Method
Two levels. Then you wait.
The previous day high (PDH) is the highest price of the prior regular session. The previous day low (PDL) is the lowest. Mark them on a 1-minute chart before 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
Regular hours vs overnight
Cash-session previous day high is not the overnight high. If you mark the overnight print as PDH, you are trading a different line than the one this primer is about. Use regular hours first.
The first five minutes
9:30 to 9:35 is the compass. Break above PDH and you have a long bias. Break below PDL and you have a short bias. No clean break means you do not invent a thesis. You sit.
Break, then retest
- Price breaks the level in the first five minutes.
- You wait for price to come back to that level.
- You only act if the retest holds (for a long) or fails (for a short).
- Stop goes beyond the entry candle. Tight on purpose.
The rest of the primer — stops, targets, the chop rule, the stand-down rule — is on the other side of the form. It is still method. It is not a track record.
Questions people actually ask
What is previous day high?
The highest price of the prior regular session. A reference level. Not a buy signal by itself.
Is that the same as the overnight high?
No. Overnight is the extended session. Mark the cash session unless you have a reason not to.
What if the open is a mess?
No trade. The method includes standing down.