PSQ trading strategies, backtested
ProShares Short QQQ — -1x daily Nasdaq-100 — the unleveraged tech hedge. Every DeployQuant template run on PSQ over 5.5 years of minute data, same engine, same window, sorted by return.
| Strategy | CAGR | max DD | Sharpe | trades | win rate | final value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSI(2) Dip Snapback | 0.5% | −33.9% | 0.10 | 166 | 57% | $10,276 |
| 200-Day SMA Regime Filter | −2.4% | −20.1% | -0.09 | 15 | 20% | $8,727 |
| 3-Month Momentum Switch | −3.2% | −30.4% | -0.14 | 8 | 25% | $8,345 |
| 20-Day Momentum + Trailing Stop | −3.9% | −31.2% | -0.31 | 7 | 43% | $8,014 |
| Golden Cross (SMA 50/200) | −4.5% | −34.8% | -0.24 | 3 | 33% | $7,756 |
| SMA 10/50 Trend | −5.5% | −33.7% | -0.27 | 17 | 35% | $7,312 |
| EMA 12/26 Trend | −5.7% | −35.2% | -0.28 | 19 | 16% | $7,219 |
| SMA-200 Trend + 15% Trailing Stop | −5.7% | −38.1% | -0.28 | 8 | 38% | $7,216 |
| RSI(14) Mean Reversion | −6.6% | −40.8% | -0.39 | 14 | 50% | $6,855 |
| Weekly Entry + 7% Target | −8.0% | −51.5% | -0.34 | 148 | 18% | $6,291 |
| Drawdown Dip Buyer + 8% Target | −8.5% | −55.1% | -0.36 | 3 | 100% | $6,113 |
| First-to-Last Day of Month | −11.8% | −59.8% | -0.49 | 67 | 37% | $5,002 |
| Buy & hold PSQ | −13.2% | −59.5% | -0.56 | — | — | $4,575 |
Build it from blocks (or type it in English), backtest it on 5.5 years of minute data in seconds, tweak any parameter, then paper trade it on live data. No card, no broker needed to start.
Frequently asked questions
What was the best strategy for PSQ?
Of the 12 templates tested on PSQ over 2021-01-04–2026-07-17, the strongest by CAGR was RSI(2) snapback at 0.5% (max drawdown 33.9%), versus −13.2% for buy-and-hold. Best-in-hindsight is not a forecast — check drawdowns and trade counts before drawing conclusions.
Did any strategy beat buying and holding PSQ?
12 of 12 templates beat PSQ buy-and-hold (−13.2% CAGR) on this window; 11 of 12 had a shallower maximum drawdown than holding (59.5%).
Other inverse etfs
Backtests are hypothetical, computed by DeployQuant's engine on minute-resolution consolidated US market data (2021-01-04 to 2026-07-17, $10,000 starting capital, no margin, fees and slippage not modeled) and do not guarantee future results. Nothing on this page is investment advice. Live trading involves risk of loss.