Standard Operating Procedure · 5-min EXTO · Options Day Trading

TradingStrawAlert3.0 Scenario Bracket

One study, one screen, one routine. This is the order of operations from the premarket plan to the exit — built around the mentor's rules and the signals the study actually fires.

1 study to load chart: 5m · EXTO draws its own VWAP · 9EMA · open keep your volume pane (Damaris_VolAvg)
01

Load the premarket plan

every morning

You don't reload the study — you update its inputs from the mentor's plan. Zones are the only required step; the bracket and fib are optional add-ons for the day's specific setup.

Mentor's plan ticker + levels REQUIRED Enter the zones supply1–4 / demand1–4 Top · Bot · TF OPTIONAL · dual band Scenario bracket type + edges + 2 targets enableScenarioBracket=yes OPTIONAL Fib anchors fibHigh / fibLow or fibUseTodayRange Armed 1D ATR shows auto
Zones feed the radar (required). Bracket + fib are clipped on only when the day calls for them.

Change every morning

  • Zonessupply1Top/Bot/TFdemand4. Top+Bot for a band, Top only for a line.
  • Bracket (if a two-way band) — enableScenarioBracket, bracketZoneType, brkZoneBot/Top, sbBull/BearTarget.
  • Fib (if wanted) — fibHigh / fibLow.

Set once, leave alone

  • Gates — requireVolume, breakEntryMode, zoneTagLookbackBars.
  • Context — HTF & VPA settings, quality threshold.
  • Window & exits — alert window, exit / reclaim toggles.
Config rule

If you arm the bracket on a band, keep that same band out of the supply/demand slots — otherwise the base reject/break fires on top of the bracket. Different zones in each is fine.

02

Read the chart

colors = the platform

Every line and label means the same thing here as on your screen. The top strip is the live readout; the bands are the zones; the lines are your references; the markers are the signals.

ZONE MODE 1S/1D HTF BEARISH 0/5 VPA steady / no pop Align L/S 0/3 Next demand 80.53 1D ATR $3.40 live status readout — bias, VPA, alignment, next zone, true ATR S-REJ 2H 81.88 Q8 target / ATR spent → exit Supply (red) Demand (green) VWAP (white) 9EMA (blue) Open (magenta) 50% fib (cyan)
The reject-to-target arc: price tags the supply, the study fires S-REJ, you ride the 9EMA down to the demand / fib.

Status strip, decoded — ZONE MODE (zones loaded) · HTF bias and how many of 5 MAs agree · VPA (approach fading/steady + pop/no-pop) · Align L/S (how many of open/VWAP/9EMA each side has) · Next demand / supply and its distance · 1D ATR + Day range = % of 1D ATR + zone room ×1D ATR.

03

Know the signals

what fires, what it means

The study only fires when its gates are already met — the right zone interaction, a directional candle, above-average volume, alignment, the correct 9EMA side, and inside the live 5-minute window. The marker tells you the setup; you still apply the entry checklist in Phase 4.

MarkerFires whenMeans / action
▼ S-REJprice tags a supply, closes back below itsupply rejected → put toward the demand
▲ L-BNCprice tags a demand, closes back above itdemand held → call toward the supply
▲ L-BRKprice breaks & holds above a supplybreakout → call continuation up
▼ S-BRKprice breaks & holds below a demandbreakdown → put continuation down (your Trade #2)
◆ RETESTbroken edge is wicked & rejected/heldlower-risk re-entry in the break's direction
PUT / CALLbracket band triggers its bear/bull branchthe pre-armed plan fired → take the named target
■ 50% FIBprice reaches your 50% fib leveltarget / exit zone — watch for the turn (your Trade #2 exit)
▲ RECLAIMbroken demand reclaimed (full body back above)puts thesis dead — stand down / flip bias
▼ SUPPLY LOSTbroken supply lost (full body back below)calls thesis dead — stand down / flip bias
■ EXITa 5m candle closes back across the 9EMAtrend break → close the trade

Bracket vs radar: the radar (S-REJ / L-BNC / L-BRK / S-BRK) watches all your zones and re-fires as the day moves. The bracket is one band carrying two pre-armed plans that locks to whichever triggers first. Run the radar always; clip the bracket on only for a specific two-way band.

04

The entry decision

signal ≠ permission

A marker is the trigger, not the trade. Run it through the mentor's checklist before you click — and let the 1D-ATR readout tell you whether the target is even worth taking.

Study fires a signal MENTOR'S CHECKLIST — all must be true ✓ HTF aligned (with the higher-timeframe trend) ✓ Waited the 15 min — entering on the ~4th 5m candle ✓ Above-average volume on the trigger candle ✓ Direction filter: above open → calls · below → puts ✓ Reward-to-risk to the next zone ≥ 3 : 1 ATR CHECK Is this a real target — or has the day's ATR run out? TAKE IT size to 20% max option loss SKIP / wait any box fails → no trade
The study handles the mechanical gates; this checklist is the discretionary layer you own.
The ATR read — your takeaway, made visible

Zone-to-zone distance is not the ticker's true daily range. The Demand/Supply room = ×1D ATR label tells you which you're looking at:

Small fraction of 1D ATR (≈0.4×) → weak target, plenty of range left → expect it to break. Be ready to ride through or re-enter on the break (don't treat it as a hard ceiling).

Near or beyond 1× ATR → the day's range is spent → real target, take profit (this is exactly why you exited Trade #2 at the fib once the day had run its ~$3.40).

"Anticipate" = bias + readiness, never front-running. You still pull the trigger on the volume-confirmed move. ATR is a tilt, not a ceiling — trend days run past it.

05

Manage & exit

protect, then bank

Hold while price respects the 9EMA. Four things take you out — in priority order, top first.

In a trade RECLAIM / SUPPLY LOST? thesis invalidated yes no TARGET REACHED? next zone — or fib at ~100% ATR, volume fading yes no 5m CLOSE BACK ACROSS 9EMA? the EXIT alert yes no HOLD — 9EMA still respected EXIT close the position HARD FLOOR underneath everything: a 20% option loss closes the trade, no questions.
Check thesis first, target second, 9EMA third. If none trip, you hold.

Note the study's mechanical exit (the 9EMA close) is the floor, not the ceiling of your skill — your discretionary reads (fib + ATR exhaustion + fading volume, like Trade #2) will often get you out cleaner and earlier. The EXIT alert is the backstop so a trend break never gets ignored.

Daily quick-reference

the one-screen version

Open → punch in zones → (bracket / fib if needed) → trade the checklist

tape this next to the monitor
① Load
  1. Zones into supply/demand slots (Top·Bot·TF)
  2. Two-way band? set the bracket (type + edges + targets)
  3. Want fib? set fibHigh / fibLow
  4. Confirm 5m · EXTO · study attached
② Confirm before entry
  1. HTF aligned
  2. ~4th 5m candle (waited 15 min)
  3. Above-avg volume on the candle
  4. R:R ≥ 3:1 to next zone
  5. Room ×1D ATR — real target?
③ Exit (priority order)
  1. Reclaim / Supply Lost → thesis dead
  2. Target zone, or fib at ~100% ATR + fading vol
  3. 5m close back across 9EMA
  4. else HOLD
④ Never
  1. Same band in a slot AND the bracket
  2. Enter the first candle / front-run a break
  3. Hold past a 20% option loss
  4. Take a weak-ATR target as a hard stop point