Trade guide · 5

Checklist and mistakes

One page to run through before every trade, and the habits that cost traders the most.

Pre-trade checklist

□Higher timeframe cycle points my way.
□Higher timeframe grade is Developing or better, and steady for full size.
□My entry type matches the setup and the grade.
□The trigger bar has closed. I am not acting on a wick or an unfinished bar.
□FLD target points the same way as the cycle wave.
□Target is due before, or around, the next cycle peak.
□Stop is beyond the trough the target is measured from.
□Reward:risk to the target is at least 1:1.
□Position size fits my risk per trade.
□I know where I take profit, where the runner exits, and when the time stop hits.

Rule. If any box is empty, the trade waits.

Mistake	Instead
Trading against the higher timeframe	Take only the direction the timeframe above allows.
Entering on a wick	Only closes count. Wait for the bar to finish.
Treating the Turn Zone as a signal	A Turn Zone says watch. Price crossing the FLD says act.
Full size at the cycle turn	Earliest entry, smallest size.
Ignoring a Low confidence grade	Lean on a higher timeframe or wait.
Chasing after the target is mostly done	If less than half the move is left, wait for the next setup.
Moving the stop further away	Exit and wait for the next crossing.
Reading projected dates as exact	Dates are windows. Price confirms.

Write down every trade, taken or skipped. After twenty or so you will see which entries suit you.

[Screenshot: a long that met every check]

[Market, timeframe, higher-timeframe direction and grade, entry type, target and how the runner was managed.]

[Screenshot: a setup that was skipped]

[Which check failed and what price did next.]