Bill Williams' Alligator uses three smoothed moving averages displaced forward — the Jaw, Teeth, and Lips — to identify trending and sleeping market phases with an intuitive visual metaphor. When the lines intertwine the Alligator is "sleeping" (range); when they fan out it is "eating" (trending). Combine it with the Awesome Oscillator and Gator Oscillator from our indicator guide library for the complete Bill Williams trading system.
Jaw = 13-period SMMA displaced 8 bars forward (blue). Teeth = 8-period SMMA displaced 5 bars forward (red). Lips = 5-period SMMA displaced 3 bars forward (green). The displacement shifts each line into the future, creating a visual lag structure that reveals trend phases clearly.
The Guppy Multiple Moving Average plots two groups of EMAs — six short-term and six long-term — to visualise the interaction between trader sentiment and investor sentiment as a ribbon, revealing trend strength and potential reversals. GMMA is widely used in <a href="/market/stocks" class="text-primary hover:underline">stock</a> and <a href="/market/forex" class="text-primary hover:underline">forex</a> markets to identify early trend participation. Set it up on <a href="/tools/platforms/tradingview" class="text-primary hover:underline">TradingView</a> and combine with the <a href="/academy/indicators/rsi" class="text-primary hover:underline">RSI</a> for timing entries.
The Smoothed Moving Average applies equal weight to all historical data rather than dropping off older values, producing an ultra-smooth line that excels at identifying the dominant long-term trend. SMMA is the smoothing method used inside the <a href="/academy/indicators/adx" class="text-primary hover:underline">ADX</a> and <a href="/academy/indicators/atr" class="text-primary hover:underline">ATR</a> calculations, making it a foundational building block in <a href="/academy/indicators" class="text-primary hover:underline">technical analysis</a>. It is best suited for <a href="/market/stocks" class="text-primary hover:underline">stock</a> and <a href="/market/forex" class="text-primary hover:underline">forex</a> markets where long-term trend clarity is prized over speed.
Parabolic SAR (Stop and Reverse) plots dots above or below price to indicate trend direction and potential reversal points — it is one of the simplest trend-following indicators to use. Combine it with the <a href="/academy/indicators/adx" class="text-primary hover:underline">ADX</a> to filter out low-quality signals in ranging markets and improve your win rate. It also doubles as a dynamic trailing stop; read our <a href="/guides/use-stop-loss-orders" class="text-primary hover:underline">stop-loss guide</a> for best practices on protecting your capital. Explore more trend tools in our full <a href="/academy/indicators" class="text-primary hover:underline">indicator guide library</a>.
The Hull Moving Average was designed by Alan Hull to virtually eliminate lag while maintaining smoothness — it is one of the fastest moving averages available to traders. HMA is ideal for short-term <a href="/strategies" class="text-primary hover:underline">trading strategies</a> in fast-moving <a href="/market/crypto" class="text-primary hover:underline">crypto</a> and <a href="/market/forex" class="text-primary hover:underline">forex</a> markets. Compare it with the <a href="/academy/indicators/exponential-moving-average" class="text-primary hover:underline">EMA</a> and other smoothed averages in our <a href="/academy/indicators" class="text-primary hover:underline">indicator guide library</a> to find the right balance of speed and reliability.