Research
Notes from the work: what moved the result, what did not, and why. Written for traders who want to check rather than believe.
Direction is the lever
The same entry rules make 4 800 $ with a thirty-minute direction read and 11 400 $ with perfect foresight. Everything in between is where the work is.
No edge without the gap
Opening range breakouts in 120 variants and opening retracements in 78 variants, on the same data: nothing. The sweep followed by a fair value gap is the only pattern that paid.
Why a daily target halves the result
A fixed 200 $ target per day cuts the year's profit in half. A time limit on losing trades costs nothing and lowers the drawdown. The difference is which trades you cut.
My preparation for the trading day
The routine before the first trade, as published on MQL5 in 2023: news, charts, the prior close, the open, a line in the sand, and a review at the end.