An STS trading day

In one sentence

An STS day is mostly preparing and waiting, with a few trades only when every step lines up.

Why it matters

Good trades come from a calm plan made before the market opens. Bad trades often come from boredom or rushing.

A fixed routine keeps you calm. It also gives you a clear time to stop and review.

Do this

All times are US Eastern.

1. Before 9:30. Check what happened overnight. Mark yesterday's POC, VAH and VAL. Mark the main zones. Check the news calendar. Do not trade yet.
2. 9:30 to 9:45. Watch the first 15 minutes. Do not trade. Let the day's first high and low form.
3. From 9:45. Wait for all four STS steps, with both charts agreeing. Then enter on the 1st or 2nd candle after the QPulse cross.
4. Noon to 1:00. Trading usually goes quiet and Flow Pro often goes flat. Use it to review the morning. Only trade if a full setup shows up with Flow Pro clearly active. Do not force it.
5. 3:00 to 4:00. Activity picks up again. Good setups can show up, and so can fake ones. If you are up for the day, protect it.
6. After the close. Review each trade. Ask: did I follow the plan? Then write one line about what you learned.

STS has no fixed cut-off time. Sage trades mostly in regular market hours, and overnight only when the market is active.

Real example

In the server, the daily brief posts before the open, at midday and after the close.

1. 8:30
   Daily brief #daily-brief Free

   What matters today, before the open.

2. 8:45
   Top 5 for today (system alerts) #daily-top-5 Pro

   Our engine's five best setups, with the levels. Scored separately from our trades.

3. 9:30–16:00
   System alerts #surge-alerts Pro

   Our engine flags a stock suddenly trading way more than usual.

4. During the day
   Sage's trades #swing-trades Pro

   Trades from Sage, posted as he takes them.

5. During the day
   Trade updates #swing-management Pro

   Entries filled, stops raised, trades closed.

6. 12:30
   Midday update #daily-brief Free

   How the day is going so far.

7. 16:30
   Daily recap #daily-brief Free

   What happened, what worked, what didn't.

Times are US Eastern, on market days.

Common mistakes

• Trading the first minutes. Price is wild right after the open. Wait for it to settle.
• Forcing trades at lunch. Quiet markets chop you up. At lunch, only a full setup with Flow Pro clearly active counts.
• Skipping the review. Without a review, you repeat the same mistakes.