FVG & ORBE-mini Nasdaq-100 FuturesCME_MINI:NQ1!GabrielAmadeusLau5-Minute ORB + FVG Day-Trading Playbook (ES/NQ) What you need Platform: TradingView for markup; your execution platform (e.g., TopstepX / your broker) for orders. Chart: ES (S&P 500 futures) or NQ (Nasdaq futures). Timeframe: 5 minutes. Indicators: Volume Fair Value Gap Key Levels (15-Min/5-Min Opening Range, New York Session or London) Chicago time (your local): NY cash open is 8:30 a.m. CT. The “US evening reopen” (the Globex reopen) is 5:00 p.m. CT (use with caution; liquidity can be thin). The strategy in one page 1) Define the Opening Range Use the first 5-minute bar after the NY cash open (8:30:00–8:34:59 CT). Mark ORH = that bar’s high, ORL = that bar’s low. 2) Direction filter = FVG Bearish setup: Price breaks below ORL, and there is a bearish FVG nearby that has not been fully filled. Bullish setup: Price breaks above ORH, and there is a bullish FVG nearby that has not been fully filled. If an FVG fills/invalidates immediately after the break, skip the trade. 3) Entry Enter on the break (or on a tiny retrace back to the level) in the FVG direction: Below ORL with a short bias when a bearish FVG stands. Above ORH with a long bias when a bullish FVG stands. 4) Stop & Target (bracket) Stop: default at the opposite OR level (conservative). Short below ORL → stop just above ORL (or the nearest invalidation level if tighter is justified). Long above ORH → stop just below ORH. Target: aim for 2R (risk:reward = 1:2), close above half, and trail the rest. Example: If your stop is 10 ES points (=$500 per contract), target 20 ES points (=$1,000 per contract). 5) Risk per trade Pick a fixed dollar risk that protects your account limits. With a $50k evaluation & ~$2,000 trailing max loss, many traders use $100–$300 per trade and micros (MES/MNQ) to scale precisely. Contract & tick quick-ref ES: 1 point = $50 (tick = 0.25, $12.50/tick) NQ: 1 point = $20 (tick = 0.25, $5/tick) MES (micro ES): 1 point = $5 MNQ (micro NQ): 1 point = $2 Sizing example, with MES (conservative) You want a max loss of $200~300. Signal requires 4 ES points to stop (=$200/contract). Trade 1 ES or 4 MES (same risk), target 8 ES points for 2R. Exact checklist (print this) Pre-market Chart on 5m, session = New York. Mark ORH / ORL after the first 5-min bar closes. Confirm bias by FVG: bullish FVG above / bearish FVG below, still unfilled. News/Volatility check (FOMC/CPIs/major earnings): be extra cautious or skip. Entry Price breaks ORH/ORL in the same direction as the FVG. No immediate fulfillment of that FVG. Place bracket: Stop at opposite OR level (or clear invalidation), Target = 2R. Manage Set-and-forget if you struggle with tinkering. If it snaps back and fully fills the FVG, early flattening is allowed by your rules (consistency > perfection). No averaging losers. Post-trade Journal the screenshot, OR values, FVG state, R multiple, and any deviation from the plan. When to skip The first break immediately reverses and fully fills the FVG. The OR is abnormally wide; the stop would exceed your risk budget. Chop: multiple whipsaws through ORH/ORL within a few bars. Event risk minutes away (e.g., CPI/FOMC); spreads/volatility unpredictable. Low volume conditions (late sessions, holidays), unless your data says you have an edge there. A realistic take on funded accounts & pacing Evaluations often have daily loss, trailing drawdown, and max position rules. Treat the trailing specifically as if it’s glued to your closed PnL high-water mark—don’t let one impulsive add blow the account. Keep resets rare by capping loss/day (e.g., 1–2R). One clean 2R win can offset two 1R losses. Micros let you keep your exact dollar risk steady as the OR width changes day to day. Routines that help Two windows: TradingView (markup) and Execution DOM/ladder. Copy ORH/ORL and draw a rectangle for the FVG if your execution platform lacks the indicator. Auto-brackets: pre-define your $ risk and 2R target so every entry is consistent. Two sessions max: NY opens first; optionally, the US evening reopens (5:00 p.m. CT) only if your data says you have positive expectancy there. Trade less, filter more: It’s normal to get 2–3 quality trades/week. No setup → no trade. A compact rules card (copy/paste) Timeframe: 5m. Levels: First 5-min bar → ORH/ORL. Filter: Trade only with an unfilled FVG in the same direction as the OR break. Entry: Break of ORH (long) or ORL (short). Invalidation: FVG fully filled right after break → stand down/exit. Stop: Opposite OR level (or nearest structure that truly invalidates). Target: 2R. Risk: Fixed $ per trade; use micros to fit the plan. Daily max: 1–2R down → stop for the day. Journal every trade (screenshot + R result + notes). Journal template (quick) Date / Ticker / Session (NY/Evening) ORH / ORL values; OR width (points) FVG direction & location (filled? unfilled?) Entry price & rationale (break + FVG alignment) Stop (points/$), Target (points/$), Size (contracts) Outcome (R): __ Did I follow the plan? Y/N (what deviated?) Screenshot link Guardrails (important) “Making money in days” is possible but not typical; survivorship bias is real. Your edge is strict filtering + small, repeatable risk + patience. Commissions/slippage matter—micros help sizing but raise the per-rake cost %; include this in your journaling. Don’t scale to full contracts until your live track record shows consistency over at least 20–30 trades following the exact rules. Screener: https://www.tradingview.com/screener/dlJI6pPa/