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Core glossary

Search or scan these terms when you need the exact job a concept performs in the system.

Acceptance
Price spending time and volume around a level, suggesting the market is doing business there.
Asymmetry
A decision where modeled upside is meaningfully larger than planned downside.
ATR
Average True Range, a volatility measure used to express typical price movement.
Breakeven stop
A stop moved near the entry after a written management condition occurs. Costs can still produce a small loss.
Catalyst
An event or evidence that could change market expectations about an asset or business.
Confluence
Agreement among independent evidence layers such as location, timing, participation, and structure.
Correlation
The tendency of positions or assets to move together, creating hidden combined exposure.
Cumulative delta
A running estimate of aggressive buy volume minus aggressive sell volume.
Demand zone
A documented profile or structure area where prior buying activity may matter on a retest.
Delta
A measure of directional exposure; in order flow it can also mean aggressive buying minus selling. Context matters.
Drawdown
The decline from a portfolio or strategy peak to a later trough.
Entry trigger
The observable condition that permits execution only after the planned location and context exist.
Expectancy
Average result per trade: win probability × average win minus loss probability × average loss.
Flow
Participation evidence that helps distinguish directional activity from balanced or low-volume trade.
Free cash flow
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditure; cash left after maintaining the business.
Higher timeframe
The chart used for structural context; STS assigns this job to the 15-minute chart.
HVN
High-volume node, a price area where relatively more volume traded and acceptance may exist.
Invalidation
The observable evidence that proves the original thesis wrong.
Leverage
Exposure larger than the capital posted, which magnifies both gains and losses.
Liquidity
The ability to transact without excessive delay, spread, or price impact.
LVN
Low-volume node, a price area where the auction moved quickly and acceptance was limited.
Margin of safety
The gap between price and a conservative value estimate intended to absorb analytical error.
Naked POC
A prior session point of control that price has not revisited since it formed.
No-trade condition
A predefined failure gate that requires a wait or pass decision.
Order flow
Evidence about transactions and participation inside or around price bars and levels.
Opening range
The high-low range formed during a defined period after the session opens.
Planned R
The initial currency loss between entry and stop, used as one unit for normalized review.
POC
Point of Control, the price row with the most volume in the selected profile.
Poor high or low
An unfinished auction extreme that lacks a clean excess tail in the profile model.
Portfolio heat
The total planned loss across open positions, adjusted for correlated exposure and execution risk.
Process score
A measure of whether the decision followed the written system regardless of P&L.
Profit factor
Gross profit divided by absolute gross loss across a group of trades.
Regime
The market environment—such as trend, range, expansion, or compression—that changes strategy behavior.
Rejection
Price testing a level and moving away without sustained acceptance.
Reward-to-risk
Planned potential reward divided by planned loss from entry to stop.
RTH
Regular Trading Hours for the instrument and exchange being studied.
Slippage
The difference between an expected execution price and the actual fill.
Supply zone
A documented profile or structure area where prior selling activity may matter on a retest.
Thesis
The evidence-based reason for a trade or investment, including what would disprove it.
Time stop
An exit or review condition triggered when the expected move or catalyst does not occur on schedule.
VAH
Value Area High, the upper boundary of the selected value area.
VAL
Value Area Low, the lower boundary of the selected value area.
Value-area overlap
The relationship between current and prior value areas, used to classify balance or migration.
VWAP
Volume-Weighted Average Price, the average traded price weighted by volume for a selected period.
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Frequently asked process questions

These answers protect the system boundaries. Use the linked guides when you need the complete workflow.

Getting started

Which indicator comes first?

Volume Profile. Learn location before adding timing and participation.

Entry

What if QPulse triggers away from a level?

Pass. A timing signal without planned location is not the STS setup.

Flow

What if Flow Pro is dead?

Wait or pass. The final participation gate did not clear.

Timing

What if I missed the entry window?

Let it go. Recalculate only when a fresh setup forms at a valid location.

Risk

Where does the stop go?

Beyond the structure or profile condition that invalidates the thesis, then size from that distance.

Signals

Should I copy a signal?

No. Verify freshness, fields, structure, risk, and fit before making your own decision.

Swing

Can I turn a losing trade into an investment?

No. Close or review the failed trade under its original thesis; research any investment separately.

Investing

Does a good company mean a good price?

No. Business quality and valuation are separate parts of the thesis.

Review

How many trades prove an edge?

A small sample does not. Track enough consistent, comparable trades to estimate expectancy and uncertainty.

Privacy

What should I never post?

Do not post account balances, credentials, order IDs, tax records, or private identifying information.