Before trading, draw a 5-day volume profile to find the value area, the price range holding 70% of last week's volume. If price is above it and holding, go long. If it's near the top but getting rejected, go short. Large traders think in days, not minutes.
Every morning before I place a single trade, I already know which side of the market I'm on. Most traders find that out the hard way after they're already losing. Here's what I do. Before the market opens, I draw the volume profile over the last 5 full trading days. This gives me the value area, the range where 70% of all volume occurred. So basically what the market agreed was a fair price over the last week. Where price sits relative to that range before the session opens tells me everything. If price is above that range and holding, the market is at a premium relative to where the biggest positions were built. So I'll lean long before a single candle even prints. If I see price pushing into the top of the range but rejecting, then I know sellers are defending. So I'll lean bearish before the session even opens. Larger market participants aren't thinking in single sessions. They're positioned over days. If you want to learn more about the volume profile, I have a free course and a free community. Comment the word join and I'll send you the link.
