Q: Strong downtrend

- Lips < Teeth < Jaw — inverse order. - Price below all three lines.

Q: Parameters

The Alligator uses fixed internal parameters: | Line | SMMA Period | Forward Shift | |------|-------------|---------------| | Jaw | 13 | 8 bars | | Teeth | 8 | 5 bars | | Lips | 5 | 3 bars |

Q: Sub-components

| Component | Description | |-----------|-------------| | `ALLIGATOR_JAW` | Blue line — SMMA(13, shift 8) | | `ALLIGATOR_TEETH` | Red line — SMMA(8, shift 5) | | `ALLIGATOR_LIPS` | Green line — SMMA(5, shift 3) |

Q: Example conditions

| Condition | Meaning | |-----------|---------| | `close > ALLIGATOR_JAW` | Price above the Jaw — above long-term trend | | `ALLIGATOR_LIPS cross_over ALLIGATOR_TEETH` | Lips crosses Teeth — bullish signal | | `ALLIGATOR_LIPS > ALLIGATOR_TEETH` | Lips above Teeth — short-term bullish | | `ALLIGATOR_TEETH > ALLIGATOR_JAW` | Teeth above Jaw — medium-term bullish |

Question 1

What is the Alligator?

Accepted Answer

The Williams Alligator, developed by Bill Williams, is a trend indicator consisting of three smoothed moving averages (SMMA) shifted forward in time. The three lines represent the Jaw, Teeth, and Lips of the alligator metaphor: when the lines are intertwined, the alligator is "sleeping" (no trend); when they separate, it is "eating" (trending).

Question 2

How it works

Accepted Answer

``` Jaw = SMMA(13) shifted 8 bars forward — "Blue line" Teeth = SMMA(8) shifted 5 bars forward — "Red line" Lips = SMMA(5) shifted 3 bars forward — "Green line" ``` The forward shift means these values are plotted into the future, providing a visual lead on trend development.

Question 3

Key features

Accepted Answer

- **Three time dimensions** — Jaw (long-term), Teeth (medium-term), Lips (short-term). - **Visual metaphor** — sleeping (converged) vs. eating (diverged) makes trend state intuitive. - **Built-in forward shift** — lines are displaced forward for anticipatory analysis. - **Developed by Bill Williams** — part of the Profitunity trading system.

Question 4

Alligator sleeping

Accepted Answer

- All three lines intertwined — market is range-bound. Avoid trading.

Question 5

Alligator waking up

Accepted Answer

- Lines begin to separate — new trend starting.

Question 6

Strong uptrend

Accepted Answer

- Lips (green) > Teeth (red) > Jaw (blue) — all three properly ordered. - Price above all three lines.

Question 7

Strong downtrend

Accepted Answer

- Lips < Teeth < Jaw — inverse order. - Price below all three lines.

Question 8

Parameters

Accepted Answer

The Alligator uses fixed internal parameters: | Line | SMMA Period | Forward Shift | |------|-------------|---------------| | Jaw | 13 | 8 bars | | Teeth | 8 | 5 bars | | Lips | 5 | 3 bars |

Question 9

Sub-components

Accepted Answer

| Component | Description | |-----------|-------------| | `ALLIGATOR_JAW` | Blue line — SMMA(13, shift 8) | | `ALLIGATOR_TEETH` | Red line — SMMA(8, shift 5) | | `ALLIGATOR_LIPS` | Green line — SMMA(5, shift 3) |

Question 10

Example conditions

Accepted Answer

| Condition | Meaning | |-----------|---------| | `close > ALLIGATOR_JAW` | Price above the Jaw — above long-term trend | | `ALLIGATOR_LIPS cross_over ALLIGATOR_TEETH` | Lips crosses Teeth — bullish signal | | `ALLIGATOR_LIPS > ALLIGATOR_TEETH` | Lips above Teeth — short-term bullish | | `ALLIGATOR_TEETH > ALLIGATOR_JAW` | Teeth above Jaw — medium-term bullish |

Question 11

Tips

Accepted Answer

- The Alligator is best combined with Bill Williams' other indicators (Fractals, AO, AC). - Wait for all three lines to be properly ordered before entering a trade. - When lines are tangled (sleeping), use this as a no-trade zone filter. - The longer the alligator sleeps, the hungrier it wakes up — expect stronger breakouts after extended consolidations.