14. Trade Checklist

14.1 Top-down Checklist

Community insight

• Every setup needs five components: a draw on liquidity, a profile (how the candle is expected to form relative to its open), a key level, a crack in correlation confirming it, and a lower-timeframe expansion signature to actually enter on. — Afyz — live back-test session, 2:58
• There's a hierarchy to building a trade idea, and cracks in correlation — even a strength switch — should be your last priority, not your first. Check the draw first, then whether the profile and wick size actually support reaching it, and only then look for the two-stage confirmation. Don't pattern-trade a two-stage SMT just because one is present with no draw behind it. — Erik — "Strength Switching" lecture, 28:14

1. Where is the weekly candle going?
2. Where is the daily candle going relative to the weekly?
3. What is daily trading away from?
4. Where is the session / 4H / 6H candle going relative to daily?
5. Am I trading a 4H reversal or continuation?
6. Is there any 1-stage / 2-stage variant?
7. Is price close to a DoL?
8. Is the draw low-resistance liquidity?
9. Am I avoiding protected swings?
10. Is there a close-proximity draw / gap?
11. Is there a key level supporting swing formation?
12. Is the SMT at a key level?
13. Is there SMT?
14. Is there SS / PSP?
15. Is there displacement / gap?
16. Is 30m / 1H price action clean?
17. Is the current candle tradable?
18. Is price close to a driver?
19. Has price retraced into a gap before the driver and failed to reverse?
20. Does RR support the trade?
21. Has the DoL already been reached?

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14.2 Entry Checklist

1. Key level hit with SMT:
   • Reversal: 1H+
   • Continuation: early uses 15m+, late uses 30m+
2. Zoom into MTF and wait for SS:
   • PSP
   • SSMT
3. Anticipate 30m / 1H / 4H C3:
   • If C2 has already expanded, do not trade C3.
4. For 4H C2, check:
   • small wick; or
   • large wick back to open.
5. Confirm that 30m / 1H price action is clean.
6. Prefer an entry near a new 90m / 4H / 6H opening.
7. Use 3m / 5m CISD / FVG as the entry trigger.
8. Prefer a bulky-bodied CiSD.
9. If the clean CiSD is too far away, consider whether a failure-swing CiSD is valid.
10. Apply the CISD selection rule:

• continuation: prefer the first CISD;
• reversal: prefer the second CISD.

11. Place SL at SMT invalidation or the reversal candle extreme.
12. After early entry, move SL to BE according to the plan.
13. Give each reversal a maximum of two chances.

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14.3 Expansion Timing Checklist

To decide whether expansion can be expected:

1. Is there SS?
2. Is there an HTF open, especially 90m+?
3. Is there a new key level sweep / hit?
4. If none of the three exists, is there a lagging-asset SMT-break sequence?
5. Is there a low-resistance draw?
6. Is there an LTF reversal signature / displacement?
7. Did price retrace into a gap before a driver but fail to reverse?
   • If yes, the driver becomes an important expansion timing reference.

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