Futures trader and creator of Williams %R
Larry Williams
Larry R. Williams (born 1942, Miles City, Montana) is an American futures trader and author who has traded since 1962 and developed the Williams %R indicator in 1966. He won the 1987 Robbins World Cup Championship of Futures Trading, turning $10,000 into more than $1.1 million over the 12-month contest. He also created the Ultimate Oscillator and has written several books on short-term trading.
What they argue
- %R measures where today's close sits within the recent high-low range, and he used it more for trend analysis than as a simple overbought/oversold switch.
- The same %R reading means different things in bull markets, bear markets and trading ranges, so signals must be read in market context.
- Short-term trading offers large upside but is extremely risky, so knowing when to exit and holding winners matter as much as entries.
Sources
Summaries are Be The Puck's paraphrase of public material. Be The Puck has no affiliation with the people listed.
Books and papers
- How I Made One Million Dollars... Last Year... Trading Commodities (1973)
- Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading (1999)
Williams %R −80/−20
Rule and full recordMean reversion · daily
The stochastic turned upside down: 0 is the top of the 14-day range, −100 the bottom. Buy out of oversold, sell out of overbought.
Best risk-adjusted results against buy and hold: