Front Leg vs Back Leg
The front leg is the most recent 4H directional move (trade this). The back leg is the previous move (use for context only).
The front leg and back leg are divided by the most recent pivot on the 4-hour chart. When price pivots (shifts from bullish to bearish or vice versa), everything after the pivot is the front leg and everything before it is the back leg. The front leg shows current momentum, contains fresh zones, and provides clear intraday targets (the next 4H high or low). The back leg contains older structure that may or may not still be relevant. The most common trap is forcing a narrative from the back leg — seeing an old demand zone and insisting "price must reverse here" even though the front leg is clearly bearish. Front leg zones should be your primary POI selection. Back leg zones serve as context: extreme levels, potential liquidity targets, and confluence. Never use a back leg zone as your primary entry reason against the front leg direction.
✓How to Recognize
- •Front leg: everything after the most recent 4H pivot, shows current momentum direction
- •Back leg: everything before the pivot, provides context but not primary conviction
- •Use front leg for directional bias, POI selection, and intraday targets
- •Back leg extremes are the one exception — structural boundaries worth watching
⚡How to Avoid
- →Forcing back leg narratives against front leg direction ("this old demand must hold")
- →Using back leg zones as primary entry areas without front leg alignment
- →Ignoring the front leg direction because the back leg structure "looks bullish"
- →Looking more than one structural move back for intraday trading decisions