ZCSH daily chart: a long sideways base from May to August, then a gap up on heavy volume in late August and a run from about 12 to 40 dollars in September MarinTrading AI Episodic Pivot emblem
Post-EP setups ยท AI pattern analysis

MarinTrading

AI-generated Episodic Pivot trading setups.

The gap day is only the beginning. MarinTrading follows stocks in the days and weeks after an Episodic Pivot and flags the moments when risk is tight and the upside is large: the hook day, the inside day, the nest, the high tight flag. Every setup is scored against hundreds of past EPs.

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Educational tool. Not financial advice.

Example of EP + High Tight Flag

swing high swing low EP day
First, the basics

What makes an Episodic Pivot

An Episodic Pivot is the moment new information forces the market to reprice a stock. It shows up as a gap on heavy volume, and the strongest ones keep going for weeks. Look for three signs together.

01

A real catalyst

Earnings surprise, guidance raise, contract win, FDA decision. News that changes the story, not noise.

02

A decisive gap

Price opens well above the prior range, clearing the levels where sellers used to sit.

03

Outsized volume

Volume many times the recent average: the footprint of institutions taking positions.

Our approach

We don't chase the gap. We trade what comes after.

THE TRADITIONAL EP TRADE

Scan pre-market and buy at or near the open, in the most volatile minutes of the move.

The stop usually sits under the gap-day low, which can be far below the entry.

A wide stop means a smaller position, or a bigger loss when the gap fails.

THE MARINTRADING POST-EP SETUP

Let the stock digest the move. Wait for it to tighten into a pattern in the days or weeks after the EP.

Enter on a defined trigger, such as a break above the most recent swing high.

Set the stop just under a nearby swing low, so the risk is small relative to the potential move.

The patterns the AI learns from

The model is trained on hundreds of historical Episodic Pivots, each labeled with the classic chart patterns that formed afterwards and the swing structure around them. Patterns are scored in combination, not in isolation: an EP followed by a hook day and then an inside day, or an inside day within a nest. What counts is how the patterns stack up, not just whether one appears.

A few examples of what the AI model looks for:

EP day Hook ID

EP + Hook + ID

The day after the EP is a hook: a higher high and higher low than the EP day, but a lower close on a narrower range. The next day is an inside day within the hook's range, so the move pauses and tightens.

EP day ID ID

EP + 2x ID

Two inside days in a row right after the EP: the first fits inside the EP day's range, the second inside the first. Volatility contracts twice, and the range gives a tight, defined place to set risk.

EP 1 EP 2

EP Double

Two Episodic Pivots on back-to-back days: the stock gaps up on heavy volume, then gaps up again the next day. A second repricing in a row shows unusually strong demand.

EP mid EP Repeat

EP Repeat

An EP, then one quiet day of compression: lower volume, a narrower range, and a close at or above the EP day's midpoint. The next day is a second EP. The gap holds through the pause before buyers step in again.

10-day window EP EP EP

EP 3-in-10

Three or more EPs inside any rolling 10-day window. Gap after gap on heavy volume means the market keeps repricing the stock, a sign of strong, persistent demand.

EP day SH SH SL SL

SwingHigh and SwingLow

Functions that mark the turning points in price. Swing highs define where a breakout triggers; swing lows define where the setup is wrong.

SH SH SH Lowest Low Nest EP

Nest

After the EP, the stock pulls back in swings. The nest is the range between the latest swing high and the lowest low since the EP, where the stock coils for its next leg.

SH = swingHigh(1, C, 2, days since EP)
Lowest Low = lowest(Low, days since EP)

Swing Functions Python versions of TradeStation's swing and highest/lowest functions, used to find triggers and stops
FunctionWhat it returns
Swing points
swing_highswing_high(df, price_col, strength, length, instance) โ†’ (price, abs_index)The price and bar index of a swing high, counting back through the last length bars. instance picks which one: 1 is the most recent.
swing_lowswing_low(df, price_col, strength, length, instance) โ†’ (price, abs_index)The same for swing lows.
swing_high_bar
swing_low_bar
swing_high_bar / swing_low_bar โ†’ bars agoHow many bars ago that swing high or swing low formed.
Highest and lowest
highesthighest(series, length, offset=0)The highest value over the last length bars, including the current bar by default.
lowestlowest(series, length, offset=0)The lowest value over the last length bars.
  • Strength is how many bars on each side must confirm a swing. With strength 2, a swing high needs two lower highs on each side.
  • If no swing is found, the swing functions return (-1, -1), just as TradeStation returns -1.
  • offset=1 leaves out the current bar, the same as Highest(P, L)[1] in TradeStation.
  • Highest and lowest work on any series: High, Low, Close, Volume, or a computed one such as H โˆ’ L.
Pattern Definitions The exact rules the scanner uses for each pattern
PatternDefinition
Inside DayH < H[1] AND L > L[1]
Double Inside DayTwo consecutive inside days
HookH>H[1], L>L[1], C<C[1], Range<Range[1]
EP HTFEP + SwingHigh post-EP + LowestClose>EP_Mid + LowestLow>EP_Low + Close>SMA50 + H<=SWH ceiling
HTF BreakHTF true yesterday + H>max(H[1],H[2]) today + H<=SWH ceiling
EP RepeatEP(D0) + compression(D1: Vol<Vol[0], Range<Range[0], Close>=EP_Mid) + repeat EP(D2)
EP Repeat BreakEP_Repeat yesterday + H>H[rep_EP] today
EP Hook IDEP(D0) + Hook(D1) + Inside Day(D2)
EP DoubleTwo consecutive EP days
EP 3-in-103+ EPs within any rolling 10-day window

H, L, C = high, low, close. [1] = one day ago, [2] = two days ago. D0, D1, D2 = consecutive days starting from the EP. SWH = swing high.

How it works

STEP 1 ยท LEARN

Study the past

The AI analyzes hundreds of historical EPs and what happened after each one: which patterns formed, where they triggered and how far they ran.

STEP 2 ยท TRACK

Follow every new EP

Each fresh Episodic Pivot joins a watchlist, and its daily bars are tracked as the stock digests the move.

STEP 3 ยท ANALYZE

AI Analysis

When a pattern forms, it is compared with its closest historical analogs, and added to the daily setup report based on its AI score.

STEP 4 ยท DELIVER

Get the report

Daily reports are posted each day as well as archived. They can be downloaded for your research.

Live on X

The setups are posted on X.

This site explains the method. Results from the EP analysis are posted on X at @marin_trading.

Post-EP setups as patterns form
Annotated charts showing selected current post-EP setups
Notes on similar historical EPs
Follow @marin_trading
MarinTrading @marin_trading
$ZCSH: multiple EPs in late August before an 85% move
Example chart attached to a post
Example post layout

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For information contact dan@marintrading.com