summary: the lookback period controls how far back WIP reaches for historical data — 3 months for recent market conditions or 6 months for more reliable averages.
the lookback period controls how far back WIP goes when calculating the historical data behind every setup on the dashboard.
edgeful currently offers 2 options: 3 months and 6 months. the one you choose changes the numbers you see — and the story the data is telling you.
6 months — more data, smoother averages
the 6-month lookback pulls in more historical occurrences for each setup. more occurrences means a larger sample size — and larger sample sizes produce more reliable averages.
if a setup has filled 68% of the time over 6 months, that number is built on more data points than the same setup at 3 months. it's less likely to be a fluke or a short-term blip.
6 months is the better default for most traders. the patterns you see here are more statistically grounded, and the averages smooth out short-term noise that might otherwise look meaningful.
3 months — more recent, more reactive
the 3-month lookback focuses on what the market has been doing lately. markets go through regimes — periods where volatility contracts, expands, or behaves differently than the longer-term average.
if the last 3 months have been unusually choppy or trending hard in one direction, that shift may not show up clearly in a 6-month window. the 3-month lookback surfaces it.
use 3 months when you want to weight recent behavior more heavily — especially during periods of elevated volatility or after a significant change in market conditions.
a note on sample size
some setups don't trigger that often. if a setup only occurred 8 times over 3 months, a 75% fill rate is based on 6 occurrences — that's a thin sample.
the same setup over 6 months might have 20+ occurrences. the same 75% now means a lot more.
always pay attention to the occurrence count alongside the percentage. a stat built on a small sample can look compelling and still be unreliable. the 6-month lookback helps here — more data, more confidence.
which one to use
a practical approach: run both and compare.
if the numbers are consistent across 3 and 6 months, the pattern is holding up across time — that's a stronger edge. if the 3-month number has diverged significantly from the 6-month number, the market may have shifted recently and it's worth knowing why.
when in doubt, default to 6 months. the added sample size gives you a more stable foundation, and you can always switch to 3 months to check if recent behavior has changed.