Three-strike rule for the London open: when I stop taking setups

[LondonScalper]

Process note for the first 90 minutes of London — not a signal thread.

I run a simple three-strike rule. A strike is not a losing trade. A strike is a process breach: chasing after a miss, taking a setup outside my pre-marked levels, or overriding a news blackout because “it looks clean.”

How I count it
1. Strike one — note it, keep size normal, tighten the checklist for the next ticket.
2. Strike two — size down to half for the rest of the open window.
3. Strike three — flat for the remainder of that London open. No “one more.”

Why it works for me: early London is where my edge is supposed to live. If I’m already bending rules by 08:30, I’m not trading a playbook — I’m negotiating with myself. The rule removes the negotiation.

What I do not count as a strike
A clean setup that stops out. Bad fills on an otherwise valid ticket. Standing aside when spread spikes. Those are costs of doing business, not discipline failures.

I write the three strikes on a sticky before the open so I’m not inventing the rule after the second mistake. If you’ve got a similar hard stop for the session, how do you define a strike versus a normal loss?

[PropScalpDesk]

Three strikes and the open is done

I use a three-strike rule on the European and London open so a messy first hour cannot become a messy day. Ending conditions are as important as entry conditions when you trade for a living.

Strike examples that count for me:

• Full R loser.
• Two partials that net to roughly minus R after costs.
• Rule break — moved stop, chased, ignored spread filter — automatic strike even if profit and loss survived.

Hit three → flatten, close platform, review later. Not switch to gold. Not “try New York.” The open gets a budget of mistakes; it does not get unlimited retries. That rule has saved more weeks than any clever trigger I have tested.

Strikes reset next session, not after a short walk. If I could clear strikes with a stretch break, the rule would be worthless. The open budget is daily. Spend it carefully or go do something unpaid on purpose.

What counts as a strike in your book — and do rule breaks cost a strike even on winners?