30 Planned Trades

Trading the First Pullback in PEP Play When It’s in Play

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In this post, I will break down the First Pullback Pattern and use a real example in PEP to show exactly how the trade is structured.

First, we identify the context (the First Pullback).
Then we apply a structured execution method (WRB Fade).

The key idea is simple:

Only trade when the market is in play.

So how do you know when a market is in play?

You’ll see a clear impulse move — an expansion with urgency as traders are forced into or out of positions. Bars expand in size and begin pushing with less overlap than the previous bars.

The First Pullback Pattern is exactly what it sounds like:

The first pullback that occurs after this impulse move.

Workflow

1. Wait for the market to be in play (a clear impulse move).
2. Identify the first pullback after that impulse.
3. Execute the trade using a structured rule-based plan with defined entry, stop, and management.
4. Repeat the same process in back tests and live trades to build skill with the pattern.

By locking into one pattern, one context, and one entry method, our trading becomes far more precise and far less random.

Now we have something we can test, track, and measure.

That’s what turns a “setup idea” into a real, repeatable trading process.

Link to WRB Trade Planner

Shane

Context: The Difference Between Random and Quality Trades

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A setup is only a small part of a trade. Context determines its meaning.

The same WRB setup will often behave differently depending on where it forms within the swing.

In this video, I’ll lay out a simple way to think about and understand context using swing zones. The swing is divided into three main zones — the Swap Zone, the Pressure Cooker Zone, and the Clean Air Zone.

For each WRB, you should ask:

• Which zone it formed in — Swap, Pressure Cooker, or Clean Air
• Which type of entry makes the most sense — continuation or fade
• How it fits into the larger structure — trend, range, or transition

Your setups become clearer when you can say,
“This WRB is happening here in the swing, so its message is probably this.” With practice, you will begin to understand how price behaves in different parts of the swing cycle.

Live trade plan: NXT Clean Air WRB fade.
We’ll apply this context framework to a Clean Air WRB fade trade on the weekly NXT chart, defining entry, stop, and target with the WRB Trade Planner rules.

WRB Trade Planner Indicator – How to Plan WRB Trades

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This video is a tutorial on the WRB (Wide Range Bar) Trade Planner indicator. I cover what it does, what it does not do, and how to use it. At the end, we plan a live WRB Fade trade on DASH.

What the Indicator Does

The indicator provides a structured approach to designing clear rule-based trade plans around WRBs, with predefined entry, stop, risk, and target levels. It is designed to reinforce discipline and consistency.

• Identifies WRBs using user-defined criteria
• Displays entry, stop, and target levels derived from the WRB
• Calculates position size based on dollar risk and stop distance
• Marks triggered and canceled trades visually on the chart

What the Indicator Does Not Do

• It does not decide which WRB you should trade
• It does not distinguish between high-quality and low-quality WRB setups

Trade selection, context analysis, and management decisions remain the trader’s responsibility. This tool is designed to support a disciplined process — not replace it.

Indicator Link:
Wide Range Bar (WRB) Trade Planner

Shane

How to Develop a Trading Method

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Today we will work backward from the trade plan back to how to develop a method for that plan.

You don’t have to develop your methods but never just depend on learning somebody else’s method as if all you had to do was follow instructions. You need to understand and make it your own. Even if you don’t want to design your methods, approach this as a learning exercise.

Let’s structure how to go about developing a method. First start with a bassline and then work your way through the process.

  1. Start with a repeatable market structure pattern. You can also use an indicator, trendline, or whatever it is you relate to and can see.
  2. Understand the essence of your pattern and use this as a bassline to develop from.
  3. Structure objective trade rules around that pattern. How are you going to enter, place a stop, manage trade, and exit?
  4. Test it and learn.

Taking On Discipline In Stages

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Once you have decided that you need discipline in your trading, knowing where to start can be difficult and overwhelming. There are many pieces to a trading plan, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

You can break the task into manageable sections and master one discipline at a time, or focus on the the discipline you need. This approach makes the process more manageable and ensures that each aspect of your trading strategy is given the attention it deserves.

Trading Plan Components: Each of these sections should have objective rules so there isn’t any escape room:
Method Rules
Entry Rules
Stop Rules
trailing Stop Rules
Exit Rules
Journaling

Trade Plan for TME, COIN

Shane

A Good Practice Destroys Itself

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We take on a discipline to do something we don’t naturally do or want to do. We set some rules that will be uncomfortable and ride out the restless energy.

Keep in mind that a good practice destroys itself, the whole point of a discipline is to get to the point where we don’t need the discipline anymore. That is called transformation and it takes time.

By being consistent with discipline over time, the reactionary impulses begin to die down and you will find yourself more balanced. This is where true intuition can begin to show up.

At some point, you might see where one of your strict rules doesn’t make sense for a trade and if you come from a balanced mindset, you can make a commonsense decision about it.

This kind of thing is testable if you have an objective method. You test your intuitive results against the objective method results. This is all a one-step forward, 2 step back kind of thing and takes time to develop. If you’re in a rush, this tells you you’re not balanced and need to keep the steady discipline.

Shane

What Is Flowing With The Market?

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We have all heard that it is a good idea to go with the flow of the market but what does that look like? It’s not enough to just read about flowing with the market, it must be practiced and experienced. We must acquire the skill of following markets up and down through its changes seamlessly.

A disciplined trading plan will have an objective method and will objectively define entry, stop, and management. Part of any good method is never wondering if the market is going up or down or about to turn, It’s doing what it’s doing. You want to independently know this information without having to check outside sources.

In the video, I show a simple way to practice using a 100-period moving average, but you can use anything you want as long as it is objective and follows the market. This is a letting go practice, a learning to change with change.

We have all heard that it is a good idea to go with the flow of the market but what does that look like? It’s not enough to just read about flowing with the market, it must be practiced and experienced. We must acquire the skill of following markets up and down through its changes seamlessly.

A disciplined trading plan will have an objective method and will objectively define entry, stop, and management. Part of any good method is never wondering if the market is going up or down or about to turn, It’s doing what it’s doing. You want to independently know this information without having to check outside sources.

In the video, I show a simple way to practice using a 100-period moving average, but you can use anything you want as long as it is objective and follows the market. With just a few rules we can use, the moving average to tell us if the market is up and we are looking for longs, if the market is down and we are looking for shorts, or if it’s neutral and we are neutral. This is a letting go practice, a learning to change with change.

Organized Volatility: More One-Line Practice

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In this video, I follow up on the trend line exercise I introduced in the last post. The exercise is designed so that you can learn about markets and price flow in your own experience. There is beauty and harmony in each chart that shows the footprints of the buyers and sellers.

To most people, the price action on a chart looks chaotic. It’s not chaotic, you need to learn how to look, and how to see. This is the beginning of designing a structured method for trading and it starts with some openness and curiosity.

This trend line practice isolates 2 confirmed swings with the same size reaction legs. By identifying two same-sized swings, we have found some organized volatility and behavior. We can then participate in that continued behavior or have a way to know when it changes.

Shane

One-Line Practice: Set Yourself Aside And Follow

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In this video, I set up a trading plan and introduce a trend line exercise you can practice in any market and in any time frame. There is no one right way to draw a trend line, it’s a matter of function and what you are trying to see. We will be drawing a trend line off two relative (same size swings). This will identify the footprints of organized volatility on a chart.

This exercise is designed so that you can learn about markets and price flow in your own experience. Its objectives are:

  1. Learn to isolate relative market structures.
  2. Learn to set yourself aside and follow price no matter what price is doing.
  3. Allow the practice and price flow to teach you.

We first need to make some objective swing definitions:

  • Confirmed Swing High/Low: A new high confirms a swing low and a new low confirms a swing high.
  • Balanced/Relative Swing: Same size reaction legs.

One Line Practice Instructions:

  1. Identify two confirmed relative swings
  2. Anchor a trend line at the two lows and make observations (not expectations) about how price interacts with the line.
  3. Always follow the last two relative confirmed swings with the trend line.
  4. Draw a box across the top of each swing and observe how price interacts with the boxes.

By identifying two same-sized swings that confirmed new highs, we have found some organized volatility and behavior. We can then participate in that continued behavior or have a way to know when it changes.

Shane

Trading Rules Are Not a Suggestion or an Option

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When you make a trading rule, it’s not a suggestion or an option. Mostly, when we want to be flexible with our rules, it’s an emotional impulse pulling us to make some unbalanced trading decision. Make sure to keep closing every escape route you have. If you are not ready to commit to rules then don’t make them, you will just be setting yourself up. Wait until you are ready, then have a go at it.

In my posts, I have been doing an exercise of trade planning for 30 trades. This is a complete plan covering every aspect of the trade. Today I will do a review of the trades done so far.

Components of a Trade Plan:

  1. Objective method
  2. Trade entry, stop, and exit
  3. Position sizing and risk management
  4. Documentation and review

The review is simple, I ask 2 basic questions.

  1. Did I make a clear plan ahead of time?
  2. Did I follow that plan?

These questions demand honest, yes-or-no answers. They force me to confront my trading discipline head-on, without room for excuses or escape. At first, the rules may seem confining, but after a while, you will see that trading can be very relaxed.

I understand that rules for every aspect can be overwhelming. You can do it in steps tackling one thing at a time. For instance, you can work on only entries, stops, or management until you master that one thing. Setting the foundations of discipline and consistency won’t offer immediate gratification but it will serve you in the long run. What’s important is that you keep moving forward toward your objectives with awareness.

Shane