sat next to a 20 year old guy on a plane who casually mentioned he made $4.5 million last year
didn't look rich
t-shirt
jeans
beat up backpack
i asked what he did
"i trade futures"
"full time?"
"yeah, about 3 hours a day"
"$4.5 million in 3 hours a day?"
"well, it's not really about hours, it's about decisions. i probably make 10-15 decisions per month that matter. the rest is just waiting"
"what do you mean?"
"most people think trading is constant action. it's not. it's 99% waiting for your setup, 1% executing. that's why most people fail. they can't handle doing nothing"
he pulled out his laptop
showed me his calendar
90% of trading days marked: "NO TRADE"
"this is march, see? 31 days. i traded 7 times. made $380k that month"
"7 trades made $380k?"
"yeah, because they were the RIGHT 7 trades. everyone else took 200 trades that month and lost money because they were WRONG trades. quality over quantity"
"how do you know which 7 to take?"
"i don't trade unless i'd bet my house on it"
"what?"
"every trade, i ask myself: would i bet my house on this setup? if the answer is no, i don't trade. most setups? the answer is no. but 7 times this month, the answer was YES"
he kept talking:
"the biggest mistake retail traders make is thinking they need to trade every day. you don't. you need to trade WHEN YOUR SETUP APPEARS. some months that's 15 times. some months that's 3 times"
"what about consistency?"
"consistency isn't daily trading. consistency is ONLY taking your setup. if your setup appears once a week, you trade once a week. if it appears 5 times in a day, you trade 5 times that day. the market doesn't care about your need for action"
"but i feel like i'm wasting time if i'm not trading"
"that's employee mindset. you think time = money. it doesn't. correct decisions = money. i make more doing nothing 24 days a month than you make forcing trades every single day"
he was right
i was trading out of BOREDOM
not opportunity
i tested this for 90 days:
BEFORE "house bet" filter:
- 156 trades
- 41% win rate
- -$3,800
AFTER "house bet" filter:
- 11 trades
- 73% win rate
- +$14,200
11 trades in 90 days
because i stopped trading
and started WAITING
the plane guy was right:
"most traders are addicted to action. they need to DO something. that's why they lose. the real money is in doing NOTHING until the perfect setup appears. but doing nothing feels like you're not working, so people force trades"
"how do you handle the boredom?"
"i have a life outside trading. i go to the gym. i read. i travel. trading is 3 hours a day MAX. the other 21 hours i'm living. you guys are staring at charts 12 hours a day hoping something happens. that's not trading. that's gambling addiction"
he closed his laptop
"here's the secret: the less you trade, the more you make. i know guys trading 500 times a month making $0. i trade 15 times a month making $400k. the difference? i'm SELECTIVE. they're ACTIVE. market rewards selectivity, punishes activity"
flight landed
he gave me his card
"if you want to make real money trading, stop trying to trade every day. start waiting for YOUR setup only. 90% of trading is waiting. 10% is executing. master the waiting and you'll make more money doing nothing than everyone else makes doing everything"
i never saw him again
but i think about that conversation every single day
the math is simple:
you're not paid by the trade
you're paid by the CORRECT trade
taking 200 trades with 40% accuracy = -$5k
taking 20 trades with 70% accuracy = +$50k
same account
different approach
completely different outcome
most of you are over-trading
thinking activity = profit
it doesn't
selectivity = profit
the traders making $500k+/year
they trade LESS than you
not more
they're better at WAITING
not better at TRADING
master the wait
make the money
“When you win the game, stop playing.”
Underrated advice in perps trading.
You crush it in a trending market, then give it all back in chop.
Conditions change fast.
Momentum gone? Volume dead? Step aside.
Discipline isn’t just risk management.
It’s knowing when to stop.
Win. Step back. Wait for better market.
That’s how you stay consistent.
Institutional Price Action Cheat Sheet 2025
1. Market Structure
HH (Higher High) → Bullish continuation
HL (Higher Low) → Confirmation of strength
LH (Lower High) → Bearish continuation
LL (Lower Low) → Confirmation of weakness
2. Liquidity Zones
Equal highs/lows = liquidity pools
Stop hunts happen before real moves
Institutional orders hide below/above obvious levels
3. Order Blocks
Bullish OB → Last down candle before an impulsive move up
Bearish OB → Last up candle before an impulsive move down
Retest of OB = high-probability entry
4. Fair Value Gaps (FVG)
Imbalance between buyers & sellers
Price gravitates to fill gaps before continuation
5. Institutional Entries
Break of structure (BOS) + Retest = safest entry
Entry near liquidity sweep = sniper trades
Confluence of OB + FVG + BOS = institutional precision
6. Risk Management (The Real Edge)
1–2% per trade, never more
Stop hunts are normal → place stops smartly
Patience > entries — institutions wait, so should you
Golden Rule 2025:
Retail chases moves. Institutions create moves. Trade with the creator, not the chaser.
SMT Divergence The Smart Money Mirror
The market speaks in silence.
When correlated assets move in sync, inefficiency disappears.
When they diverge, truth leaks through the cracks.
BTC ↔ ETH.
DXY ↔ Gold.
USDT.D ↔ Total.
Gold ↔ Silver.
NQ ↔ ES.
GBP ↔ EUR.
Watch who makes the higher high, and who refuses.
Watch who sweeps liquidity, and who protects it.
That’s where smart money hides.
SMT Divergence doesn’t give you a trade,
it adds confluence to the idea you already have.
It exposes relative strength or weakness between correlated assets,
confirming what price alone can’t.
Don’t trade one chart.
Trade the relationship.
Literally my system.
I tend to use value areas (of current trend/range or former trend/ranges) instead of HVN.
And I also look at the low-volume nodes, which are the prices where the market was imbalanced.
The Bojan Low.
No, I didn’t invent it.
Yes, I’ll always give credit where it’s due.
But this right here… is elite information.
🧵
1.
The Bojan Low isn’t just a random bottom.
It’s a specific candle formation that marks a high-probability shift.
You’re not looking for support.
You’re looking for a trap.
And only a few see it early.
2.
Let’s get into it.
This setup works best at extreme premium or discount zones
Where market makers have already positioned themselves.
That’s your context.
If the context is wrong, everything else collapses.
3.
So what is it?
On the third close (sometimes the wick, sometimes the open)
the market gives you a window.
That’s where you strike.
Not randomly.
Not emotionally.
It’s mathematical precision blended with intuition.
4.
The key is:
→ Higher timeframe context
→ Market Maker Supply or Demand zone
→ The third candle is your sniper entry
You won’t always get confirmation.
But when it aligns… it’s game over.
5.
This works in both directions.
Bottoming formation → reversal long
Topping formation → reversal short
Study the inverse.
Then master the mirror.
6.
I’ve said enough.
If it’s not clicking it’s not meant to click.
Some of you will print off this chart and study it for weeks.
Others will scroll past.
That’s the game.
7.
Watch the open.
Watch the wick.
Watch the third close.
When they line up with context,
the Bojan Low becomes your best friend.
1/ Market Makers
Every move in the market is either accumulation or distribution.
Market makers don’t chase, they create traps.
Retail always ends up on the wrong side.
Your edge? Ride with the market makers, not against them.
🧵 A simple breakdown:
2/ Supply & Demand Dynamics
When retail is overly short, smart money accumulates.
When retail is overly long, smart money distributes.
It’s a liquidity game.
They win by filling positions, retail provides the exit liquidity.
3/ The Key: Confirmation Moves
After accumulation/distribution, market makers show their hand:
A strong push. A shift in structure. A rejection.
This is your confirmation.
Not before, after they’ve positioned themselves.
4/ Where the Real Opportunities Are
🟢 Price at extreme discount
🟢 Mid-timeframe range forming
🟢 Accumulation + confirmation move
→ High-probability long
🔴 Price at extreme premium
🔴 Mid-timeframe range forming
🔴 Distribution + confirmation move
→ High-probability short
5/ Win Rate on These Setups?
90–95% if you wait for the full picture:
• HTF context
• MTF structure
• Clear accumulation/distribution
• Confirmation move
You only need 1–3 trades a week. The rest is noise.
6/ The Hardest Part?
Patience.
Connecting the dots.
Waiting for the right context.
Confidence in structure over emotions.
Most traders overtrade. Pros filter.
7/ Final Thoughts
You’ll never outsmart the market makers but you can follow their trail.
• Wait for extremes
• Understand who’s trapped
• Trade only after confirmation
Keep it simple. Trade like an Insider.
BTCUSD.P Bybit. Main MTF trading ( low/high not taken this chart rules)
BTCUSDT.P Mexc LTF trading.
BTCUSD Index HTF POI zones.
ETHUSDT.P Bybit Main trading.
ETH/BTC Main confluence chart.
USDT.D Main confluence chart.
TOTAL Main confluence chart.
🧵 There are rules in trading.
I didn’t make them.
But I learned to obey them.
📉 If you break them, you pay.
📈 If you follow them, you profit.
It’s not personal.
It’s just how the game works.
Here’s what most traders don’t want to hear:
1/
The market doesn’t care about your opinion.
Your emotions.
Your “gut feeling.”
It cares about structure, liquidity, timing.
That’s it.
2/
There’s no room for “maybe” in a system built on probabilities.
You either:
✅ Obey the rules or
❌ Get punished by them
It’s that simple.
3/
Common trader mistake:
“Let me just break the rule this once.”
That’s how accounts bleed.
Once you break discipline, the market sniffs you out.
4/
You don’t need to be smart.
You need to respect the rules:
▫️ Cut losers
▫️ Let winners run
▫️ Don’t chase
▫️ Don’t overleverage
▫️ Don’t revenge trade
▫️ Trade what’s there, not what you wish was there
5/
This game isn’t fair.
But it is consistent.
The ones who last are the ones who submit to the rules not the ones who try to outsmart them.
I didn’t make the rules.
I just learned the hard way:
Obey them or get wrecked.