How to Identify A+ Setups Before the Bell Rings

This guide shows you how to filter for A+ setups before the bell rings, so you're executing a plan instead of reacting to noise.

In brief

• Define pass/fail criteria before the market opens: A+ setups require catalyst, daily room, clean premarket structure, 2x+ relative volume, clear levels, and defined risk. If any element is missing, it's not A+—it's a distraction.
• Mark five levels maximum and write both the trade plan and the no-trade plan: Premarket high/low, VWAP, prior day levels, and one major support/resistance zone. Know your entry trigger, stop, size, and the exact conditions that void the trade before price moves.
• Wait for the first 15 minutes to confirm structure: The open is an observation window, not an execution window. Let spreads tighten, volume confirm, and price prove itself at your marked levels before you risk capital.
• Use a scorecard to remove guesswork: Score every candidate across seven criteria (catalyst, daily room, premarket structure, RVOL, level clarity, VWAP behavior, risk-defined). Below 7/10 or missing any yes/no item means you stand down.

What an "A+ Setup" Actually Means (And What It Doesn't)

An A+ setup is a quality grade, not a prediction. It's a trade that meets every structural requirement you defined before the bell—clean entry, tight stop, favorable reward-to-risk, and volume confirmation. Whether it wins or loses doesn't change its grade.

We've watched thousands of traders chase big movers at the open, convinced that a stock up 40% premarket is automatically an A+ trade. It's not. A+ describes the quality of your process, not the size of the move. A stock can rip 80% and still offer a terrible setup if your entry is extended, your stop is unclear, and your risk is undefined.

The 3 pillars: structure, volume, and context

An A+ setup requires three things to align:

• Structure: Clean levels—premarket high, VWAP, prior day resistance—that define your entry and stop
• Volume: Participation at 2x to 5x relative volume, early buying or selling pressure, and liquidity that confirms the move isn't thin or random
• Context: Relative strength or weakness—the stock holds VWAP while SPY pulls back, or it breaks a key level with conviction while the market chops

When all three align, you've got an A+ setup. When one is missing, you wait. If a stock has clean structure and volume but no relative strength, it's a B-grade trade at best. If it has context and volume but no clear entry level, it's noise.

Common false positives: big gappers, hype, random volatility

The biggest trap? Confusing excitement with quality. A stock gapping 60% on news feels like an A+ setup until you realize there's no structure, spreads are wide, and every entry gets slipped. Big gappers attract emotion, not edge. Same with social media hype: if you're seeing it at 9:31 AM, you're late. Random volatility—wild candles with no respect for levels—looks like opportunity but trades like chaos.

Here's the filter: if you can't name your entry, stop, and invalidation in one sentence, it's not A+. "Long above $12.50 premarket high, stop $12.20, invalid if it loses VWAP"—that's A+. "I'll buy if it keeps going up"—that's not a setup, that's a guess.

TL;DR: The A+ Premarket Checklist (Print This)

A+ setups are filtered before 9:30—no improvising at 9:28. Professionals define their A+ criteria before the bell rings, mark the levels that matter, and write both the trade plan and the no-trade plan.

Define your A+ criteria (pass/fail)

Your A+ setup isn't a feeling—it's a checklist. Before the market opens, write down exactly what qualifies:

• Catalyst (earnings, news, sector strength)
• Daily chart structure with room to move
• Premarket behavior that shows control (not wild spikes)
• Key levels clearly marked (premarket high/low, VWAP, prior day resistance)
• Relative volume above 2x
• Defined risk with a logical stop

If a stock doesn't check every box, it's not A+. It's a distraction.

Most traders lose money because they blur the line between "pretty good" and "perfect." A+ means you'd take this trade with your own money in front of 1,000 people. Anything less gets ignored. This filter alone eliminates 80% of bad entries because it forces you to wait for quality instead of chasing movement.

Mark levels that matter (not 20 lines)

Your chart shouldn't look like a kindergarten art project. Mark five levels maximum:

• Premarket high
• Premarket low
• VWAP
• Prior day high
• One major daily support or resistance zone

These are decision points, not predictions. At the open, price will either hold, reject, reclaim, or fail each level. Your job is to react only when price proves itself, not guess which direction it'll choose.

Professionals don't clutter their screens with every moving average and Fibonacci retracement. They mark the levels institutions care about and watch how volume responds. If you can't explain why a level matters in one sentence, delete it.

Write the trade plan and the no-trade plan

Your plan isn't just "long above premarket high." It's: long above premarket high with volume confirmation on the first one to two five-minute candles, stop below VWAP, size reduced by 50% for the open, max risk $200, and no entry if SPY is chopping. Write the exact entry trigger, the exact stop, the exact size, and the exact conditions that void the trade.

Then write the no-trade plan: no trade if volume doesn't confirm, no trade if price gaps too far from structure, no trade if you're emotional, no trade after two losses. The no-trade plan protects you from yourself. It's the rule that keeps you from forcing setups when patience is required.

Premarket Scanning: Find Candidates, Then Narrow Hard

Start broad: what deserves attention today?

We're not looking for trades at 7:30 AM—we're filtering out the noise. Your scanner will throw 200 tickers at you if you let it. Most of them are junk: low volume, no catalyst, extended from yesterday's move, or just random spikes that'll fade by 9:35.

Run a basic scan for:

• Premarket volume
• Gap percentage
• Relative volume above 2x

That's your raw list—maybe 40 to 60 names. Don't touch a chart yet. You're not evaluating setups; you're asking one question: Does this stock have a reason to move today? If you can't answer that in five seconds, it doesn't belong on your radar.

Catalyst check: why is it moving?

A stock without a catalyst is a gamble, not a trade. We've seen it a thousand times: a ticker spikes 15% premarket on no news, pulls in retail traders at the open, then dumps hard because there's no follow-through. Real catalysts—earnings beats, sector rotation, analyst upgrades, FDA approvals—bring institutional participation. That participation creates liquidity, and liquidity is what lets you enter and exit cleanly.

Check each name on your broad list:

• If it's moving on earnings, note the surprise percentage and guidance
• If it's sector sympathy, confirm the lead stock is holding strength
• If it's news-driven, read the headline and ask whether the move makes sense or if it's already overextended

Stocks that gap 40% on vague press releases rarely hold—those are traps, not setups. Cut them now.

Cut to 3 to 7 names max (focus beats FOMO)

Here's where discipline separates pros from amateurs. You've filtered for volume and confirmed catalysts—now you narrow to three to seven stocks maximum. Not 12. Not "I'll just watch these five closely and keep an eye on ten more." That's how you miss entries, chase late, and overtrade.

Pick the names with the cleanest daily structure, the most room to the next resistance, and premarket action that shows control—not wild wicks and fades. Rank them: Tier 1 is your A+ setup, the one you'll prioritize if it triggers. Tier 2 is your backup if Tier 1 fails to set up. Everything else gets archived.

If you're tempted to add "just one more," you're already losing focus. A tight watchlist isn't limiting—it's your edge. You'll see setups faster, react with confidence, and avoid the FOMO that kills accounts before 10 AM.

Map Your Levels Before the Bell: Decision Points, Not Lines

Most traders blow up at the open because they're reacting to price instead of reading it against a plan. Before 9:30 AM, you need levels marked—not as predictions, but as decision points that tell you when to act and when to step aside.

Must-mark levels: premarket high/low and prior day levels

Every morning, we mark five core levels before the bell rings:

• Premarket high
• Premarket low
• Prior day high
• Prior day low
• Major daily support or resistance

These aren't arbitrary—they're the zones where buyers and sellers have already shown their hand. Premarket high and low define the overnight range; price either breaks out of that box or stays trapped inside it. Prior day levels tell you whether today's action is continuation or reversal.

Here's what matters: at the open, price will either hold, reject, reclaim, or fail each level. Your job isn't to guess which one happens—it's to react only when price proves itself. If a stock holds above premarket high with volume, that's a signal. If it breaks premarket high then immediately fades back below, that's a different signal. Mark the levels, write down your scenarios, and let price do the talking.

VWAP and "line of control" thinking

VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) acts like a line of control. When a stock trades above VWAP and holds it on pullbacks, that's bullish structure. When it loses VWAP and can't reclaim it, that's bearish structure.

We use VWAP behavior to define bias: if a name is holding above VWAP in the first 15 minutes and reclaiming quickly after dips, we're looking for long setups on pullbacks. If it's rejecting VWAP repeatedly or chopping around it with no conviction, we're watching but not trading.

Think of VWAP as the institutional reference point. Algorithms and funds use it to measure execution quality, so price often respects it. When you see a stock lose VWAP early and fail to reclaim it within the first 30 minutes, that tells you the buyers aren't strong enough—and that's a scenario where you either flip your bias or step aside entirely.

Psych levels: whole and half dollars and why they work

Whole and half dollar levels ($10, $10.50, $11, etc.) act as psychological magnets. Retail traders set alerts there, institutions place orders there, and algorithms cluster liquidity there. We've seen it hundreds of times: a stock runs to $9.95, stalls, then either breaks through $10 with volume or rejects hard. That's not coincidence—it's human psychology meeting market structure.

Before the bell, mark the nearest whole and half dollar levels above and below your entry zone. If you're watching a stock at $48.70 premarket, you know $49 and $50 are overhead resistance. If it breaks $49 cleanly and holds above it, that's a reclaim scenario. If it taps $49 and immediately reverses, that's a rejection scenario.

Write those scenarios down: "If it holds $49, I'm long on the first pullback. If it rejects $49, I wait for $48 to hold or I'm out."

For each name on your watchlist, write one to two levels and four simple words next to each—Hold, Reject, Reclaim, Fail. That's your decision tree. When price hits a level, you already know what you're looking for and what you'll do next. That's how you identify A+ setups before the bell rings—not by predicting direction, but by preparing for every scenario price can show you.

Confirmation Signals: How to "Verify" an A+ Setup

Before you enter a trade at the open, you need proof—not hope. An A+ setup isn't just a stock that looks strong on a scanner; it's a name that shows repeatable, measurable signals that confirm real participation and controlled behavior.

Relative volume (RVOL) thresholds that matter

Relative volume tells you whether a stock is attracting unusual attention right now—not just whether it's moving. A stock trading 500,000 shares might sound impressive, but if it normally trades 2 million by this time, that's weak participation.

Strong names typically show 2x to 5x relative volume compared to their average at that hour, and context matters: a 2x RVOL on a liquid large-cap with a catalyst is different from 5x on a thin small-cap with no news.

We use RVOL as a minimum participation check, not a standalone entry signal. If a stock gaps up 8% but RVOL sits at 1.2x, that's a red flag—there's not enough follow-through to sustain the move. Conversely, if RVOL hits 4x by 9:00 AM and the stock is holding gains with tight consolidation, that's confirmation of real interest.

The threshold isn't rigid; it's about asking, "Is this stock pulling in enough volume to support the next leg, or is it already exhausted?"

Low RVOL setups often lead to failed breakouts, choppy price action, and whipsaw losses. No volume means no conviction, and no conviction means the move won't hold when profit-takers step in. If you're scanning for A+ setups before the bell rings, RVOL above 2x should be your baseline filter—anything below that needs an exceptionally clean chart or a major catalyst to justify attention.

Premarket structure: higher lows vs. chaos wicks

Premarket price action reveals whether a stock is under control or just being pushed around by thin liquidity. Strong setups show controlled behavior:

• Holding gains
• Forming higher lows
• Respecting VWAP
• Building tight consolidations

Weak setups show chaos—wild spikes and dumps, large wicks with no follow-through, and price that can't hold any level for more than a few minutes.

We prefer stocks that hold their premarket highs without constant retests, or that pull back cleanly to support and bounce with volume. If a stock gaps to $12.50, fades to $11.80, spikes back to $12.40, dumps to $11.90, and repeats that cycle three times before the open, that's not strength—that's distribution and confusion.

Higher lows in premarket are one of the cleanest confirmation signals. If a stock gaps to $15, pulls back to $14.70, bounces to $15.10, pulls back to $14.85, and bounces again to $15.20, that's a textbook setup. Each pullback is shallower, each bounce is stronger, and the stock is proving it can hold support under pressure. That's the kind of structure that survives the opening bell.

Market context: relative strength vs SPY/QQQ

A stock can look strong in isolation and still be a trap if the broader market is carrying it. True A+ setups show relative strength—they hold gains when SPY pulls back, they recover faster after a dip, and they move independently of the indices. If everything is ripping together, there's no edge; you're just riding beta, and when the market reverses, your stock will too.

We check SPY and QQQ context every morning before the open. If the market is choppy or fading and a stock is still holding premarket highs with volume, that's relative strength. If the market is ripping and your stock is barely keeping pace, that's relative weakness—even if it's green.

The strongest names outperform on both up days and down days, and that divergence is what separates leaders from followers.

If the stock can't hold levels premarket or loses strength immediately at 9:30, downgrade it—no hoping, no second chances. We've watched traders cling to a stock that looked great at 9:15 but failed its first test at the open, and they stayed in "because it was on the watchlist." That's not discipline. If a stock breaks premarket low within the first five minutes, or if it loses VWAP and can't reclaim it with volume, it's no longer an A+ setup. Walk away and wait for the next one.

Bias and Flexibility: Build an If/Then Game Plan

Your premarket scan is complete. You've marked your levels. You know which stocks you're watching. Now comes the part most traders skip—and it's the reason they blow up accounts.

You need a bias. Not a prediction. Not a hope. A directional framework that tells you what to look for—and exactly when you're wrong.

Bias examples: 'bullish above VWAP' or 'bearish below PM low'

A bias is simple: it's your working hypothesis for how a stock should behave if conditions align. It's not a guarantee—it's guidance.

Before the bell rings, write down your directional lean for each ticker on your watchlist. Examples:

• "Bullish above VWAP with volume"
• "Bearish below premarket low"
• "Long only on pullback to $42.50"
• "No trade unless it reclaims yesterday's high"

These statements give you a filter. When price opens, you're not guessing—you're confirming or invalidating.

We've tested this across hundreds of premarket preps: traders who define bias before 9:30 make fewer impulsive entries and hold stops more consistently than those who "decide in the moment." Your bias keeps you anchored when the first candle spikes and FOMO kicks in.

Invalidation rules: where you admit you're wrong

Bias without invalidation is just wishful thinking. You must define—in advance—the price level or condition that proves your bias is dead. If you're bullish above VWAP and price loses VWAP on volume, your bias is invalidated. You don't argue. You don't add to a loser. You step aside.

Mark your invalidation level on the chart before the open. For a bullish setup, it might be "below premarket low" or "below $41.80 support." For a bearish setup, it could be "above VWAP reclaim" or "above $44 resistance." When that level breaks, your setup is off the table—no exceptions.

This single rule prevents more account damage than any indicator. Traders who honor invalidation levels cut losses at negative 0.5R or negative 1R. Traders who ignore them hold through negative 3R, negative 5R, or worse—because they're still hoping the original bias will "come back."

When A+ becomes no-trade (conditions that cancel)

Even when your bias holds, not every moment is tradable. Professional traders predefine cancel conditions—market states that turn an A+ setup into a pass. Write these down before the bell:

• "If spread widens beyond $0.10, I don't enter"
• "If volume drops below 500K in the first 10 minutes, I wait"
• "If price chops inside a $0.20 range for 5+ minutes, I step aside"

These conditions protect you from forcing trades when structure breaks down. We've seen traders nail three perfect setups in a row, then give it all back on one choppy, low-volume grind—because they didn't have a rule that said "stop trading when conditions deteriorate."

Add three explicit cancel rules to every game plan: one for liquidity (spread or volume), one for price action (chop, failed breakout), and one for emotional state (two losses in a row equals pause). When any condition triggers, you honor it. That's how A+ setups stay A+—and how you avoid the setups that only looked good until they didn't.

Risk Rules Before 9:30: Position Size, Max Loss, and Open Volatility

Predefine max risk per trade and max daily loss

Before the bell rings, we lock in two non-negotiables: maximum dollar risk per trade and maximum daily loss. These aren't suggestions—they're circuit breakers that keep accounts alive when emotion spikes.

Most professionals risk 1% to 2% of account equity per trade, and they cap daily losses at 3% to 5% of total capital. That means a $50,000 account might risk $500 to $1,000 per trade and stop trading entirely after losing $1,500 to $2,500 in a single session.

These thresholds are set in writing before the market opens, not negotiated mid-session when you're down and tempted to "make it back." If your risk isn't defined before 9:30, your losses won't be either.

Why pros trade smaller at the open

Open volatility demands smaller position size, not bigger. The first 15 minutes bring wider stops, faster reversals, and less predictable price action—all of which amplify risk.

A common rule: reduce size by 50% during the first 15 to 30 minutes. If your standard position is 200 shares, you trade 100 shares at the open. If you normally risk $500, you risk $250 early. This isn't about missing opportunity—it's about surviving the window where most traders blow up.

Stops are wider because spreads are wider and moves are choppier, so smaller size compensates for the increased distance to your invalidation point. You can't compound if you blow up, and capital preservation always comes first.

Stops, spreads, and slippage: the hidden leak

The open punishes traders who ignore liquidity. Bid/ask spreads widen in the first few minutes, market orders slip badly, and stops can trigger prematurely even when direction is correct. A stock might "break out" on your screen, but by the time your market order fills, you're already down before price moves against you.

Professionals use limit orders when appropriate, avoid thin names with spreads over 10 to 15 cents, and wait for spreads to tighten before entering. If you don't account for slippage and spread, your strategy doesn't matter—you're losing money on execution, not on the trade itself. The hidden leak isn't the setup; it's the fill.

The First 15 Minutes: Observation Phase (How to Not Get Wrecked)

What the first 15 minutes are actually for

We've tested this across hundreds of live sessions: the traders who survive the open aren't the ones who trade fastest—they're the ones who watch first. The first 15 minutes (9:30 to 9:45 AM ET) aren't your execution window. They're your information window.

Most retail traders treat the open like a starting gun. Professionals treat it like a lab. You're not there to make money in the first two candles. You're there to confirm your premarket bias, read how price reacts at the levels you marked, and let the market show its hand before you risk a dollar.

Spreads are wide, volume is erratic, and algos are still calibrating. If you enter during that chaos, you're trading noise—not structure.

Use 9:30 to 9:45 to answer three questions:

• Does this stock respect the levels I marked?
• Is volume confirming the move or fading it?
• Does my prewritten scenario still make sense, or did the market invalidate it in the first 90 seconds?

If you can't answer those clearly, you don't have a trade yet.

Wait rules: first one to two candles, spread tightening, direction reveal

We don't enter on the first candle. Ever. That's not discipline—it's survival. The first one to two five-minute candles are where liquidity traps live. A stock can spike 4% on the open, pull every retail trader in, then reverse 6% before 9:40. If you're in that move, your stop is either too wide to matter or too tight to survive the whipsaw.

Wait for the first candle to close. Let the second candle form. Watch the bid-ask spread tighten from 8 cents to 2 cents. That tightening tells you liquidity is stabilizing and real participants are entering—not just algos painting the tape.

Direction reveals itself after the initial surge fades. Does the stock hold above VWAP? Does it reclaim the premarket high cleanly, or does it reject and fail? Those answers only come after you've watched two full candles print.

Common pro behavior: sit on your hands for the first 10 to 15 minutes, even if it feels like you're "missing the move." You're not missing anything. You're avoiding the graveyard where 80% of blown daily max-losses happen. Structure forms after the noise clears. That's when we trade.

A+ entry triggers: reclaim, hold, or rejection at your levels

An A+ setup isn't a green candle. It's a scenario you wrote down before the bell that just proved itself at a level you already marked. We only take trades that match our prewritten plan at a key level—no exceptions, no chasing.

Here's what that looks like in practice: You marked premarket high at $42.80 before the open. Price tests it at 9:38, pulls back to $42.50, then reclaims $42.80 with volume at 9:42. That reclaim—with a clean higher low and volume confirmation—is your A+ trigger. You're not guessing. You're reacting to proof.

If the stock instead rejects $42.80 three times and fails back below VWAP, that rejection is also an A+ trigger—but for a short, not a long.

Only take trades that match your prewritten scenario at a key level. If your plan said "long above premarket high on volume" and price is chopping below VWAP, there's no trade. If your plan said "wait for pullback to VWAP and hold" and the stock never pulls back, there's no trade. No chasing green candles. No FOMO entries. No "I'll just get in and figure it out." You either have your setup at your level, or you wait for the next one.

A+ Setup Scorecard (1 Page) and Example Walkthrough

Scorecard categories and pass/fail grading

We built a simple scorecard that removes guesswork. Before the bell, every candidate stock gets scored across seven criteria—each one tied to whether the setup is actually tradable or just noise.

Catalyst (Y/N): Does the stock have a real reason to move today? Earnings, news, sector momentum—something that brings volume and attention. No catalyst equals no participation equals no trade.

Daily room (Y/N): Does the daily chart show space to the next resistance? If a stock is already at multi-month highs with no clear runway, it's extended before you even enter. We mark this as a hard pass/fail—either it has room or it doesn't.

Premarket structure (0 to 2 points): Is price holding gains, forming higher lows, and respecting VWAP? Award 2 points for clean consolidation, 1 point for choppy but holding, 0 points for wild wicks and fading action.

RVOL (0 to 2 points): Relative volume tells you if the stock is attracting real attention. We score 2 points for 3x+ RVOL, 1 point for 1.5x to 3x, and 0 points for anything below 1.5x. Low RVOL setups fail more often than they work.

Level clarity (0 to 2 points): Can you clearly mark premarket high, premarket low, VWAP, and prior day resistance? Award 2 points if all levels are obvious, 1 point if some are fuzzy, 0 points if the chart is a mess. Clean levels equal clean decisions.

VWAP behavior (0 to 2 points): How does price react to VWAP? Award 2 points if it's holding above and using it as support, 1 point if it's reclaiming after a brief dip, 0 points if it's chopping through or rejecting repeatedly.

Risk-defined (Y/N): Can you identify exactly where you're wrong before you enter? If your stop isn't obvious—premarket low, VWAP break, prior support—the setup isn't ready. This is another hard yes/no.

Total possible score: 10 points (4 from Y/N criteria treated as 2 points each, 6 from the 0 to 2 scales). If a setup scores below 7/10, or if it's missing any Y/N item, we don't trade it. That threshold keeps you out of marginal setups that look okay but lack real edge.

Example walkthrough: from scan to levels to plan to open confirmation

Let's walk through a real premarket process. It's 8:15 AM, and you've scanned for gappers. One ticker catches your attention: XYZ, up 12% premarket on earnings, trading 4.2x its normal volume.

Step 1—Score it:

• Catalyst? Yes—earnings beat.
• Daily room? Yes—prior resistance is $48.50, and premarket high is $46.80, leaving nearly $2 of runway.
• Premarket structure? 2 points—holding gains since 7:00 AM, forming higher lows, respecting VWAP.
• RVOL? 2 points—over 4x.
• Level clarity? 2 points—premarket high $46.80, premarket low $45.20, VWAP $45.90, prior day high $44.50.
• VWAP behavior? 2 points—holding above since 7:30 AM.
• Risk-defined? Yes—stop is premarket low at $45.20.
• Total: 10/10. This is an A+ setup.

Step 2—Mark your levels:

You draw horizontal lines at $46.80 (PM high), $45.90 (VWAP), $45.20 (PM low), and $48.50 (daily resistance). You write your plan in a notebook or trading journal: "Long above $46.80 break with volume confirmation. Stop $45.20. Target $48.00. Risk $1.60, reward $1.20—not ideal R:R, but structure is clean and volume supports follow-through."

Step 3—Wait for the open:

At 9:30 AM, XYZ opens at $46.50, pulls back to $46.20, then reclaims VWAP at $45.95 with a strong 5-minute candle. Volume is confirming—over 500k shares in the first five minutes. At 9:37 AM, price breaks $46.80 on increasing volume. You enter at $46.85 with a stop at $45.20.

Step 4—Manage the trade:

Price pushes to $47.60 by 9:50 AM. You move your stop to breakeven at $46.85. At 10:05 AM, it hits $48.10, and you exit at $48.00 as planned. Profit: $1.15 per share. The setup delivered because every criterion was met before you entered.

Post-trade audit: did it meet A+ criteria?

After the close, you review the trade. You pull up your scorecard and ask: did this setup actually meet A+ criteria, or did you rationalize your way in?

• Catalyst: Yes—earnings were the driver, and the stock held strength all morning.
• Daily room: Yes—it ran from $46.80 to $48.10, exactly where resistance was marked.
• Premarket structure: Yes—higher lows held, no wild swings.
• RVOL: Yes—volume stayed elevated through the session.
• Level clarity: Yes—every level you marked was respected.
• VWAP behavior: Yes—price held above VWAP the entire time.
• Risk-defined: Yes—your stop was never in question.

This trade scored 10/10 premarket, and it delivered a clean winner. That's what A+ setups do—they work because the structure was already there before the bell rang.

Now contrast that with a trade you might've taken last week that didn't work. You scan it the same way:

• Catalyst? Maybe—just a gap, no clear news.
• Daily room? Sort of—resistance is close.
• Premarket structure? 1 point—choppy, fading.
• RVOL? 1 point—only 1.8x.
• Level clarity? 1 point—VWAP is unclear, premarket range is wide.
• VWAP behavior? 0 points—rejecting repeatedly.
• Risk-defined? No—you weren't sure where to stop out.
• Total: 5/10, missing a Y/N.

You took it anyway because it was "moving," and it stopped you out in 12 minutes.

The scorecard doesn't lie. If it scores below 7 or misses any Y/N, stand down. That single rule prevents more losses than any indicator ever will.

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