// Overview
Not every minute carries the same edge. Crypto breathes in windows where participation, liquidity, and structure line up. Your job isn’t to be “always on,” it’s to recognize when the order book is providing a clean read and when it’s manufacturing noise. The basic read: session opens/overlaps, higher-timeframe level interactions, funding/OI resets, and scheduled catalyst windows. Execute inside those; conserve during drift.
// Playbook
Signals to Act
HTF level in play (daily/weekly open, prior high/low, range boundary) + fresh impulse into that level.
Session energy present (e.g., Asia close → London open handoff, NY open first 90 minutes) with rising participation.
Liquidity event visible: clustered liquidations or stops swept → swift reclaim/acceptance.
No imminent high-impact news in the next minutes that would nuke your invalidation logic.
Signals to Wait
Mid-range chop between levels; tiny candles with wicks on both sides, books thin or one-sided spoofing.
Post-impulse digestion after a big move (especially weekends) with no fresh catalyst.
Pre-event paralysis (market holding breath) or after a data spike where structure hasn’t re-formed.
You can’t state trigger + invalidation in one sentence. No clarity → no entry.
// Setups
Break → Retest → Go (Session Assisted)
Level breaks on rising participation near London/NY open; clean retest holds; entry on reclaim with invalidation tucked under retest.
Avoid if break occurs deep in dead hours (low participation) or into nearby opposing HTF level.
Range Sweep Reversal (Clocked)
Stop-run of prior range high/low often lands on :00/:30 marks; swift reclaim + acceptance back inside; enter on reclaim, target mid → opposite bound.
If reclaim fails to hold for two closes on your execution TF, stand down or flip bias per plan.
// Common Mistakes
Treating Every Minute Equally
No session awareness; trading lunch-hour chop like open-hour momentum. Edge decays outside your window.
News Candle Confusion
Entering inside a data spike without structure. Let volatility print → wait for reclaim/acceptance → then decide.
Overfitting the Clock
Buying a time, not a setup. Time amplifies structure; it isn’t structure by itself.
Stretching Windows
Chasing after the window closes; liquidity thins and invalidations get sloppy. Call the play dead and preserve capital.
// Checklist
Before Entry
Which window is this? (Asia/London/NY open/overlap, daily/weekly open/close, funding/expiry, catalyst).
HTF level interaction? (prior day/week H/L, range boundary, key SR) + execution TF trigger identified.
Invalidation written down. Size set by risk tier; first objective defined (de-risk band).
After Entry
Let it work inside the window. If momentum dies as window closes, manage per plan (trim, trail, or flatten).
No new info → no change. New info (failed reclaim, absorption at target) → execute the prewritten branch.
