Table of Contents
This episode sits down with Rizz—podcaster, entrepreneur, and trader behind “Words of Rizdom”—joined by hosts Alex and his business partner to launch their “Titans of Tomorrow” podcast. Rizz matters because he’s actively cleaning up the trading space: encouraging collaboration across the UK, US, and Dubai scenes, calling out surface-level “furu” culture, and modeling a relentless work ethic while balancing family and brand-building. It’s a candid, in-person conversation about character, standards, and what actually helps traders progress.
In this piece, you’ll learn how to spot real substance over marketing—practical tells for separating educators from entertainers, the middle ground between lifestyle and value, and how routines, discipline, and honest self-assessment carry more weight than any “one-liner” tactic. You’ll also pick up host-level insights on extracting depth from guests, handling red flags, and building a strategy that pairs risk management with mindset so you can choose better mentors, apply better habits, and grow your own trading playbook with integrity.
Riz Iqbal Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Operating DNA: Principles Before Profits
Riz runs on standards, not hype. The goal is consistent execution with clear rules, tight risk, and zero tolerance for guru theatrics. Use this section to hard-code your operating system before you touch a chart.
- Write a one-page trading constitution: markets traded, sessions, risk per trade, max daily loss, and stop-trading rules.
- Cap risk at 0.25%–0.50% per trade; hard max daily loss = 1.5R or three strikes—then you’re done.
- No setup, no trade: if your A-setup isn’t present, you do nothing—silence is a position.
- Separate identity from outcomes: you are graded on rule-following, not P&L.
Market Focus & Sessions
He favors depth over breadth: fewer markets, fixed time windows, and rhythm mastery. This keeps decisions fast and repeatable, so you’re not reinventing the wheel each morning.
- Pick 1–2 instruments you actually understand (e.g., one index future + one FX pair); ignore everything else for 90 days.
- Trade one primary session only (e.g., London or New York open) and be flat by a set cutoff time.
- Pre-tag the day type at the open (trend, range, news-driven) and only deploy setups that fit that day type.
- If ADR/ATR is already 100% met by midday, stand down unless a fresh catalyst hits.
Set up Archetypes: Structure + Catalyst
Riz frames entries where structure and a real catalyst meet—levels, liquidity, session opens, or data releases. The bullets below define tight patterns you can actually trade.
- Break-and-Retest at Key Level: prior day’s high/low or weekly level breaks on impulse, then clean retest holds; enter on rejection wick or micro higher-low/lower-high.
- Liquidity Sweep → Reversal: stop-run through a clear swing, immediate failure back inside the range, entry on the first pullback with risk behind the sweep.
- Trend Pullback to Value: strong trend day, pullback to value area (e.g., VWAP/previous value edge) + confluence with an HTF level; enter with the trend.
- News Pulse Continuation: if a major release expands range in the direction of HTF bias, take the first structured continuation after the initial whipsaw.
Entry Triggers & Timing
Execution is simple and mechanical: one trigger per setup, one invalidation, and no mid-trade improvisation. Use these rules to cut hesitation and FOMO.
- Trigger must be visible on your execution timeframe (e.g., M1–M5): engulf of the retest candle, or break of micro-structure + immediate retest.
- Place stops beyond structure, not “a few ticks”: beyond the sweep wick or the retest level that proves you wrong.
- If price hesitates >3 bars at entry level without progress, scratch to −0.2R/flat and wait for a cleaner re-trigger.
- Never chase: if you miss the A-entry, you’re done—next setup.
Risk, Sizing & Trade Management
Riz emphasizes staying solvent to stay in the game. These rules preserve mental capital while letting winners breathe.
- Fixed fractional sizing (0.25%–0.50% risk) until a 40-trade rolling sample proves edge; then scale gradually.
- Two-target framework: take 50% at +1R, move stop to entry only if structure confirms (new HL/LH); trail remainder behind swing structure or a session VWAP band.
- If MAE (max adverse excursion) exceeds planned risk by slippage or news, downshift size by 50% for the next five trades.
- Daily stop-out or 3 losses in a row = screens off; log, walk, review.
Pre-Market Prep (10 Minutes)
Preparation is short and repeatable. The aim is to align HTF bias with a single session plan so you’re not improvising mid-flow.
- Mark HTF levels (yesterday’s H/L, weekly H/L, obvious supply/demand, gaps) and define bias: up, down, or balance.
- Note scheduled catalysts (session open, key data, central-bank speakers) and pre-decide: trade/stand aside.
- Write a one-line plan: “If price holds above X into session open, I will take the retest for +2R; if below, I will sell the failure.”
Post-Trade Workflow (5 Minutes)
Review is where edge compounds. Keep it light but surgical to reinforce behavior you want to repeat.
- Paste a screenshot with entries/exits, tag the setup code, and grade rule adherence (A/B/C) before you look at P&L.
- Log R result, MAE/MFE, time in trade, and a single improvement note for the next occurrence.
- Weekly: kill one low-quality behavior and double down on one high-quality behavior; update your “do-more / do-less” list.
Journal Metrics That Matter
Riz focuses on a few metrics that actually move the needle. Track these to spot drift early and keep your edge sharp.
- 40-trade rolling: Win rate, Expectancy (avg R), Payoff ratio (avg win/avg loss), and Time-to-profit (avg minutes to +1R).
- Per-setup stats: frequency, expectancy, drawdown depth—only scale size on the top two setups.
- Behavior metrics: percentage of trades taken in plan, percentage taken outside plan (should be 0%), and average pre-trade checklist completion time.
Psychology & Energy Management
Discipline is an energy problem as much as a mindset problem. Protect your decision-making battery, and your discipline will follow.
- Pre-session ritual: 3 minutes box breathing, 3 lines of the plan, 30 seconds visualizing execution—set a phone timer for all three.
- After a −2R streak, cut the size in half and switch to “one and done” for the day to rebuild execution confidence.
- No revenge inputs: mute social feeds and P&L; only your checklist and chart are allowed during the session.
Mentor & Content Filter
Riz is ruthless about quality control in the trading space. Use these filters to avoid wasting years on noise.
- Require receipts: show me risk management in action (drawdown profile, not just wins), live or verifiable.
- Look for process depth: pre/post plans, journaling artifacts, and rules that survive different regimes.
- Red flags: signal sales, lifestyle marketing > process, and no discussion of risk-of-ruin math or sample sizes.
Funding & Scaling Plan
Scale edge, not ego. Treat funding as an accelerant only after your personal process is bankable.
- Don’t scale until your best setup shows >0.25R expectancy over 40 consecutive trades with max drawdown <10R.
- Increase size by 20% after each positive 20-trade block; revert if drawdown exceeds 5R.
- With funded accounts, set personal limits tighter than the firm’s (e.g., daily loss at 50% of their cap) and withdraw on schedule (e.g., biweekly) to de-risk.
Playbook Cheatsheet (Use Every Session)
A tight checklist keeps you out of trouble when markets get loud. Run this before your first click.
- Bias set? Levels marked? Catalyst known? If not, no trading.
- Is this one of your named setups? If not, pass.
- Risk entered (≤0.50%) and stop placed beyond the structure? If not, fix it.
- First target and management plan written? If not, define them before entry.
Size Risk First: Fixed R, Daily Max Loss, Walk Away
Riz Iqbal keeps it brutally simple: define your risk in R before you even think about entries. Pick a fixed percentage per trade—say 0.25%–0.50%—and make everything else bend around that constraint. Once you’ve locked the R, place the stop where the trade is objectively wrong and let the position size float to match the risk. That flips the script from “how much can I make?” to “what can I afford to lose and still be sharp for the next trade?”
He also sets a hard daily max loss and actually walks when it’s hit—no “one more” button-mashing. The move protects mental capital and smooths the equity curve because your worst decisions usually happen after the third punch to the face. If you’re down 1.5–2R on the day, screens off, journal on, go reset. Do it for 20 sessions straight and watch your consistency pop.
Trade Volatility, Not Vibes: ATR Targets and Time-Based Exits
Riz Iqbal treats volatility as the North Star, not mood or headlines. He sets profit targets and stop distances as fractions of ATR, so position expectations scale with the market’s actual pace. When ATR is elevated, he allows wider stops and bigger targets; when it’s compressed, he tightens risk and takes quicker singles. This keeps his expectancy stable across choppy and trending regimes.
He also uses time-based exits to avoid “hope holds.” If the price hasn’t reached +1R within a defined number of bars or minutes, he scratches or tightens and moves on. The clock becomes a risk control, not just the chart. That simple rule cuts dead money and frees him to redeploy into cleaner momentum.
Diversify by Setup, Duration, and Instrument—Not Random Tickers
Riz Iqbal doesn’t spread himself thin across twenty symbols; he spreads edge across distinct buckets. He runs a couple of proven setups, expressed on multiple time horizons (scalp/intraday/swing), and across a small roster of uncorrelated markets. That way, one slow day in indices can be offset by a clean FX trend or a commodities breakout. The rule is simple: different logic, different tempo, different underlying—otherwise it’s just duplication with extra chart lag.
He assigns risk per bucket instead of per ticker. One bucket might be “opening drive continuation,” another “liquidity sweep reversal,” each with its own max daily R and cool-off rules. If one bucket underperforms, he throttles that sleeve without nuking the whole book. This keeps correlation shock from wrecking the day and forces accountability at the setup level. Trade fewer things, but express them smarter—that’s Riz Iqbal’s version of diversification that actually matters.
Mechanics Over Prediction: Level, Trigger, Invalidation, Then Management
Riz Iqbal strips trading down to four repeatable steps so he never has to “feel” the market. First, define the level—HTF supply/demand, prior day highs/lows, or a session pivot you can draw with a ruler. Second, wait for a trigger—engulf, sweep-fail, or break-retest on the execution timeframe—without front-running. Third, set the invalidation where your idea is objectively wrong, not where it feels comfortable.
Only then does Riz Iqbal think about management. He plans targets and trailing logic before clicking, using structure or ATR fractions, so he isn’t improvising mid-trade. If the trigger doesn’t fire, he passes; if invalidation hits, he’s out—no edits. This sequence turns entries into checklists, not guesses, and that’s how he replaces prediction with process.
Choose Defined Risk When Uncertain; Reserve Discretion For A-Setups Only
When conditions are noisy or your read is lukewarm, Riz Iqbal keeps it strictly defined-risk: fixed stop, fixed target, fixed size. That removes wiggle room and decision fatigue when the market doesn’t deserve your creativity. He treats these trades like drills—tight parameters, quick feedback, no storytelling. The aim is to protect capital and confidence while still taking statistically valid shots.
Discretion is saved for A-setups where context, structure, and catalyst all align. That’s when Riz Iqbal allows adaptive management—scale out, trail behind structure, or hold for the session extreme. The key is binary classification before entry: “defined template” or “discretionary A-setup,” never a muddled mix. This separation keeps poor conditions from pulling you into hero mode and lets your best ideas breathe when they actually show up.
In the end, Riz Iqbal’s message is simple and durable: build a personal edge around discipline, proof, and perspective. Don’t confuse a prop certificate with genuine competence—treat funded accounts as one tool among many, keep emotions out of the pass/fail cycle, and think in risk-to-reward terms across the entire “prop portfolio” so a lost challenge doesn’t define you. Meanwhile, run a parallel track: grow a verifiable trading record and, when appropriate, negotiate investor terms that fit your risk and payout needs; optionality beats one-path dependency.
Equally important, apply a strong filter to the people and ideas you let in. Seek depth over slogans, insist on specifics when someone talks “risk management” or “liquidity,” and treat “no journaling” as a red flag. Gravitate to value-driven conversations and collaborative environments that surface multiple viewpoints—those are the rooms where nuance beats marketing and you actually get better. If you follow those standards—evidence over image, process over posture, community over clout—you’ll keep your compass steady no matter how loud the industry gets.
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