TdCamouflage

Tom DeMark's TD Camouflage — a one-bar reversal that looks weak (or strong) on the close but reveals hidden accumulation (or distribution) intrabar.

Quick reference

Field	Value
Family	DeMark
Input type	Candle (open / high / low / close)
Output type	f64 (signed signal)
Output range	{−1, 0, +1}
Default parameters	None (parameter-free)
Warmup period	2
Interpretation	+1 hidden-strength buy; −1 hidden-weakness sell.

Formula

Buy (+1):  close < close[-1]  AND  close > open   AND  low  < low[-1]
Sell (−1): close > close[-1]  AND  close < open   AND  high > high[-1]
otherwise 0

A lower close looks bearish, but if the same bar closed up from its open after dipping to a new low, buyers quietly absorbed the dip — accumulation "camouflaged" by the weak headline close. The sell pattern is the mirror. Source: crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/td_camouflage.rs.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Valid range	Source	Description
—	—	—	—	None.	TD Camouflage is parameter-free; TdCamouflage::new() is infallible.

Signed ±1 encoding

+1.0 = bullish (hidden strength) signal, −1.0 = bearish (hidden weakness), 0.0 = no pattern (including during warmup the output is None, then 0.0).

Inputs / Outputs

From crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/td_camouflage.rs:

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, TdCamouflage};
// TdCamouflage: Input = Candle, Output = f64
const _: fn(&mut TdCamouflage, Candle) -> Option<f64> = <TdCamouflage as Indicator>::update;

A Candle in, an Option<f64> out. Python update(candle) / batch(open, high, low, close) → 1-D ndarray (NaN warmup); Node update(open, high, low, close) / batch(o[], h[], l[], c[]).

Warmup

warmup_period() == 2. The first candle seeds the prior bar; the first signal lands on the second (first_bar_seeds_without_signal pins this).

Edge cases

• Bullish buy. A lower close that closed up off a new low fires +1 (bullish_camouflage_buy pins this).
• Bearish sell. The mirror fires −1 (bearish_camouflage_sell pins this).
• No pattern → 0. Otherwise 0.0 (no_pattern_is_zero pins this).
• Finiteness. Candle::new rejects non-finite fields, so no in-method guard is needed.
• Reset. td.reset() clears the prior bar and the last value (reset_clears_state).

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, TdCamouflage};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let mut td = TdCamouflage::new();
    td.update(Candle::new(10.0, 11.0, 8.0, 10.0, 0.0, 0)?); // seed
    let sig = td.update(Candle::new(9.0, 10.0, 7.0, 9.5, 0.0, 0)?);
    println!("{:?}", sig); // Some(1.0)
    Ok(())
}

Output:

Some(1.0)

Python

import numpy as np
import wickra as ta

td = ta.TdCamouflage()
o = np.array([10, 9]); h = np.array([11, 10]); l = np.array([8, 7]); c = np.array([10, 9.5])
print(td.batch(o, h, l, c))  # [nan, 1.0]

Node

const ta = require('wickra');
const td = new ta.TdCamouflage();
td.update(10, 11, 8, 10);
console.log(td.update(9, 10, 7, 9.5)); // 1

Streaming

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, TdCamouflage};

let mut td = TdCamouflage::new();
let feed: Vec<Candle> = Vec::new(); // your live stream
for candle in feed {
    match td.update(candle) {
        Some(1.0)  => println!("camouflage buy"),
        Some(-1.0) => println!("camouflage sell"),
        _ => {}
    }
}

Streaming update and batch are equivalent tick-for-tick (batch_equals_streaming pins this).

Interpretation

1. Hidden reversal. Use it to catch reversals that close-only screens miss — the bar's internals contradict its headline close.
2. Context. Strongest near support (buy) or resistance (sell), or at the end of a TD Setup count.
3. Confirmation. Pair with a level (pivot, prior low) so the camouflage fires where a reversal is plausible.

Common pitfalls

• One-bar, noisy. Single-bar patterns fire often; filter by trend/level.
• Definition variants. Some sources add a close-two-bars-ago term; this uses the open/low (high) internals form.
• Not a standalone system. It flags a candidate, not a guaranteed turn.

References

Perl, J. (2008), DeMark Indicators, Bloomberg Press; DeMark, T. R. (1994), The New Science of Technical Analysis.

See also

• Indicator-TdDifferential — pressure-shift reversal.
• Indicator-TdClop — open/close reversal pattern.
• Indicator-TdSequential — the exhaustion count.
• Indicators-Overview — the full taxonomy.