Lesson 9 of 10 · 7 min
Building a chart routine
Turn everything in this course into a five-minute routine you run the same way every time, before every trade.
By the end you'll be able to
- Run a fixed sequence of checks before considering any trade
- Write down a chart read in a few lines
- Recognise when the routine says "no trade" and act on it
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Under pressure, a routine helps: the same questions, in the same order, every time.
The routine
Pre-trade chart routine
0 of 7
Seven questions, top to bottom. If the answer to any of the first five is “no”, you stop there. There is no trade, and that is a successful outcome of the routine.
Write it down
A chart read that lives in your head drifts. Two sentences in a notebook do not:
Try it
What would you do?
You run the routine on EUR/USD. D1 is in a downtrend. H4 shows a double bottom forming at support, and H1 has just printed a strong bullish candle. A friend messages: 'Buying here, it looks great.' What do you do?
Notice how the routine turned a tempting, emotionally loaded moment into a clear answer.
Quick check
Question 1 of 3
The routine returns 'no' at question two. What should you do?
Question 2 of 3
Why write the chart read down?
Question 3 of 3
What should be written before any order is placed?
Go deeper: How to keep a trading journal that actually helps · The habits that separate traders who last · Price Action Trading: Reading the Market Without Indicators