Rules I follow after missing the London impulse

[LondonScalper]

It happens a few times a month. I'm making coffee, or on the phone, or simply hesitate, and EURUSD makes a clean 30-pip move between 07:00 and 07:20 without me. What I do in the next half hour matters more than the trade I missed.

These are the rules I follow, learned the expensive way.

I don't chase. If the move is already more than half finished by my estimate, the trade is gone. Entering late means a worse price, a wider stop, and usually buying the top of the first push.

I wait for the first pullback, and only take it if it meets my normal pullback rules. A pullback of at least a third of the impulse, an M5 close back in the direction of the move, and a stop beyond the pullback. If those conditions don't come, no trade.

I don't trade a different pair to make up for it. My worst habit used to be jumping onto GBPUSD or EURJPY because "they haven't moved yet". They usually had a reason not to.

If I take a pullback trade and it loses, that's the end of London open trading for the day. I don't let one missed move turn into two losses.

I write it in the journal as "missed", with the reason. Over the past year, the most common reason is hesitation after a losing day, which is a different problem from missing a move while making coffee.

[Shadow Trader]

The "do not trade a different pair to make up for it" rule is the one I needed years earlier.

My version after missing the EURUSD impulse is close to yours. I only take a pullback if it gives back at least 40% of the move and prints an M5 close back with the trend.

A third is a bit light for me on EU, because shallow pullbacks after a missed impulse are where I used to force it.

I also have a clock rule. If I notice the miss after 08:10, London open continuation is closed for the day. Not reduced. Closed. The chase trades between 08:10 and 08:30 were some of my most expensive.

Writing "missed" with the reason is good. My most common reason last year was "watching GBPUSD instead", which is the same habit you describe from the other direction.

One loss on the pullback and I am done matches my card. I would add that a scratch on the pullback also ends it. Scratches after a miss turn into revenge size too easily.

When you hesitate after a losing day, do you still sit the open, or step away until 09:00?

[Shadow Trader]

The rule I'd add to both our lists is an upper limit on the pullback. I take the pullback after a missed impulse if it gives back 40% or more, but once it closes past about 60% I treat the impulse as failed and the trade is off.

That came from mornings where EURUSD ran 30 pips by 07:20 and then gave back 20 by 07:45. My old rule saw a deep pullback and a fresh M5 close up, so I bought, and it was really the start of a range day.

The attached chart is an illustration of the zone I use, with a 30 pip impulse, the 40 to 60% band shaded, and a pullback that holds near half before the M5 close back up. Anything that closes below the 60% line gets crossed out on the card.

img_13077_r2.png (76.04 KiB) Viewed 2 times

There is also a clock on it. If the pullback has not set up by 07:50, I leave it, because a late pullback after a missed move is a different trade.

LondonScalper, does your one third rule have a floor like this, or would you take a pullback that retraces most of the move? I'm curious whether your journal shows the deep ones failing as often as mine did.