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Reading US30 Before the Open — Live Reads

The repeatable twenty-minute routine that turns a blank chart into a written plan before the session starts. This free lesson covers: Why a routine, not a feeling, First: what did the daily do?, Read the close, Second: where could it act?, How many marks?, Third: what is scheduled?, An event at 13:30, Fourth: write it down, Which is a finished plan?.

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Live Reads · Learn · Step 1 of 9

Why a routine, not a feeling

The point of a fixed pre-session routine is that it produces the same output regardless of mood, yesterday's result, or how much you want a trade today.

Same four questions, same order, written down. Twenty minutes. What changes day to day is the answers, never the questions.

Going deeper

More on reading us30 before the open

A pre-session routine is a form of pre-commitment: deciding the process while calm, before the session gives you reasons to skip steps. Traders who skip the routine on quiet days are the ones most likely to need it on volatile ones.

Twenty minutes is deliberately short. The routine works because it is repeatable every single session, not because any one pass is exhaustive.

Common mistakes4
  • Skipping the routine on days that "look obvious" — those are exactly the days a hidden event or a weak level catches people out.
  • Marking levels after seeing how the session opened, which quietly turns analysis into a description of what already happened.
  • Treating the calendar check as optional. A scheduled release can invalidate an otherwise sound plan for the minutes around it.
  • Writing a bias with no invalidation condition, which cannot be graded and therefore cannot be learned from.
From experience2
  • Do the routine at the same time every day. Consistency of timing is part of what makes the output comparable across sessions.
  • If the four questions cannot be answered cleanly, that is itself an answer: no clear plan today.
Questions people ask2

What time should I run this routine for US30?

Before whichever session you intend to trade — commonly during the London morning ahead of New York. The specific hour matters less than doing it before the session, not during it.

Do I need to repeat the full routine mid-session?

No. The routine sets the plan. Mid-session, you are checking price against that plan, not rebuilding it from scratch.