Raid Trading Floor

Most traders lose with Fair Value Gaps for one simple reason:

They assume every FVG deserves a trade.

A gap forms.

They enter.

The trade fails.

Then they blame the strategy.

The reality is that not all Fair Value Gaps carry the same weight.

Some are backed by institutional order flow.

Others are nothing more than market noise.

The difference comes down to the filters you apply before pulling the trigger.

Here are 5 filters I use to separate A+ fair value gaps and random imbalances:

The market doesn't pay you for being right.

It pays you for managing risk.

You can be wrong 50% of the time and still make money.

You can be right 80% of the time and still lose money.

Your stop loss matters more than your opinion.

This 290 point long trade on June 12th was an A+ setup.

• Liquidity sweep of previous session high/low

• Displacement in the opposite direction

• FVG formation

• Retest of FVG high/low

• Entry on retest of FVG high/low

• Macro

• Silver Bullet hour

• Target opposing liquidity

🚨 Most traders use the COT report completely wrong.

They treat it like an entry signal.

It's not.

The COT report is a positioning tool that shows where the largest participants in the market are placing their bets.

June 9th, 2026 Nasdaq COT data showed:

• Large speculators are NET SHORT 96,317 contracts

• Over 22,000 long contracts were closed

• Additional short positions were added

• Commercial hedgers remain NET LONG

Hedge Funds represent 82.6% of interest on short positions.

Translation:

Institutional sentiment is bearish, but the short side is becoming crowded.

And crowded trades can become dangerous.

When too many traders pile into one side of the market, all it takes is a strong move in the opposite direction to trigger a wave of short covering and fuel an explosive rally.

This is why I don't use COT reports to enter trades.

I use them to build a market narrative.

If the market starts sweeping liquidity, reclaiming key levels, and showing bullish structure while funds are heavily short, that becomes information worth paying attention to.

The chart tells you when to trade.

The COT report tells you who might be trapped.