A fair-value gap (FVG), or imbalance, is a three-candle pattern where price moves so fast it leaves a gap that price often returns to. FVG-retest strategies are hugely popular — and almost never tested honestly, which is why so many traders quietly lose with them.
Define the setup as rules
To test it, you must pin it down: how large must the gap be (relative to volatility) to count, within how many bars must price retest it, in which session you take entries, and which direction you trade. Vague ‘enter on the FVG’ cannot be tested or repeated.
Add the context that makes it work
An FVG alone is not an edge; the edge is when and why it works. Filtering for the higher-timeframe trend, the session, or a fresh, strong gap usually separates the profitable retests from the noise. Test the setup with and without each filter to see what actually adds value.
Judge it honestly
Run it over many years, with realistic costs, and check it out of sample. Many FVG strategies look great on recent charts and fail on unseen data — the classic overfit fingerprint. Do not tweak the numbers to rescue it; rethink the logic.
Test your FVG rules in minutes
Bulk Quant includes fair-value-gap retest as a built-in setup — set the gap size, retest window, session and bias, and see 20+ years of honest, year-by-year results. Try it free.