Module 9 — Lesson 2

The Sunday routine set the week's frame. Now it is 2:30 AM and London opens in 30 minutes. This is the daily pre-session window — the 15 minutes between waking up and watching the chart that determine whether the session is approached with clarity or confusion.

Everything in this window has one purpose: to complete the session plan before London opens so that what happens during the session requires execution, not analysis. Analysis under time pressure — with money on the line and a stop hunt potentially already firing — produces inferior decisions. Analysis done calmly at 2:30 AM with no position open produces much better ones.

By the time London opens, the plan should already be written. The session is then simply about watching to see if the market delivers what the plan anticipated — and executing if it does.

The Pre-Session Checklist — 2:30 AM ET

Ten items. Run them in sequence. Check each one as it is completed. The whole process takes 10 to 15 minutes. By 2:45 AM the session plan is written and the chart is ready.

Open the chart. Is the template loaded correctly? All five EMAs visible. Asia box shaded. Pivot levels showing. ADR indicator active. Prior week's high and low lines from Sunday still in place. Go → all elements present and correct. Stop → reload template before proceeding. What is today's day of the week? Monday = reduced size. Tuesday or Wednesday = primary session, full size available. Thursday = assess carefully. Friday = intraday only, no swing holds. Are there any high-impact news events in the first two hours of London? Check Forex Factory if not already noted from Sunday. Any red-folder event before 5:00 AM ET requires a decision: widen stop, wait for post-news M/W, or skip session. Major event firing at open → skip or wait until post-event before looking for entry. What is the Asian range size? Measure the Asia box high to low in pips. Under 30 pip = wound-up, full conviction. 30–50 pip = standard. Over 50 pip = blown-out, reduce size. Over 70 pip = consider skipping. Which direction did the Asian session first spike? The first directional spike during the Asian session is typically inducement. The London stop hunt often fires the opposite direction first. Note the direction — it becomes the directional lean for the session plan. Are there equal highs or equal lows visible? Mark any two or more touches at the same price level. These are stop clusters — the most likely stop hunt targets. Note which side has the more obvious cluster. That side is the higher-probability stop hunt direction. Are there round numbers or pivot levels just beyond the range boundaries? Check for major big figures (XX00), mid figures (XX50), and pivot R1/S1 sitting within 15 pip of the Asia box boundaries. These sharpen the stop hunt target. Two or more levels at the same price = high-precision target. Is there pre-London compression? Has the range tightened in the final 30–60 minutes before London? A tight pre-London band inside an already contained Asian range is one of the highest-quality setup conditions available. Go → compression present, full attention at the open. What is the ADR reading and how much range is already used? Read the ADR indicator. If more than 60% of the average daily range has been used during the Asian session — adjust target expectations downward. Full 50-pip target may need to be reduced to 30–35 pip depending on remaining statistical room. Write the session plan — one sentence. Pair, anticipated stop hunt direction, stop hunt target level, entry signal, stop size, minimum target. If you cannot write this sentence — the setup is not clear enough to trade. Stand aside today. Go → plan written, setup clear. Watch for the stop hunt at London open. No plan possible → no trade today. Close the platform.

After the Checklist — The 15-Minute Wait

The checklist is complete at 2:45 AM. London opens at 3:00 AM. There are 15 minutes between them. This is not dead time. It is the final mental preparation window.

Do not add more analysis. The chart reading is done. Adding more indicators, checking social media for "what others think," or second-guessing the session plan during these 15 minutes introduces noise into a decision that has already been made clearly. The plan is written. Trust it.
Confirm your position size is calculated. Before London opens, run the lot size formula from CF-8.2 for the anticipated stop distance. Have the number ready so that when the entry signal fires, the order is placed immediately with the correct size — not calculated under pressure mid-session.
Set your environment. Water on the desk. Phone face down or in another room. Notifications silenced. The London session is active for two hours. Distractions during that window cost money.
Remind yourself of the two-hour clock. Entry time plus two hours equals the clock expiry. Note it. If no 25-pip movement in your direction by then — you already know the action required.

The 2:30 AM Trap

The most common pre-session error is opening the chart at 2:55 AM — five minutes before the open — and trying to run the full checklist in real time as London begins moving. This produces rushed readings, incomplete session plans, and entries made before the plan is clear. The checklist requires 10 to 15 minutes of calm analysis. If you wake up less than 20 minutes before the London open — do not trade that session. Set the alarm earlier tomorrow.

The Physical Checklist Card

Print the ten-item checklist and keep it next to your monitor. Run a physical pen or pencil down each item as you complete it. The physical act of checking a box does something the mental process does not — it creates a tactile confirmation that the step is done and gives the brain permission to move to the next one. Traders who run the checklist mentally frequently skip items without realising it. Traders who run it physically almost never do.

2:30 AM — open the chart. 2:45 AM — write the plan. 3:00 AM — watch. Execute or don't. That is the morning.

Key Takeaways — CF-9.2

The pre-session checklist runs at 2:30 AM ET — 30 minutes before London opens. Ten items. Fifteen minutes. Session plan written by 2:45 AM.
If the session plan cannot be written clearly after completing all ten items — the setup is not there. No trade today. Close the platform.
The 15 minutes between 2:45 and 3:00 AM are not for more analysis. They are for calculating the lot size, setting the environment, and mentally confirming the two-hour clock time.
Opening the chart at 2:55 AM and rushing the checklist produces inferior decisions. If less than 20 minutes remain before the London open — skip the session and set the alarm earlier tomorrow.
Print the checklist. Run a physical pen down each item. The tactile check prevents skipped items that the mental process misses.
The Sunday routine provides the week's frame. The daily checklist fills in the morning's detail. Together they mean London opens with almost nothing left to figure out.

Next lesson:

CF-9.3 — Journaling and Reviewing Trades

THE PRE-SESSION CHECKLIST: WHAT TO DO BEFORE LONDON OPENS

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