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This interview brings together Faisal and Mr RTD Krishna on the Words of Rizdom podcast, trading talk mixed with real-world lessons from starting scrappy businesses at uni to building discipline in the markets. You’ll hear how a shy student who stacked fridges and ran a breakfast hustle turned those reps into trading composure, why tight circles beat loud nights out, and how leadership (or the lack of it) shapes outcomes at work and on the charts. It’s casual, honest, and very much from traders who’ve had to level up fast.
Read on to pick up the practical stuff: using profits to fund future risk rather than inflate it, translating a 1% win into “10 paid losses” for patience, and the power of action bias—shipping the idea today instead of debating it for weeks. You’ll also get a clear take on protecting your energy, choosing the right peers, and building a simple morning routine to break down markets with structure. If you’re new to trading, this is the kind of grounded strategy talk that helps you avoid flashy mistakes and start stacking consistent decisions.
Faizal Munye Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Market Framework
Before placing a single trade, Faizal maps the playing field: trend, volatility, and key levels. This keeps him from guessing and gives every decision a context. Here’s the simple structure he uses to turn noisy charts into a plan.
- Define higher-timeframe bias on the daily and 4H; only trade long in an uptrend (HH/HL) and short in a downtrend (LH/LL).
- Mark weekly and daily supply/demand zones and prior session high/low; these are your “decision shelves.”
- Measure volatility with 14-period ATR on the 1H; if ATR is expanding, allow wider stops and partial targets; if contracting, reduce position size and prefer mean-reversion exits.
- Map the session you trade (London or New York) and avoid entries 5 minutes before/after tier-1 data.
- Pre-write a one-line thesis for each idea: “If price reclaims X and holds above Y, I target Z.”
Setup Shortlist
Faizal focuses on a small menu of repeatable patterns so execution stays consistent. Fewer setups mean cleaner stats and faster feedback loops.
- Break-and-retest of an HTF level with confluence from 20/50 EMA alignment.
- Liquidity sweep (false break of prior high/low) followed by an impulsive reclaim and strong close.
- First pullback to VWAP/AVWAP after a session open impulse, provided HTF bias agrees.
- Range extremes: fade at the third touch with a clear invalidation beyond the wick of the sweep.
- News ignition continuation: only if the first pullback holds above the 50% retrace of the impulse.
Risk & Position Sizing
Edge is meaningless without controlled risk. Faizal turns risk into a fixed operating cost so one loss can’t derail the week.
- Risk a fixed 0.5%–1.0% of equity per trade; never stack more than 2% aggregate risk across correlated names.
- Hard stop always on chart, never mental; place it beyond structure (last swing + spread + buffer equal to 0.2× ATR(14) of entry timeframe).
- Use asymmetric targets: minimum 1R to scale, 2R core target; reach 3R+ only if structure extends.
- When volatility doubles (ATR spike), cut size by half; when it halves, keep size constant—don’t lever up just because it’s quiet.
- Cap daily loss at 2R; stop trading for the session when hit.
Entry Triggers
Context selects the setup; the trigger times the risk. Faizal waits for the price to confirm intent before committing capital.
- For break-retest: enter on the first bullish/bearish close back through the level plus a micro pullback; avoid chasing the breakout candle.
- For liquidity sweeps: require a strong engulfing close in the direction of the reclaim and enter on a 50%–61.8% retrace of that engulf.
- For VWAP plays: only take the first touch after a session impulse; if it’s the third or later touch, skip it.
- Use limit orders at predefined zones; if price runs without you, log it and move on—no market-order FOMO.
- Cancel entries if the candle that would fill you has above-average wick against your direction.
Trade Management
How you manage winners determines your equity curve. Faizal scales with structure, not emotion, and protects the tail.
- At +1R, take 30% off and move stop to entry only if structure confirms (higher low/lower high forms); otherwise, keep stop where it belongs.
- Trail behind structure using the last swing or a 20-EMA close; never trail tighter than 1R while the trade is active.
- If the first target is missed by a tick and price returns to entry, reduce size by 25% and keep the plan—don’t “hope average.”
- On news spikes in profit, bank at least 50% and re-enter only on a fresh setup; treat spikes as gifts, not guarantees.
- If price closes beyond your invalidation level, exit without debate—no “give it one more candle.”
Playbook for Sessions
Routine turns skill into output. Faizal runs the same checklist every day to reduce randomness.
- Pre-market (20–30 min): mark HTF zones, session levels, economic calendar, and top 3 symbols with clean structure.
- Define “A-Setups” (must-trade) vs “B-Setups” (optional); only A-Setups allowed in the first hour.
- During session: one idea per chart; hide indicators after planning so you focus on price/level behavior.
- Mid-session audit: if two consecutive plan violations occur, stop for the day and complete a process review.
- Post-session (15 min): tag each trade by setup, context, execution grade (A/B/C), and reason for exit.
Data & Journaling
Faizal treats the journal like R&D. The goal is to keep what pays and kill what doesn’t—quickly.
- Log metrics per setup: win rate, average R, max adverse excursion (MAE), time-to-target, and day-of-week.
- Cull any setup with <0.8R expectancy after 40 samples or a 30-trade rolling drawdown exceeding 6R.
- Screenshot entry, management, and exit; annotate what you saw vs. what actually happened.
- Review weekly: promote one B-Setup to A only if it shows >55% win and >1.5R average over 50 samples.
- Maintain a “graveyard” list of anti-setups (conditions you won’t trade), updated every month.
Psychology & Energy Management
The best plan fails without the right headspace. Faizal engineers simple habits that keep attention sharp and decisions clean.
- Fixed start/stop times; no “revenge hour” after the plan ends.
- Two strikes rule: after two execution errors, close the platform and complete a 10-minute debrief.
- Pre-trade breath: 4-7-8 breathing cycle twice before placing any order; aim to lower arousal before risk.
- Environment audit: phone on airplane mode, one screen for execution, one for charts—no socials or chats during active risk.
- Weekly “expectations reset”: write the next week’s process goals (e.g., “0 plan violations,” “risk kept at 0.5%”) and sign it.
Continuous Improvement Loops
Edge compounds when you iterate. Faizal refines rules with small experiments, not wholesale overhauls.
- Run one change at a time for two weeks (e.g., new stop method); keep everything else constant to isolate the impact.
- Use an A/B tracker: baseline vs. variant; promote only if the variant improves expectancy and reduces variance.
- Archive losing weeks with a one-page post-mortem: mistake category, root cause, and prevention rule.
- Quarterly deep-dive: re-test playbook on 12 months of data to confirm setups still behave.
- Sunset any market (pair/asset) that adds noise or correlation risk without boosting total expectancy.
Krishna Sharma Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Market Framework
Before any order goes in, Krishna builds context: direction, location, and volatility. This trims noise and makes each trade a deliberate bet, not a guess.
- Start on the weekly/daily to define trend; only press long when price is printing HH/HL, short when LH/LL.
- Box the map: previous week’s high/low, daily open, session high/low, and key supply/demand blocks.
- Use ATR(14) on the 1H to label the day “expanding” or “compressing” and adjust risk accordingly.
- Identify the active session (London/NY) and anchor AVWAP from the session open and the prior day’s close.
- Write a one-sentence trade idea: “If price accepts above/below AVWAP and holds, I target the next range edge.”
Setup Shortlist
Krishna runs a tight menu of repeatable structures, so execution is fast and grading is objective.
- Break–retest of HTF level with 20/50 EMA alignment and AVWAP support/resistance.
- Liquidity sweep of prior high/low followed by an impulsive reclaim and body-close confirmation.
- Opening drive → first pullback to VWAP/AVWAP in trend direction; skip if third touch or later.
- Range extremes: third tap fade with invalidation beyond the sweep wick and target back to mid.
- Catalyst continuation only if the first pullback holds >50% of the impulse range.
Risk & Position Sizing
Krishna treats risk like a subscription fee—you pay the same small amount each attempt, so variance can’t wreck you.
- Fixed 0.5%–1.0% account risk per trade; total correlated exposure capped at 2%.
- Place the hard stop beyond structure: last swing ± spread + 0.2× ATR(14) of the entry timeframe.
- Scale out mechanically: 30% at +1R, core at +2R; hold runner only while structure builds.
- If ATR doubles, halve position size; if ATR collapses, do not increase risk beyond baseline.
- Daily loss stop: −2R; when hit, the session ends—no “make-back” trades.
Entry Triggers
Context picks the battle; the trigger times the strike. Krishna waits for proof that the market agrees.
- Break–retest: require a body close through the level, then enter on a minor pullback that holds.
- Sweep/reclaim: after the engulfing candle, place a limit at 50%–61.8% retrace of that candle’s body.
- VWAP/AVWAP: only first-touch continuation after an impulse aligned with HTF bias.
- If the fill candle shows a large opposing wick or volume stalls at the level, cancel the order.
- No market-order chasing; missed moves are logged, not forced.
Trade Management
Winners are grown, not hoped into existence. Krishna manages by structure and time, not emotion.
- Move stop to entry only after a higher low/lower high confirms, not just because price touched +1R.
- Trail behind swing structure or a 20-EMA close; never trail tighter than 1R while active.
- If the target misses by a tick and price returns to entry, reduce size by 25% and keep the plan intact.
- On news spikes in profit, bank at least half; re-engage only on a fresh setup.
- If invalidation prints (close beyond level), exit immediately—no “one more candle.”
Session Routine
Routine removes randomness. Krishna runs the same pre-/during/post-checklist daily.
- Pre-market (20–30 min): mark HTF zones, session AVWAPs, top 3 symbols, and key econ times.
- Label A-Setups (must trade) vs. B-Setups (optional); first hour is A-Setups only.
- During session: one idea per chart; hide nonessential indicators to focus on price at levels.
- Mid-session guardrail: two process violations = platform closed and a 10-minute debrief.
- Post-session (15 min): grade each trade (A/B/C) and tag the reason for exit and any deviation.
Data & Journaling
Krishna treats the journal as his R&D lab—the place where edge gets measured and refined.
- Track per-setup: win rate, average R, MAE/MFE, time-in-trade, time-of-day, day-of-week.
- Sunset any setup with <0.8R expectancy after 40 trades or a rolling 30-trade drawdown >6R.
- Save annotated screenshots of entry/management/exit; write what you believed vs. what happened.
- Weekly review: promote a B-Setup to A only after >55% win and >1.5R average over 50 samples.
- Maintain an “anti-setup” list (conditions you refuse to trade) and update monthly.
Psychology & Energy
Execution follows the state. Krishna engineers low-arousal, high-focus states so decisions stay clean.
- Fixed start/stop times; no extending the session to “get back to even.”
- Two-strike rule: after two execution errors, stop trading and complete a short post-mortem.
- Pre-trade breathing (4-7-8 twice) before placing any order.
- Environment design: phone on airplane, charts + DOM only, no social feeds during active risk.
- Weekly reset: write and sign next week’s process goals (e.g., “0 plan violations, 0.5% risk/trade”).
Continuous Improvement
Edge compounds through small, controlled experiments—not wholesale rewrites.
- Test one change at a time for two weeks; keep all else constant to isolate the effect.
- A/B log: baseline vs. variant; adopt only if expectancy improves and variance declines.
- Quarterly audit: re-run the playbook on the past 12 months to confirm behavior holds.
- Prune markets that add correlation without improving total portfolio expectancy.
- Convert any recurring mistake into a rule, then into a checklist item.
Size Risk First: Fixed Risk Per Trade, No Martingaling In Volatility
Faizal Munye and Krishna Sharma start with risk before even thinking about entries. They fix a small, repeatable percentage per trade so no single loss can tilt the week. When volatility spikes, they cut size instead of widening risk to “make it back.” Martingaling is off the table because adding it to pain only multiplies variance.
This approach makes results comparable across setups and sessions, so the data actually teaches. It also keeps psychology steady—confidence comes from capped downside, not oversized bets. Faizal Munye and Krishna Sharma both stress that smaller, consistent clips compound cleaner than occasional home runs. Protect the downside first, and the upside finally has space to show up.
Trade the Mechanic, Not the Prediction: Rules Beat Opinions Every Session
Faizal Munye treats the market like a machine: same inputs, same outputs, fewer surprises. He follows pre-defined triggers—level reclaimed, candle closed, pullback holds—rather than gut feelings about where price “should” go. The mechanic is the checklist, not the narrative, so he can execute even when headlines scream. Because the rules are clear, Faizal knows exactly when to stand down and when to press.
Krishna Sharma echoes the same play: define the setup, wait for confirmation, take the trade or pass—no in-between. His focus is on behavior at levels, not storylines, which keeps entries, stops, and targets consistent. When a rule is violated, he logs it and tightens the process instead of rationalizing. Together, Faizal Munye and Krishna Sharma show that consistent mechanics outlast hot takes, every single session.
Let Volatility Lead Allocation: Expand Targets, Cut Size When ATR Spikes
Faizal Munye lets volatility set the terms instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all plan. When ATR rises, he cuts position size to keep the same monetary risk while allowing the price more room to breathe. He’ll widen targets during expansion so winners can run, but he won’t widen stops beyond structure. In quieter conditions, he keeps size steady and prefers quicker, mean-reversion style exits.
Krishna Sharma follows the same playbook: volatility expansion earns respect, not bravado. If the tape is wild, he scales down, avoids stacking correlated risk, and focuses on A-setups with clean invalidation. When things compress, he shifts to taking profits sooner and only holds runners if structure confirms momentum. Together, Faizal Munye and Krishna Sharma show that letting volatility lead allocation keeps drawdowns shallow and lets the best moves pay properly.
Diversify By Setup, Timeframe, And Duration To Smooth Your Equity Curve
Faizal Munye doesn’t spread bets randomly—he diversifies with intention. He rotates between a few proven setups (break-retest, sweep-reclaim, first pullback to VWAP), so one pattern’s cold streak can’t sink the week. He also mixes timeframes, taking some trades off the 1H/15m for directional moves and others on the 5m for precise risk. By staggering hold times—quick scalps alongside swing attempts—Faizal keeps cash flow steady while still giving runners a chance.
Krishna Sharma applies the same balance with strict correlation checks. If two ideas ride the same driver, he counts them as one risk and trims exposure. He pairs trend-continuation plays with range-fade tactics, so volatility regimes don’t blindside him. Across both traders, the message is simple: diversify by setup, timeframe, and duration, and your P&L becomes a smoother ladder instead of a roller coaster.
Process Discipline: Predefine Levels, Triggers, Exits; Journal Every Deviation Ruthlessly
Faizal Munye treats the plan like a contract: levels are mapped before the bell, triggers are defined in plain language, and exits are chosen before the first click. He grades each trade against that plan—followed or violated—so the outcome never excuses sloppy execution. When the market changes tone, he updates the plan, not his memory, and only then does he put risk back on.
Krishna Sharma runs the same discipline loop with relentless journaling. He screenshots entries and exits, writes the why in one sentence, and tags mistakes so patterns can’t hide. If he breaks a rule twice, it becomes a checklist item with a hard stop to prevent a third. Together, Faizal Munye and Krishna Sharma show that consistency comes from honoring the plan and documenting the truth, not from hoping the next trade erases the last one.
In the end, the through-line from Faizal Munye and Krishna Sharma is disarmingly simple: survival first, consistency second, returns third. Both traders start by sizing risk before they even think about entries, capping exposure so a single loss can’t warp the week. They let volatility set the rules—cutting size when things get loud, widening room for price to breathe, and refusing to martingale into pain. Their edge isn’t a crystal ball; it’s mechanics over prediction. That means trading from mapped levels, waiting for confirmation (reclaim, close, or first clean pullback), and executing only the setups that already pay in their journals.
Equally clear is their obsession with process. Faizal and Krishna diversify by setup, timeframe, and holding duration so no single pattern or market regime dominates the P&L. They predefine triggers and exits, log every deviation, and convert recurring mistakes into rules, then checklist items. Energy management and routine are non-negotiable: fixed start/stop times, phone off, and a mid-session audit that pulls them from the screen after two process slips. If you boil the entire conversation down to one actionable takeaway, it’s this: treat trading like a repeatable business—risk as a fixed cost, rules as the operating system, and the journal as R&D. Do that, and the upside has room to show up without threatening the foundation.
