Screen Time

Notes from the screens.

What comes out of the hours on the charts — trade breakdowns, MotiveWave studies and findings, and the occasional prop-firm deep dive.

July 18, 2026
Backtest

Passing a 50K eval with one boring setup

I backtested the IB breakout-retest scalp on ES and NQ against a 50K prop evaluation's real rules — on the data it passed 93% of the time. Why it fits, and every reason to stay careful.

Read
July 13, 2026
Breakdown

MNQ vs MES today: same short, two different tells

Both flashed a LONG DAY verdict and both ran short — a side-by-side look at how the Initial Balance study flagged each one differently.

Read
July 8, 2026
Update

Initial Balance update: live-forming levels & session-wide sweeps

v2.2 of the session-levels study — IB levels now build in real time as the range forms, sweeps are caught all session long, and a new live Price vs pVA row.

Read
July 8, 2026
Setup

Today's MES read: a short day off the levels

How I let the Initial Balance study frame today's MES session — a small IB, a short verdict, and value migrating lower, with FOMC minutes on deck.

Read
July 7, 2026
Update

Initial Balance update: smarter verdicts, cleaner prices

v1.1.2 of the session-levels study — the value-area verdict now knows when a balanced open has left value, and every derived level snaps to tick size.

Read
July 7, 2026
Study

Stretch: putting a number on "price looks extended"

My new free MotiveWave study — an MA/VWAP band with a live table that flags, at a glance, when price is stretched further from its averages than normal.

Read
July 4, 2026
Study

ICT Fair Value Gaps, filtered by volume

My new free MotiveWave study marks ICT Fair Value Gaps — but only the ones built on a real surge of volume. Here's how it works and how I use it.

Read
July 3, 2026
Study

The study I built: SeanTrades Initial Balance

A breakdown of my free MotiveWave study — every session level plus a live read-out — and how I use it to frame trade ideas. Free on Ko-Fi.

Read
Coming soon
Topic

Why I trade the micros first

Position sizing, screen time, and keeping risk sane while building consistency.

Soon

// New posts land here as I document the journey.