Identify the day's trend in the first hour. Wait for a 3-bar pullback against the trend, then enter on the resumption bar. Stop beyond the pullback low/high; ride the next impulse.
Timeframe: 15m
Indicators: Trend + candlestick structure
Wait and trade the Pullback — illustrative synthetic chartEMA 9EMA 21
Setup
First hour (9:15-10:15 am): identify the day's primary trend from the open
Trend confirmed if 3+ candles print higher-highs (up-trend) or lower-lows (down-trend)
Wait for a counter-trend pullback of at least 3 candles
Entry
Long: enter on the first bullish candle after 3 bearish pullback candles in an uptrend, at that candle's close or the next candle's open. Short: mirror.
Exit
Target the prior swing high (long) or swing low (short). Trail behind swing pivots if the trend keeps extending.
Stop-loss
Below the pullback low (long) / above the pullback high (short). Never wider than the risk per trade budget allows.
When it works
Clean trending day with the primary trend established early
Pullback is 3-5 candles — shorter = weak signal; longer = trend may be reversing
Resumption candle has strong body (not a doji) and matches trend direction
When it fails
Sideways day — everything looks like a pullback
Trend changes mid-day (RBI, earnings, news)
Volume dies during the pullback and never returns
General trading rules that apply
Regardless of the specific setup, these apply to every strategy on this site:
Never risk more than 2% of your account on a single trade
Place a hard stop-loss before entering — no exceptions
Journal every trade: setup, reason, outcome, one lesson
After two consecutive losses, stop for the session
Backtest and paper-trade for a month before deploying real capital
Educational content only
Every strategy here is an educational description of a widely-known technical setup. Past behavior does not guarantee future results. The chart above uses synthetic price data generated for illustration — real market behavior varies. Backtest, paper-trade, and size responsibly before risking real capital.