Market Timing
Defining specific trading windows, sessions, and time-based rules within your framework
Market timing defines when you trade within your framework. It includes your primary trading session (London, New York, Asia), your specific time window (e.g., 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM), and rules for other sessions. The window must be large enough to allow mid-timeframe POIs to set up, interact with supply/demand, and confirm — but not so large that it leads to overtrading. Market timing also includes news awareness: checking the economic calendar for high-impact events, avoiding trades around restricted events (for prop firms), and defining rules for position management through news. Price moves specifically around high-impact news events, and the market will range beforehand building liquidity.
✓How to Recognize
- •Define a 4-5 hour primary trading window within your session
- •Check news calendar daily: high-impact events, FTMO restricted events, pair-specific news
- •Session rules: e.g., max 1 trade in Asia, if lost — done for that session
- •Price ranges before news (building liquidity) then uses that liquidity during the event
⚡How to Avoid
- →Trading all sessions without limits (leads to exhaustion and overtrading)
- →Having too short a window (not enough time for setups to develop)
- →Ignoring news events (risk of slippage destroying your risk management)
- →Not having a defined end time (trading "until I make money" is a trap)