The Starc Bands Metatrader 4 forex indicator is a technical indicator that is formed when plotting two bands around a short-term simple moving average of a financial asset’s price.
Its upper band is formed by adding the value of the average true range (ATR) to the moving average, while the indicator’s lower band is created by subtracting the ATR’s value from the simple moving average.
Manning Stoller is the creator of the Starc Bands indicator and the name STARC is an acronym for Stoller Average Range Channels.
Forex traders tend to use the Starc Bands technical indicator to define upper and lower limits during normal price actions.
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Indicator Chart (AUD/USD H1)
The AUD/USD H1 chart below displays the Starc Bands Metatrader 4 forex indicator in action.
Basic Trading Signals
Buy Signal: Go long when the price bar opens and closes above the purple middle line of the Starc Bands Metatrader 4 forex indicator.
Sell Signal: Go short when the price bars open and close below the purple middle line of the Starc Bands Metatrader 4 forex indicator.
Exit buy trade: Close all buy orders if while a bullish trend is ongoing, price is seen to open and close below the purple middle band of the Starc Bands indicator.
Exit sell trade: Close all sell orders if while a bearish trend is running, price tends to open and close above the purple middle band of the Starc Bands indicator.
Tips: Some currency traders deploy the Starc Bands MT4 indicator as a tool to gauge the level of risk before entry.
STARC Bands + Ultimate Pro Scalper MT4 Scalping Strategy
This strategy uses the STARC Bands MT4 Forex Indicator together with the Ultimate Pro Scalper MT4 Forex Indicator.
STARC Bands help you define the prevailing short‑term market volatility and trend envelope based on ATR and a simple moving average.
The Ultimate Pro Scalper gives simple entry signals via green (buy) and red (sell) dots.
Using both together helps you trade with the trend while catching short-term momentum moves.
This makes it suitable for scalping on M5, M15, or H1 charts for traders who are watching their charts actively and want to catch intraday moves with defined risk.
Buy Entry Rules
- STARC Bands show an upward‑sloping channel (the middle band is sloping up, indicating bullish bias).
- The price is either near the lower band of the STARC envelope or within the lower half of the channel (not extended to the upper band yet).
- The Ultimate Pro Scalper appears as a green dot (buy signal).
- Enter long at or just after the candle where the green dot appears, if the above conditions are valid.
- Place a stop loss a few pips below the lower band of STARC or below a recent minor swing low inside the channel.
- Set take profit at or just under the upper STARC band, or a fixed target — e.g. aim for 1:1 or 1:1.5 reward/risk, depending on volatility and pair behavior.
Sell Entry Rules
- STARC Bands show a downward‑sloping channel (middle band sloping down, indicating bearish bias).
- The price is near the upper band of the STARC envelope or in the upper half of the channel.
- The Ultimate Pro Scalper appears as a red dot (sell signal).
- Enter short at or just after the candle with the red dot, provided the conditions hold.
- Place a stop loss a few pips above the upper STARC band or above a recent minor swing high inside the channel.
- Take profit near or just above the lower STARC band, or use a fixed target with 1:1 or 1:1.5 reward/risk, depending on volatility and pair.
Advantages
- Combines volatility‑based channel (STARC) with a clear signal indicator (Ultimate Pro Scalper).
- Helps avoid counter‑trend entries by using channel slope as a trend filter.
- Scalping‑friendly: works on lower timeframes (M5, M15, H1) for quick trades.
- Dynamic stop loss and profit zones defined by channel bands — adapts to volatility.
- Relatively simple to read and execute, even during busy intraday sessions.
Drawbacks
- In sideways or low‑volatility markets, STARC Bands may be flat and signals less reliable, increasing the risk of false entries.
- During sharp news or spikes, the price may spike beyond bands, causing slippage or invalidating target/stop zones.
Case Study 1: EURUSD on M15
During a London session, STARC Bands sloped upwards on EURUSD. Price dipped near the lower band.
The Ultimate Pro Scalper showed a green dot, and a long position was entered at 1.1015.
The stop loss was set at 1.1008, and the take profit at 1.1040.
Price moved upward and reached the target within 20 minutes, resulting in a profit of approximately 25 pips.
Case Study 2: USDJPY on M5
In a short-term downtrend, STARC Bands sloped downward. Price retraced to the upper band.
The Ultimate Pro Scalper displayed a red dot, and a short position was entered at 149.25.
The stop loss was placed at 149.30, and the take profit at 148.95.
Price moved downward and hit the take profit within 15 minutes, resulting in a profit of approximately 30 pips.
Strategy Tips
- Trade major pairs to reduce spread and slippage during scalping.
- Skip trades when STARC Bands are flat because the market is ranging and signals may be unreliable.
- Focus on active sessions such as London or New York because price movements are stronger and more predictable.
- Use proper position sizing and risk only a small portion of your account per trade.
- Avoid chaining too many trades and focus on quality over quantity.
- Combine entries with minor support and resistance levels to improve precision for entry and exit points.
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Download the “starc-bands.ex4” Metatrader 4 indicator
MT4 Indicator Characteristics
Currency pairs: Any
Platform: Metatrader 4
Type: chart pattern indicator
Customization options: Variable (BandsPeriod, ATR, Multiplier, BandsShift), width & Style.
Time frames: 1-Minute, 5-Minutes, 15-Minutes, 30-Minutes, 1-Hour, 4-Hours, 1-Day, 1-Week, 1-Month
Type: trend
