The Kill Zone Checklist

The best trade 90 minutes, not 8 hours.

"Most people trade all day and lose. The best trade 90 minutes and win."

The money on the NQ is made in a small window. Outside it, you're donating. This is the checklist that keeps you in the window — and out of the noise.

Real NQ 5-minute chart of a full day, Oct 8-9 2026: Asia, London and the New York kill zone

1 The window that matters

NY AM Kill Zone: 9:30 – 11:00 ET. Where the institutional-volume move happens. Outside it, you observe — you don't trade.

2 Premium or discount

Mark the midnight open and the true open (9:30). Is price ABOVE it (premium) or BELOW it (discount)?

In discount you look for longs; in premium, shorts. Price seeks the opposite side of the range.

3 The one-page checklist

1 · What's the MindDraw? Which ERL is price heading for today?

2 · What did the open sweep — a high or a low?

3 · Premium or discount vs the open?

4 · Is there a fresh FVG / OB to wait for the entry in?

5 · Did the confirmation candle print in the zone?

If you don't have all 5 → there is no trade. You wait. Trading ONLY these 90 minutes, ONLY with the full checklist, is the difference between an account that grows and one that bleeds.

⚠ watch out Forcing trades at 12:30, 2:00, all afternoon, "to make it back." The edge lives in the kill zone. Everything after is variance. Close the platform.

The takeaway

Trade only these 90 minutes, only with the full checklist. No MindDraw, no sweep, no clear premium/discount, no fresh FVG, no confirmation candle — no trade. The edge lives in the kill zone.

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