I’m happy to go deeper on how I read trap zones, failed moves, or structure. This post isn’t an ad — just hoping this helps someone skip the years of pain I went through.

Ask me anything.

💬 If You’re Struggling Right Now…
…you’re not broken. You just don’t have the right lens.

The market is a conversation. Auction Market Theory taught me how to listen instead of scream my bias at the screen.

I watch for the first test of value after the open — it tells me if we’re responsive or initiative

I only trade trap setups, failed auctions, or structural extremes

I define:
- Where I enter
- What invalidates it
- What confirms it

No fear. No second-guessing. Just structure.

✅ What I Do Differently Now (And What You Can Steal)
I anchor every session with Initial Balance + value zones

Then it failed to push. Couldn’t hold value. It rejected. That’s a trap.

I shorted the reclaim below that zone.

The result?

A 200-point drop in under 30 minutes. But the power wasn’t in the drop — it was in how clearly I could see it coming.

Instead of guessing where the top or bottom was, I started waiting for the test — and reading the response.

📉 A Real Trade That Made It Click
$NQ ran up into a prior session’s single print zone. Volume spiked. Price hung for a minute.

- The market is always seeking value — not direction
- Price moves are tests, not signals
- Reversions don’t come from “overbought RSI” — they come from rejected prices, time failures, and trapped participants

🧠 What Finally Helped: Auction Market Theory (AMT)
I came across Auction Market Theory and it completely reframed how I think about the market.

AMT isn’t about predicting — it’s about interpreting what the market is trying to do.

It taught me:

- I had no consistent way to define context
- I relied on indicators, not value or intent
- I was trading price, but not trading structure
- I had setups, but no framework

“I knew this was the level. Why didn’t it work?” “I got shaken out, then it ran.” “I’m always early… or late… never right.” “My edge is solid, but my results suck.”

Here’s what was really happening:

At one point, I seriously started wondering if I was just cursed. Turns out, I wasn’t cursed — I was just missing the real structure behind the market.

🔥 Common Pain Points I Faced (You Might Too)
These kept me stuck in a brutal loop:

I’d see the breakout coming. I’d even enter at the right level. But I’d still lose. Sometimes I’d get stopped out early. Other times I’d exit too soon. Or freeze entirely.

AMA

Have you ever called the move perfectly… and still lost money? That used to be me. Constantly.