“What kind of market is this, and what does that make plausible or implausible?”
Stop 1.0 — Orientation: Understanding the Game You Are EnteringYou must understand the game you are playing.Preamble It moves because different participants are forced to act, allowed to act, or choose not to act at different times, prices, and liquidity conditions.
Market Mechanics (What Drives Price)
The concepts in this section are not an exhaustive list of market structures. They are chosen because they make core auction mechanics visible, repeatable, and easy to observe.
Intro — “The Physics of the Market”“What forces are acting on the market right now?”1.1How Humans and Algorithms Co-Operate in ESMost traders start with a simple question: “What’s the market going to do next?”1.2Time-of-Day Market Participation (ES)One of the first things traders notice is that the market does not feel consistent throughout the day.1.3Liquidity, Incentives & TrapsMost traders hear the word liquidity and think about volume, depth, or bid–ask spreads.1.4Forced vs discretionary flowEvery market move is created by orders.1.5Case Study: Early Auction Constraint (OR30s)The first thirty seconds of the session matter, but not because they predict the day.1.6Case Study: Balance Formation and Expansion (IB30m)If the OR30s shows how pressure first appears, the Initial Balance (IB30m, first 30 minutes) shows whether that pressure survives contact.
Market Context — What the Market Is Allowing Right Now
1.7Orientation — Reading What the Market Is AllowingBy the time you reach this section, you already know how markets function.1.8What shape is price forming right now?What is price actually doing right now?1.9Who is actually participating, and how broadly?Who is actually involved in creating that shape?1.10Is time helping or suppressing expression?After structure and participation, the next filter is time.1.11Is movement producing usable information — or just activity?By the time you reach this question, you may already feel tempted to act.
Outputs & Compression (Naming Without Trading)
1.12Orientation — Naming Without ActingBy the time you reach this section, the work of understanding the market has already been done.1.13Session Archetypes — Market Character at a GlanceThis page describes the most common ways intraday market structure resolves into recognizable environments.To name what the market revealed, not to guide what you should do next.