Chapter 13 · Part Four

Common Mistakes

The nine that actually cost money.

About 7 minutes

Read this chapter again after your first losing week. It will read very differently then.

Trading without HTF bias
The number one killer. If you do not know where the draw is, you are guessing.
Entering before the neckline breaks
Wait for the full structural shift. No shift, no trade. Period.
Confusing IRL for ERL
Not every high or low is ERL. Use IRL and ERL as guidance, not automatic trade triggers.
Fighting the HTF order flow
If the higher timeframe is weak, the lower timeframes follow eventually.
Chasing after the sweep
The continuation model exists so you do not FOMO. Missed the reversal? Wait for the pullback.
Wrong level identification
Do not short at liquidity lows or long at liquidity highs. Enter at fair value.
Arbitrary targets
Your target must be structural. A full reversal goes ERL to ERL. Target opposite external liquidity.
Tightening a structural stop to fit a size
This is backwards and it is the fastest way to turn a winning model into a losing one. The stop is fixed by the chart. The size is the variable.
Trading the same size on every stop width
A sixty point stop at your twenty point size is three times the risk you think you are taking. R:R looking fine on paper does not make the risk fine.

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