Defended Price Levels (DPLs) — Melvin Dickover ConceptThis indicator identifies and draws horizontal “Defended Price Levels” (DPLs) exactly as originally described by Melvin E. Dickover in his trading methodology.
Dickover observed that when extreme relative volume and extreme “freedom of movement” (volume-to-price-movement ratio) occur on the same bar, especially on bars with large gaps or unusually large bodies, the closing price (or previous close) of that bar very often becomes a significant future support/resistance level that the market later “defends.”
This script automates the detection of those exact coincident spikes using two well-known public indicators:
Relative Volume (RVI)
• Original idea: Melvin Dickover
• Pine Script implementation used here: “Relative Volume Indicator (Freedom Of Movement)” by LazyBear
Link:
Freedom of Movement (FoM)
• Original idea and calculation: starbolt64
• Pine Script: “Freedom of Movement” by starbolt64
Link:
How this indicator works
Calculates the raw (possibly negative) LazyBear RVI and starbolt64’s exact FoM values
Normalizes and standardizes both over the user-defined lookback
Triggers only when both RVI and FoM exceed the chosen number of standard deviations on the same bar (true Dickover coincident-spike condition)
Applies Dickover’s original price-selection rules (uses current close on big gaps or 2× body expansion candles, otherwise previous close)
Draws a thin maroon horizontal ray only when the new level is sufficiently far from all previously drawn levels (default ≥0.8 %) and the maximum number of levels has not been reached
Keeps the chart clean by limiting the total number of significant defended levels shown
This is not a republish or minor variation of the two source scripts — it is a faithful automation of Melvin Dickover’s specific “defended price line” concept that he manually marked using the coincidence of these two indicators.
Full credit goes to:
Melvin E. Dickover — creator of the Defended Price Levels concept
LazyBear — author of the Relative Volume (RVI) implementation used here
starbolt64 — author of the Freedom of Movement indicator and calculation
Settings (all adjustable):
Standard Deviation Length (default 60)
Spike Threshold in standard deviations (default 2.0)
Minimum distance between levels in % (default 0.8 %)
Maximum significant levels to display (15–80)
Use these horizontal maroon lines as potential future support/resistance zones that the market has previously shown strong willingness to defend.
Thank you to Melvin, LazyBear, and starbolt64 for the original work that made this automation possible.
Relativevolumeanalysis
Volume Breakout [Afnan]Introducing the Relative Volume / Volume Breakout Multiplier (RVI) , RVI is specifically designed for traders who incorporate volume breakout analysis into their trading strategies, particularly breakout traders.
This indicator provides a unique perspective on volume dynamics by quantifying the extent of volume breakouts in relation to the Simple Moving Average (SMA). It offers an upgraded version of the default volume indicator on TradingView, with the added feature of Relative Volume.
For example, if the volume SMA is 100M and the current volume is 200M, the indicator will return a breakout number of 2.0, indicating that the current volume is twice that of the volume SMA. Conversely, if the volume SMA is 100M and the current volume is 50M, the indicator will return a value of 0.50, indicating that the current volume is half of the volume SMA.
This tool can be a very helpful for breakout traders, helping them identify potential trading opportunities and assess volume strength more effectively. this indicator is a must-have in the toolkit of any trader who focuses on volume breakout analysis.
Remember, every tool we use, every analysis we perform, is a step towards becoming better traders. So, let’s embrace this journey of continuous learning and improvement together. As the saying goes, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." Let’s step into the future with confidence, armed with the right tools and the right mindset.
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