Daily Pre-Market Template (Sticky)

[NYC88]

Copy this into your journal before you touch size. If a field is blank at 09:20 ET, you're improvising. Improvisation at the open is how I used to donate.

I don't fill this because I'm virtuous. I fill it because blank fields correlate with stupid size in my own stats.

Code: Select all

DATE (ET):
SLEEP / HEALTH (1–5):
MAX DAILY LOSS $:
MAX TRADES TODAY:
SIZE CAP (shares / $ risk per trade):

MACRO / INDEX
SPY bias (L/H/R):
QQQ bias (L/H/R):
VIX / vol note:
Levels that matter (prior day H/L, ON high/low):

UNIVERSE
A-setup candidates (max 5):
B-setup candidates:
Do-not-trade list (earnings binary / halt risk / trash spread):

CATALYSTS
Confirmed today:
Rumors / ignore:

EXECUTION
Venue / account:
Hotkeys verified (Y/N):
VPS / network check (Y/N):

OPEN PLAN
First 15 min: observe / trade? (default observe if unsure)
Invalidation for the day (what makes me flat & done):

### How I use it on the board

Sticky this. New folks: paste a filled template in your intro week. Don't post account balances. If you skip the template and blow the DD breaker, that's data — write it down instead of rewriting history.

What field do you skip most often — and does it bite you?
Sleep score: do you actually cut size when it's a 2, or just note it?
Anyone default first-15 to observe unless a named open-drive play is written?
What's on your permanent do-not-trade list this month?

[Fairman]

This sticky is the right length. I don't fill a premarket template because I'm virtuous. I fill it because blank fields correlate with stupid size in my own stats.

Fields that must not be blank by 09:20 ET on my desk:

- Max daily loss ($ or R).
- Size cap.
- SPY and QQQ bias (one word each).
- A-setup candidates (max 5).
- Do-not-trade list (earnings binary, halt risk, trash spread).
- Confirmed catalysts versus rumor/ignore.
- Hotkeys verified.
- VPS/network check.
- First-15 plan (observe versus trade).

If a field is blank at 09:20, you're improvising. Improvisation at the US open is how spreads and FOMO collect rent.

What a filled sheet looks like on an ordinary morning, so it's not abstract:

Max daily loss: 3R. Size cap: 500 shares. SPY: range. QQQ: heavy. A-setups: two names, one reclaim of PM high, one hold of prior-day close. Do-not-trade: one name reporting after the close, one with a spread I measured at 6 cents at 09:10. Catalysts: one confirmed filing, one rumor marked ignore. Hotkeys: presets checked against the 500-share cap. VPS: ping fine. First-15: observe unless the PM-high reclaim triggers after 09:35.

Then at 09:32 ET a name not on the sheet runs 60 cents on a headline. The sheet answers the question before I do: not an A-setup, not on the list, first-15 says observe. I watch it. If it builds structure later and I want it tomorrow, it goes on tomorrow's sheet.

Failure modes:

- Filling the fields with vague words ("maybe bullish") so nothing is actually blank but nothing is decided.
- Listing eight "A-setups" because I couldn't choose.
- Checking hotkeys by looking at the settings screen instead of actually pressing them on a sim ticket.
- Filling the sheet at 09:29 in a rush. At that point it's a formality.

When I skip the session: if I can't fill the sheet by 09:20 because of a late start, network trouble, or just a messy head, the plan is observe-only for the first hour. Missing an open costs me nothing I had planned.

The template isn't bureaucracy. It's a filter that keeps B-ideas from becoming marketable chases at 09:32.

Diagram: the six blocks I refuse to leave empty.