Camarilla Pivot Points

What Are Camarilla Pivot Points?

Camarilla pivots, developed by Nick Scott in 1989, use the previous session's high, low, and close to calculate eight levels: S1-S4 and R1-R4. The key difference from standard Pivot Points is that Camarilla levels are much closer to the current price, reflecting the observation that prices tend to revert to the mean within a session. The levels use specific multipliers of the previous day's range.

Camarilla Trading Strategies

The core Camarilla strategy is mean reversion between S3 and R3. When price drops to S3, go long with a stop just below S4, targeting R1 or R2. When price rises to R3, go short with a stop above R4, targeting S1 or S2. The S4 and R4 levels act as breakout triggers: if price closes beyond them, the market has broken out of its expected range and a trend day is underway. In that case, trade the breakout direction rather than fading it.

Camarilla vs. Standard Pivots

Standard pivots are better for identifying the daily bias and swing targets. Camarilla pivots are better for intraday precision and mean-reversion entries. Many traders use both: standard pivots for the big picture (which side of the pivot is the market on?) and Camarilla for precise entries and exits. Combine Camarilla levels with VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) for intraday confluence, or use RSI (Relative Strength Index) to confirm whether a level touch is likely to hold or break.