My old London open looked like a buffet: fade the Asia range, chase the first break, scalp the pullback, then wonder why the journal was chaos. Now the rule is blunt: one A-idea only in the first 60–90 minutes. Everything else is observation.
How it works:
Pre-open: write the single idea in one sentence (level + trigger + invalidation)
If it does not trigger — flat is a valid outcome
No “bonus” trades until the first idea is closed and reviewed in one line
Second idea only after a timer and a fresh checklist tick
Expectancy improved less from a new pattern and more from not stacking correlated mistakes when the book is noisy. This is not anti-ORB dogma — it is anti-multitasking.
How many ideas do you allow yourself at London open? One? Two with a hard cap? Or do you still freehand and sort it out in the journal later?
My old open was a buffet — fade Asia, chase break, scalp pullback — then a chaotic journal. Now the first 60–90 minutes on EURUSD allow one A-idea only. Everything else is observation.
How it works from Frankfurt: pre-select the idea before cash open (level + trigger + invalidation). If it does not appear, flat is success. If it appears and completes, I do not invent a second theme to stay entertained.
Prop consistency pressure is not an excuse to spray tickets. One clean idea beats four overlapping stories.
If the A-idea completes early, I do not fill the remaining open minutes with B-ideas. Empty capacity after a clean win is a feature of the rule, not a bug.
I write the single idea on paper before the open. If I cannot state it in one sentence, it is not ready to be the open’s only idea.
What is your current open buffet problem — too many patterns armed, or switching pairs mid-drive?
