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This interview features Mark, the founder of Falcon, sitting down on the Words of Rizdom podcast to unpack his journey from being made redundant as a teen in 2008 to building consistency as a full-time trader. You’ll hear why he matters to aspiring traders: he started in the chaos of a recession, learned the hard lessons on risk, rebuilt after setbacks, and now mentors others with a no-nonsense focus on process and mindset.
In this piece, you’ll learn the core strategy ideas Mark actually uses: treating risk (not account size) as the unit of decision, building discipline through journaling and clear goals, and anchoring every plan to a specific “why” so you don’t crumble when variance bites. We’ll pull out his practical rules for mindset and execution—how to avoid prop-firm traps, keep emotions out of trade sizing, and create a repeatable routine that survives both winning streaks and drawdowns—so you can apply them in your own trading right away.
Mark Hutchinson Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
The Core Framework: Structure-First, Forecast-Driven
Mark Hutchinson builds every decision around a clean price structure and pre-planned scenarios. Before any order is placed, he maps the likely paths price can take and decides how he’ll respond—so execution becomes mechanics, not emotion.
- Start top-down: weekly → daily → 4H → 1H. Only trade in the direction of the dominant swing on the 4H unless you have two strong reversal signals.
- Define the market state before anything else: impulse, correction, or transition. Only take setups aligned with that state.
- Favor simple continuation structures (flags/channels) after impulses; avoid overlapping “messy” ranges.
- Write two forecasts before the session: Path A (trend continues) and Path B (deeper correction). Pre-assign triggers and invalidations to both.
- Do not trade if the active structure is unclear on the 4H; the next clean leg will come—protect mental capital.
Setup Selection: Only A-Grade Entries
He filters aggressively so each trade expresses a clear edge. This keeps win-rate stable and risk concentrated in the best opportunities.
- A-grade checklist must score “yes” on: clear impulse leg, tidy consolidation (<40% retrace), break-and-retest, and room to first trouble area ≥ 2R.
- Require at least two confluences from: structure break, major level, momentum shift (e.g., strong body close), or multi-timeframe alignment.
- Minimum reward-to-risk: 3R on paper at entry. If you can’t see 3R to logical targets, skip it.
- Never chase breaks. Let price retest or form a micro flag; enter where your stop can live behind structure, not noise.
- Cap simultaneous correlated positions at 2; if you’re doubling theme risk, halve per-trade risk.
Risk & Money Management: Small, Consistent, Survivable
Mark treats percent risk as the unit of decision. This is how he sidesteps the emotional drag of dollar amounts and stays funded through inevitable variance.
- Standard risk = 1% per trade. Drop to 0.5% if market conditions are choppy; increase to 1.25% only with A+ conditions and recent outperformance.
- Daily stop: 2% drawdown or 2 consecutive losses—whichever hits first—then stop trading for the day.
- Weekly stop: 3.5% hard cap; if hit, no new trades until the following week’s forecast is complete and reviewed.
- Move stop to breakeven only after structure confirms (e.g., close beyond the consolidation’s extreme), not at arbitrary R multiples.
- Scale out: take 50% at 2R if the first trouble area is close; otherwise, hold for the mapped 3R target and trail behind fresh 1H structure.
Timing & Execution: Clean Triggers, Zero Hesitation
He removes ambiguity at the trigger, so there’s nothing left to debate when the price reaches the level. The plan thinks; the click is just compliance.
- Trade windows: focus on London open to early NY overlap; avoid late-session chop unless managing runners.
- Use a single, unambiguous trigger: close beyond the pattern edge plus retest, or a micro flag break in the direction of your forecast.
- If the retest fails and price re-enters the range, cancel the idea. Good trades don’t need begging.
- Set alerts at key levels; if you miss it, let it go. Never market-chase a move that already paid someone else.
- Record slippage and spread at entry/exit; factor typical costs into R calculations for future sizing.
Targets, Trade Management & Scaling
Targets are mapped in the forecast, not invented mid-trade. Management rules protect R while keeping you in the move that pays the month.
- Primary target = the next higher-timeframe liquidity zone or measured move of the prior impulse; secondary target trails behind 1H swing lows/highs.
- Trail only when structure advances (new higher low or lower high). If structure stalls, take partials and reduce risk.
- For runners, convert to time-based trailing if momentum holds through session close; otherwise bank into the close and re-assess the next day.
- Never widen stops. Either the idea is still valid at your planned invalidation, or it’s over.
- A single 5R pays a week of nothing; build patience around this math, and you’ll stop over-managing winners.
Journal, Review, and Forecast Ritual
Consistency comes from a simple weekly cadence: forecast, execute, review. The ritual turns experience into edge.
- Pre-week: produce a one-page outlook with Path A/Path B for your top 6 markets. Mark the “only trade these” watchlist.
- Post-trade: log screenshot at entry and at exit, plus one line: “What would have made this untradeable?”
- End-of-week: tally process metrics (A-grade adherence, R expected vs. R realized, management errors) before P/L.
- Identify one behavior to upgrade next week (e.g., “no sub-3R structures”); pin it above your desk and in your platform notes.
- Archive the best trades into a “model book” folder. Re-read before each session to calibrate your eye.
Psychology & Routine: Protect the Edge You Already Have
Mark grounds performance in environment and identity—so the market can’t toss him around when variance spikes.
- 90-minute morning block: journaling, forecast refresh, and one non-market win (training, walk, meditation) before charts.
- Define your “why” in concrete terms (family, freedom, mastery) and read it before placing any order.
- Detox triggers: remove P/L from the platform, hide account balance, and use percent-risk tickets only.
- If you slip (revenge trade, FOMO), step away immediately and write the sequence that led there; design one friction point to prevent a repeat.
- Keep weekends market-free; return with a reset mind and a crisp plan.
Prop-Firm & Capital Scaling Guidelines
Longevity beats size. Mark optimizes for smooth equity curves that pass evaluations and keep allocations, not headline gains.
- Trade your plan, not the firm’s timer: use half-risk during evaluation phases to avoid breaching rules under drawdown pressure.
- Hard cap: 1 open risk unit per symbol during evaluations; diversify across uncorrelated pairs/markets to smooth P/L.
- Lock consistency: aim for 3–6% months with shallow drawdowns; scale risk only after three consecutive positive months and no rule breaches.
- Withdraw small, regularly, once funded (e.g., 20–30% of monthly profits) to bank wins and reduce pressure.
- Keep a personal account mirroring the same rules so habits don’t diverge between accounts.
Tools & Checklists You Can Use Today
Simple tools reinforce discipline. Use them to make your next trade look like your best trade.
- One-page checklist at entry: market state, confluence count (≥2), R≥3, invalidation level, news window clear, and session alignment.
- Position size calculator fixed to percent risk; pre-fill tick/pip value so sizing takes <30 seconds.
- Alert stack: set three alerts per idea (approach level, trigger level, invalidation) and mute everything else.
- A “do nothing” rule: if the chart doesn’t match a saved model from your model book, you’re done—no improvisation.
- Weekly scoreboard: process KPIs on the wall (A-grade %, average R per winner, average R per loser, rule violations). Improve one metric per week.
Size Risk First: Percent-Based Positioning That Survives Any Market Day
Mark Hutchinson starts by making risk the only fixed variable, not the forecast. He sizes every position as a small, repeatable percentage of equity, so no single trade can hijack his psychology. By anchoring to percent risk, he avoids the trap of “confidence-based” bets and keeps drawdowns shallow.
He then matches stop distance to structure and adjusts lot size to keep the same percent at risk—never the other way around. If conditions are choppy, he dials risk down; when A+ setups appear, he allows a slight bump while keeping R multiples intact. This turns performance into a function of process quality, not luck, and makes compounding feel boring—in the best possible way.
Let Volatility Lead: ATR Anchors for Entries, Stops, and Targets
Mark Hutchinson treats volatility as the metronome of his trading day. He uses ATR to translate structure into numbers: entries near the edges of clean flags, stops placed one ATR beyond invalidation, and first targets at two to three ATRs where liquidity typically sits. When ATR expands, Mark widens stops and cuts position size to keep percent risk constant; when ATR contracts, he tightens stops and requires a cleaner structure to avoid death by chop.
He also time-filters volatility so he’s not forcing trades when the ATR is asleep. If the current ATR is below his rolling average, he either passes or waits for a catalyst rather than inventing momentum that isn’t there. Mark’s rule of thumb: volatility should invite you into a trade, not dare you to survive it—and ATR is the invitation he trusts.
Diversify Smart: Underlying, Strategy, and Timeframe to Smooth Equity Curves
Mark Hutchinson doesn’t diversify for the sake of activity—he diversifies to make his equity curve calmer and more predictable. He splits risk across uncorrelated underlyings, so one macro theme can’t sink the week. He also runs different playbooks (continuations, break-and-retest, occasional reversal traps), so he isn’t hostage to one market state.
Time diversification matters just as much for Mark: he staggers entries across 1H and 4H structures, letting one timeframe validate the other. He caps correlated exposure—if two pairs ride the same USD theme, he treats them as one idea and halves the size across both. The result is fewer dramatic days and more steady compounding, which keeps him focused on execution rather than P/L swings.
Trade the Mechanics: Preplanned Triggers, Not Forecasts or Feelings
Mark Hutchinson reduces execution to a checklist, so there’s nothing to debate when price hits his level. He writes the trigger in plain language—“close above flag + clean retest = buy”—and sets alerts, not hopes. If the market doesn’t deliver that exact sequence, Mark does nothing and protects energy for the next clean A-setup.
He also defines invalidation in advance, so the stop is a promise, not a suggestion. Once in, Mark follows structure-based management—move to breakeven only after a confirmed shift, partial at the first trouble area, and trail behind fresh swing points. Forecasts inform preparation, but mechanics control the click; that’s how Mark avoids FOMO, revenge trades, and mid-trade improvisation.
Choose Your Risk: Defined Plays When Uncertain, Undefined Only With Edge
When conditions are murky, Mark Hutchinson defaults to defined-risk structures so the worst-case is known before he clicks. That means entries with tight structural invalidation and hard stops that never move wider, even if the market teases. If clarity improves and the setup graduates from “maybe” to “A,” Mark allows more open-ended (undefined) risk only where structure, momentum, and context stack in his favor.
Mark also matches position size to the risk class: smaller size for undefined plays, standard size for defined ones, and no trade when neither fits. He reviews each loss by asking whether the risk type matched the market state; if not, he treats it as a process error, not bad luck. This disciplined “choose your risk” approach lets Mark keep drawdowns shallow, ride the winners that matter, and avoid turning uncertainty into unnecessary volatility in his equity curve.
In the end, Mark Hutchinson’s edge isn’t a single pattern—it’s the culture he builds around his trading. He sizes risk first, so no trade can emotionally kidnap him, lets ATR define what “normal” movement looks like, and only takes structures that are clean, directional, and repeatable. He diversifies by underlying, strategy type, and timeframe to calm the equity curve, then executes with prewritten triggers so there’s zero debate at the moment of entry. Defined invalidations, 3R-or-better targets, and structure-based trailing keep him in the winners that pay for the week while cutting losers before they grow teeth.
Equally important, Mark treats the process as the product. He journals entry and exit screenshots, grades setups against a checklist, and measures process KPIs before P/L so improvement compounds even when markets don’t. When uncertainty rises, he shifts to defined-risk plays or sits out; when clarity returns, he scales within strict daily and weekly drawdown limits. For anyone looking to trade like a pro, the lesson is simple: build a system that decides before you do, protect your downside like a hawk, and let a few great trades—not constant action—carry the month.
