Best RSI settings for day trading

Finding the best RSI settings for day trading can make all the difference between precise trade entries and false signals.

This guide explores how you as a day trader can optimize RSI settings for different trading styles, ensuring better accuracy and profitability.

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What are good RSI settings for day trading?

The best RSI settings for day trading vary depending on the trader’s approach (scalping, intraday, swing) and the timeframe being used (1-min, 5-min, 15-min, 1-hour). For scalping strategies (trading within 1-5 minute charts), a lower RSI setting (5-7) is more effective because it reacts faster to price changes. For intraday trading, an RSI setting of 9-14 provides a balanced mix of accuracy and reduced noise. For swing traders, a higher RSI setting (14-21) works best as it offers smoother signals for longer-term trends.

💡 Do check out the best RSI settings for swing traders and one for the one hour crypto chart as well.

How to use RSI effectively in day trading?

To maximize RSI’s effectiveness, traders need to avoid common mistakes, fine-tune RSI levels, and combine it with complementary indicators to improve accuracy.

Avoiding common RSI mistakes

One of the biggest mistakes day traders make with RSI is assuming that overbought automatically means sell, and oversold means buy. In strong trends, RSI can stay overbought or oversold for long periods (hours to days on lower timeframes, weeks on higher timeframes), and blindly following the 70-30 rule can lead to premature exits or poor trade entries.

Another common mistake is using RSI in isolation without confirming signals from price action (candlestick patterns, support/resistance levels), volume (VWAP, OBV), or trend direction (50 EMA, 200 EMA, MACD crossover). Additionally, many traders fail to adjust RSI settings for their specific trading style (i.e., shorter timeframes require lower RSI periods for faster signals, while longer timeframes need higher RSI periods to filter out noise).

Why set RSI to 60/40 levels?

For day traders looking for more accurate trend-following signals, the standard 70-30 RSI levels may not be optimal. A more effective setting is 60-40, where:

• Above 60 indicates strong bullish momentum, making pullbacks to RSI around 50-60 good buying opportunities.
• Below 40 signals bearish control, meaning rebounds to 40-50 could be shorting opportunities.

The 60-40 RSI approach works best in strongly trending markets, as it allows you to enter trades in the direction of momentum rather than betting against it. This modification reduces false reversals and helps day traders focus on trend continuation setups instead.

Advanced RSI strategies for day traders

To increase accuracy, modify RSI settings and combine it with other indicators to develop more advanced trading strategies, such as the 60-50-60 and the 50-50 strategy.

The 60-50-60 RSI strategy

The 60-50-60 RSI strategy is a trend-following approach that helps day traders avoid false reversals and trade in the direction of momentum. Unlike the standard 70-30 rule, which assumes reversals at extreme levels, this strategy recognizes that strong trends often sustain RSI levels above 50 for extended periods.

In an uptrend, RSI typically stays above 50 and oscillates between 60 and 80, while in a downtrend, RSI tends to remain below 50 and fluctuate between 40 and 20. The key principle of this strategy is that as long as RSI remains above 50, the uptrend is intact, and pullbacks to 60 can serve as potential buy zones. Conversely, if RSI stays below 50 in a downtrend, rebounds to 40-50 are seen as shorting opportunities.

How to use the 60-50-60 strategy for entries?

1. For long positions: Look for RSI to stay above 50 and buy on pullbacks to 60 within an uptrend.
2. For short positions: Ensure RSI remains below 50 and short when RSI rebounds to 40-50 in a downtrend.
3. Confirm trend strength: Use moving averages (such as the 50 EMA) to validate whether the asset is in a trending phase.

By using this strategy, day traders avoid countertrend trades and focus on high-probability setups that align with overall momentum.

The 50-50 RSI strategy

The 50-50 RSI strategy is another approach that emphasizes trend strength rather than reversals. Unlike the 70-30 method, which assumes a price correction when RSI crosses extreme levels, this strategy focuses on whether RSI can break and hold above or below 50, indicating a potential trend continuation.

How the 50-50 RSI strategy works?

• If RSI breaks above 50 and stays there, it confirms bullish momentum, and traders can look for long opportunities.
• If RSI falls below 50 and remains under it, bearish momentum is dominant, and short trades are favored.
• The 50-level serves as a pivot—when RSI fluctuates around 50, it signals market indecision, and traders should wait for confirmation before entering trades.

To improve accuracy, traders often combine this strategy with support and resistance levels or use RSI divergence to confirm potential trade entries. This method helps filter out false RSI signals and ensures that traders enter positions only when momentum is in their favor.

💡 Check out the best crypto indicators of 2025 and how to use them.

Using RSI with moving averages for trend confirmation

A common challenge with RSI trading is that it can generate false signals in choppy markets. To avoid this, many traders combine RSI with moving averages such as the 50 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) and 200 EMA.

How to use RSI with moving averages for day trading?

1. Trade in the direction of the trend: Only take RSI buy signals when the price is above the 50 EMA, and only take RSI sell signals when the price is below the 50 EMA.
2. Use the 200 EMA as a trend filter: If RSI drops below 30 but the price remains above the 200 EMA, it may indicate a pullback instead of a full trend reversal.
3. Confirm trend strength: If RSI crosses above 50 while the price is above the 50 EMA, it confirms that the bullish trend is strong. Conversely, if RSI drops below 50 and the price is under the 50 EMA, the bearish trend is still intact.

By combining RSI with moving averages, day traders can eliminate weak RSI signals and increase trade accuracy by ensuring they are trading with the broader market trend.

Final thoughts

While the standard RSI 30-70 approach works well in range-bound markets, advanced traders can improve their success rate by modifying RSI strategies to align with trends, such as 60-50-60 and 50-50.

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