Market Structure
Trend, persistence & direction — ordered decision tree. ADX, DI, and Hurst thresholds, structure states, and a live QQQ example on one page.
How to read: A market-structure engine: ADX, +DI/−DI, and Hurst feed an ordered decision tree. The first matching rule sets the tag, bar color, directional read, and footer — not the raw indicator values alone.
Trend strength on a 0–100 scale over the recent 14-bar lookback, regardless of direction. High = conviction in the move; low = chop.
Smoothed upward vs downward movement over the same 14-bar window. +DI above −DI means upward movement has been stronger lately.
Variance-ratio persistence, scaled 0–1. Low = price snaps back (mean revert); high = moves persist (trend). The tie-breaker.
Thresholds
| ADX Level | Read |
|---|---|
| < 20 | No trend |
| 20 – <25 | Forming |
| 25 – 50 | Trending* |
| > 50 | Extreme |
| DI Gap | Read |
|---|---|
| ≥ 3 | Clear side |
| < 3 | Mixed / tied |
| Hurst | Read |
|---|---|
| < 0.45 | Mean revert |
| 0.45 – 0.55 | Random walk |
| > 0.55 | Persistent |
*Trending needs all three: ADX ≥ 25 and Hurst > 0.55 and DI gap ≥ 3. If Hurst is missing, the state stays in transition.
Ordered decision tree
Bar Color
Tags & Footer Copy
| State (when) | Tag | Footer shown |
|---|---|---|
| ADX < 20 | no trend | Range-bound — levels matter more than direction |
| Hurst < 0.45 · ADX < 25 | mean reverting | Mean-reverting — fade extremes, respect levels |
| Hurst < 0.45 · ADX ≥ 25 | unstable trend | Elevated ADX, weak Hurst — moves may not persist |
| ADX 20–<25 | trend emerging | Trend forming — wait for ADX/Hurst confirmation |
| ADX≥25 · Hurst 0.45–0.55 | random walk | Direction unclear — persistence not confirmed |
| ADX≥25 · Hurst>0.55 · gap<3 | conflict | +DI and −DI tied on the lookback — no clean edge |
| Trending · ADX 25–50 | trend established | Trend confirmed — pullbacks tend to respect direction |
| Trending · ADX > 50 | extreme trend | Trend confirmed — pullbacks tend to respect direction |
Confidence Layer
| Condition | Conf. | Footer (trending) |
|---|---|---|
| Trending + clear side + strong/extreme | High | Trend confirmed — pullbacks tend to respect direction |
| Conflict (DI tied) | Conflict | +DI and −DI tied on the lookback — no clean edge |
| No trend / revert / transition | Low | uses the state footer at left |
Note: Trending requires gap ≥ 3, so every trending read is High confidence in the app today.
Live Example — QQQ, all 5 timeframes · as of 2026-06-20
| 15M | no trend | ADX 18.7 · DI+ 29.8 / DI− 20.9 | below 20 threshold |
| 1H | trend emerging | ADX 21.1 · DI+ 24.5 / DI− 16.3 | gap ≥ 3, upward > downward (~14 bars) |
| 4H | no trend | ADX 15.3 · DI+ 34.5 / DI− 30.9 | below 20 threshold |
| 1D | mean reverting | ADX 24.5 · Hurst 0.44 | Rule 3 — mean revert (ADX below 25) |
| 1W | random walk | ADX 25.5 · DI+ 34.4 / 18.8 · Hurst 0.52 | Rule 7 — Hurst in random-walk band |
Descriptive context built from price action and published indicators — not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Markets guarantee nothing. Educational use only. Not investment advice.
RI™ Cheat Sheet Series · No. 01 · v1.1 · Jun 2026
Number one in the RI Cheat Sheet Series. Market Structure is the one-page reference for how Regime Intelligence classifies trend, chop, unstable trend, and transition — on every timeframe. Download it, keep it next to your charts, and read any structure tag in seconds.
What's inside
- The three indicators — ADX (is there a trend?), DI+/DI− (which direction has dominated?), and Hurst (will it continue?).
- Exact thresholds and the ordered decision tree the engine uses.
- Bar colors, tags, footer copy, and the confidence layer.
- A live QQQ example across all five timeframes.