1 (only if conditions justify it)
  

7. One trade at a time
   

• Don’t stack multiple ORB trades simultaneously
  

8. No weekend holds
   

• Gaps can help or hurt, this strategy is about control, not luck
  

Download the ORB Strategy PDF Guide

Want the rules in a printable checklist format?

Quick Tips to Make ORB Cleaner (and Less Stressful)

• ORB is not a “trade every day” strategy. It’s a “trade the right day” strategy.
  
• Waiting for a close outside the range helps avoid many false breakouts.
  
• Your best ORB wins often come when the market is trending and volatility expands after the open.
  
• If the opening range is unusually wide, your stop can become impractical, reduce size or skip.
  

If you tweak anything (time window, EMAs, timeframe), tweak it and test it. Don’t improvise mid-week.

Ready to put these insights into practice?

A disciplined strategy requires an evaluation built to reward consistency. At Funded Trading Plus, we offer simulated programs designed to suit every style of trader. You can explore our streamlined one step challenge for complete trading autonomy, opt for our traditional two step evaluation if you prefer a structured, phased approach, or discover our instant funding program with no profit targets to begin trading a simulated funded account immediately. Choose the path that best fits your goals and test your edge in our simulated trading environment today.

Important Educational Disclaimer

All content on this page is for educational purposes only.
It is not financial advice and not an invitation or inducement to trade.
All examples referenced are from a simulated trading environment using virtual funds.
Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Always do your own research and testing before applying any trading concept.