Last updated: 8 October 2026. Every screenshot below was recorded on 8 October 2026 on an IQ Option Practice account registered in Brazil, on EUR/USD 5-minute candles; the Chart analysis picture in Step 1 was recorded on 5 October 2026. We placed no real-money trade. The tested box shows what the rule, a close beyond a band after two closes on the other side of it, did on EUR/USD candles recorded between 29 September and 5 October 2026; it says nothing about what will happen next.
The BB1 strategy is a Bollinger Bands set-up for 5-minute candles in which the deviation is lowered from 2 to 1, so the bands hug the price. A candle that closes below the lower band after two candles that closed above it is a Lower signal; a candle that closes above the upper band after two closes below it is a Higher signal. The trade is held for about 15 minutes, three candles. On 5-minute EUR/USD candles recorded from 29 September to 5 October 2026 the rule gave 137 signals; the 15-minute trades won 73, lost 63 and tied 1, 53.7% of the decided trades. That is just under the break-even rate of 54.1% at an 85% payout, and with 136 decided trades the 95% interval, 45% to 62%, includes it.
Quick answer
- Indicator: Bollinger Bands with the deviation changed from 2 to 1. The platform opens them with a period of 14, which stays as it is.
- Candles: 5 minutes, Japanese candlesticks.
- Lower: a candle closes below the lower band and the two candles before it closed above it; enter at the close of that candle.
- Higher: a candle closes above the upper band and the two candles before it closed below it; enter at the close of that candle.
- Expiry: 15 minutes, about three times the candle size.
- Tested: 137 signals on EUR/USD 5-minute candles; 15-minute trades won 53.7% of the decided trades (break-even 54.1% at an 85% payout).
How do you set up the BB1 strategy on IQ Option?
Set the chart
Choose the asset, the chart type and the candle size first: the indicator is calculated from the candles on the chart. The examples in this guide use 5-minute candles on EUR/USD. These steps use the web traderoom on a Practice balance, and the numbers in each screenshot match the numbers in the text. If you do not have an account yet, see how to register.
Step 1: Open Chart analysis
Click the indicators button (1), the wave icon in the chart toolbar at the bottom left of the chart. The Chart analysis panel opens with the tabs Indicators, Templates, Widgets and Scripts. Stay on Indicators.
Step 2: Find Bollinger Bands
Type “Bollinger” in the Search for indicators box (1) and click Bollinger Bands (2).
Step 3: Change the deviation to 1
The Bollinger Bands dialog opens on the Set up & apply tab, on Basic settings. The Period (1) opens at 14 and the Deviation (2) at 2. Replace the 2 in Deviation with 1 and click Apply (3). Keep the period at 14: only the deviation changes.
Step 4: Use 5-minute candles
Click the candle time period button (1) in the toolbar at the left of the chart; it shows the current period, 5m in the picture. In the menu that opens, choose 5 minutes (2).
Step 5: Read the bands
Three lines are drawn on the price chart: the upper band (1), a red line, the middle line (2), orange, and the lower band (3), yellow. These are the platform’s colours for the Upper, Middle and Lower line. With a deviation of 1 the bands lie close to the middle line, and many candles close outside them.
What does the deviation change?
Bollinger Bands are a simple moving average of the close (the middle line) with a band above and below it that lies a number of standard deviations of the close away from it. The platform opens them with a period of 14 and a deviation of 2; the BB1 strategy lowers the deviation to 1 and so narrows the bands to half the width.
On the 1,308 five-minute candles of our recording for which a band with a period of 14 exists, the median distance between the upper and lower band was 5.9 pips with a deviation of 1 and 11.9 pips with a deviation of 2. With a deviation of 2 the close was outside the bands on 162 candles (12.4%); with a deviation of 1 it was outside on 735 (56.2%). So with the BB1 settings a close outside a band is no rare event: it happens on more than every second candle. Without the condition about the two earlier candles, more than every second candle would be a signal; with it, our recording has 137 signals in 1,334 candles, about one in ten.
What are the BB1 entry rules?
The trade opens at the close of the signal candle, which is the open of the next one. Written so that every condition is checked on closed candles:
| Part | Rule |
|---|---|
| Chart | 5-minute candles, Bollinger Bands with deviation 1 (period 14, the platform’s default) |
| Lower signal | The candle closes below the lower band, and each of the two candles before it closed above its lower band |
| Higher signal | The candle closes above the upper band, and each of the two candles before it closed below its upper band |
| Entry | At the close of the signal candle |
| Expiry | About 15 minutes, three times the chart timeframe |
The signal is therefore the first close beyond a band after two closes on the other side of it. A candle that closes beyond the band for a second or third time in a row is not a new signal. The two earlier closes may lie between the bands or beyond the opposite band: before the Higher example below, both lie under the lower band. The rule trades with the direction of the break, not against it: a close below the lower band is a sell.
Two signals of the recording, step by step
The first Lower signal and the first Higher signal in the recording, in time order and not picked by outcome. All times are the platform clock, which is UTC minus three hours.
Lower signal, 29 September at 01:35
The two candles before the signal (1) closed above the lower band. The signal candle (2) opened at 01:35 and closed at 01:40 at 1.13611, a quarter of a pip under the lower band (3), so the rule says Lower. The trade opens at that close, 01:40, and a 15-minute trade ends at 01:55, when the candle (4) closes at 1.13601, one pip lower. The Lower trade won.
Higher signal, 29 September at 03:00
The two candles before the signal (1) closed under the upper band, in fact far under it, at 1.135625 and 1.135695 against an upper band near 1.1361. The signal candle (2) opened at 03:00 and closed at 03:05 at 1.13619, 0.8 pip over the upper band (3), so the rule says Higher. The trade opens at that close, 03:05, and a 15-minute trade ends at 03:20, when the candle (4) closes at 1.136235, 0.45 pip higher. The Higher trade won, by less than half a pip.
The BB1 rules, tested
We scored the rule on the 1,334 five-minute candles of our recording, entering at the close of every signal candle and scoring the trade 15 minutes later. The box also shows the same rule with a period of 20, which is what many guides call the standard Bollinger period, and the platform’s settings on 1-minute candles, because the rule may work on other timeframes.
Tested on IQ Option: the BB1 rule, Bollinger Bands (14, 1) on EUR/USD candles of 29 September to 5 October 2026
| Asset and candles | EUR/USD binary (regular, not OTC): 1,334 five-minute candles (2026-09-29 01:55 to 2026-10-02 20:55 UTC and 2026-10-04 21:00 to 2026-10-05 17:00 UTC); 1,505 one-minute candles (2026-10-02 18:23 to 2026-10-02 20:59 UTC and 2026-10-04 21:01 to 2026-10-05 19:28 UTC). The candles were recorded from IQ Option’s Practice traderoom. The replay places no orders; it only scores the rule on those closed candles, at an 85% payout. |
|---|---|
| Rule tested | The rule on closed candles, the option opening at the close of the signal candle: Lower on a candle that closes below the lower band when the two candles before it closed above their lower band; Higher on a candle that closes above the upper band when the two before it closed below their upper band. The bands are the platform’s own (a simple average and a deviation measured over N candles). The box lists the platform’s period of 14, the same rule with a period of 20, and the platform’s settings on 1-minute candles, all with a 15-minute trade. |
| Signals | BB(14,1), 5-minute candles, 15-minute trade: 137 signals (63 Higher, 74 Lower) BB(20,1), 5-minute candles, 15-minute trade: 111 signals (48 Higher, 63 Lower) BB(14,1), 1-minute candles, 15-minute trade: 154 signals (72 Higher, 82 Lower) |
| Outcomes | BB(14,1), 5-minute candles, 15-minute trade: 73 won, 63 lost, 1 tied; 53.7% of the 136 decided trades won; net −$0.01 per $1 staked at 85% (+$0.03 at 91%) BB(20,1), 5-minute candles, 15-minute trade: 61 won, 50 lost, 0 tied; 55.0% of the 111 decided trades won; net +$0.02 per $1 staked at 85% (+$0.05 at 91%) BB(14,1), 1-minute candles, 15-minute trade: 74 won, 78 lost, 2 tied; 48.7% of the 152 decided trades won; net −$0.10 per $1 staked at 85% (−$0.07 at 91%) |
| Break-even | At an 85% payout a trade needs to win more than 54.1% of its decided trades to break even (1 ÷ 1.85); at 91%, more than 52.4% (1 ÷ 1.91). |
A replay is only a look back at candles recorded on the dates above: it placed no real orders, covers about four and a half days of one pair, and counts overlapping trades as if they were independent. A short test proves nothing about the future, and no profit and no win rate is promised here. IQ Option’s own blog on backtesting says that most strategies need dozens, and often hundreds, of trades before a result means anything.
With the platform’s period of 14 the 15-minute trades won 53.7% of the decided trades (73 of 136), a little under the break-even rate. With a period of 20 the rule gave 111 signals and won 55.0% (61 of 111), a little over it, with a 95% interval of 46% to 64%. The difference between the two periods is within the margin of error of each, so it would be wrong to call the period of 20 better. On 1-minute candles the same trades won 48.7% (74 of 152).
Pros and Cons of the BB1 strategy
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to understand: one indicator, one changed setting, a plain rule for each side. | With a deviation of 1 the close is outside the band on more than half of the candles, so the condition about the two earlier closes is what makes a signal. |
| Gives a clear entry candle and a fixed expiry. | In the recording the 15-minute trades won 53.7%, a little below the break-even rate of 54.1%. |
| Follows the direction of the break, which suits trending markets. | It may not work in a ranging or flat market. |
Common mistakes
- Leaving the deviation at 2. The platform opens the bands with a deviation of 2; the strategy needs 1.
- Trading every close outside the band. The signal is the first close beyond the band after two closes on the other side of it, not each one.
- Taking a close below the lower band as a buy. The BB1 rule goes with the break: below the lower band is a Lower trade.
- Using a short expiry. The rule asks for about three candles, 15 minutes, not for the next candle.
- Skipping the Practice test. Practise on a Practice balance first; a rule that wins 53.7% in one test has not shown that it works.
Related guides
- Bollinger Bands with the RSI and Bollinger Bands on IQ Option
- Candle colours with Bollinger Bands and Pin bars with Bollinger Bands
- Trading a ranging market
- All indicator guides and all strategy guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the BB1 strategy?
A: A strategy that uses Bollinger Bands with a deviation of 1 on 5-minute candles. A candle that closes beyond a band after two closes on the other side of it is the signal, and the trade goes with the direction of the break.
Q: How do I set up the BB1 strategy on IQ Option?
A: Add Bollinger Bands from the Chart analysis panel, change the deviation from 2 to 1, keep the period, and choose 5-minute candles.
Q: How long should the trade last?
A: About 15 minutes, three times the candle size. In our replay 15-minute trades won 53.7% of the decided trades.
Q: How do I know a Lower signal?
A: The candle closes below the lower band and the two candles before it closed above the lower band. The trade is opened at the close of that candle.
Q: How do I know a Higher signal?
A: The candle closes above the upper band and the two candles before it closed below the upper band. The trade is opened at the close of that candle.
Q: Can the BB1 strategy be used on other timeframes?
A: It was made for 5-minute charts. We also replayed 1-minute candles with a 15-minute trade: 154 signals, 48.7% of the decided trades won.
Q: Does the BB1 strategy win?
A: Not clearly. The 15-minute trades won 53.7% of 136 decided trades with the platform’s period of 14 and 55.0% of 111 with a period of 20; both are within the margin of error of the 54.1% needed to break even at an 85% payout.
