The Total Power Indicator Blind Spot: Why Your Setup Might Be Misleading You

Many traders discover the Total Power Indicator, get excited by its elegant logic—measuring the net force between bulls and bears over a given lookback period—and assume they've found a reliable edge. The logic seems sound: if bullish bars outnumber bearish bars, the bulls have "power." But there's a quiet but significant trap hiding beneath the surface, and it stems from how this indicator is often used in practice.

The Misconception: "Power" Equals "Momentum Will Continue"

The most common mistake is treating the Total Power Indicator as a trend-following tool. The thinking goes: "Bull Power is high and rising, so I should go long." But here's the thing—the indicator was originally designed to revert to extremes, not ride them . Daniel Fernandez's original construction from 2011 was meant to improve on Elder's Bear/Bull Power by adding a long-term perspective, but its most reliable signal is still waiting for Bull or Bear Power to hit 100, which is an overbought/oversold condition that often precedes reversals .

When you use it as a momentum gauge, you're essentially fighting its core design. You're looking at a line that measures accumulated pressure and interpreting it as "the trend is strong," when in fact its creator—and most experienced users—use the 100-level as a contrarian reversal signal. If Bull Power hits 100, that's a sign the bulls have exhausted themselves, not that they're about to charge further .

Another Layer: The Setup Overhead

Then there's the practical side: setting up your workspace to actually monitor this. Many traders keep the Total Power Indicator on a chart and leave MetaTrader open all day to catch those 100-level alerts or crossovers. That means your terminal is always visible, always on the taskbar, and you're constantly alt-tabbing to check if something changed.

If you've ever felt chained to your screen just to watch three lines move, you know the problem. And if you've tried to hide MT5/MT4, you know it doesn't truly hide—it stays in the taskbar and appears in Alt+Tab, even if you minimize it . That's where the friction lives: you want to monitor your signals without the terminal owning your screen and your attention.

Solving for the Blind Spot

First, understand the Total Power Indicator for what it is: a mean-reversion signal wrapped in a power-meter disguise. Use it to spot extremes, not to chase trends. The three main entry methods are all based on exhaustion or crossing—waiting for Bull/Bear to hit 100, waiting for a crossover of the two lines, or using the Total line as an exit guide . None of them require you to watch the chart constantly; they require you to be alerted when the condition is met.

Second, solve the workspace problem. If you're using MT4, you'll need to attach the bridge EA that comes with Camovia Tray—it's a one-time setup that takes about 30 seconds. Once that's done, the app pulls your data locally, meaning the quotes and positions stay on your machine and never go to the cloud [citation:Product Knowledge]. From the system tray, you can mouse over the icon and see your selected symbols' real-time prices without even opening the terminal. If you're managing an open position and the Total Power Indicator gives you a 100-level signal, you can close that trade directly from the tray's floating order panel—no need to maximize MT5/MT4.

The bigger shift is this: you no longer need the terminal on your screen to act on the indicator's signals. You get the information you need—price, positions, and a quick way to exit—right from the tray. And if you're in a context where you don't want the terminal visible, Camovia Tray can hide the main window so it vanishes from both the taskbar and Alt+Tab [citation:Product Knowledge]. You can even mask the tray icon itself to look like a cloud drive or system tool, reducing visual noise and potential distraction.

The Total Power Indicator isn't a bad tool—it's just often misunderstood. Fix the interpretation, and you'll stop chasing trends that were never meant to be chased. Fix the workflow, and you'll stop being chained to a terminal that doesn't need to be front and center. That's when the indicator actually starts working for you, instead of the other way around.