Table of Contents
In this interview, Patrick “Pat” Frain—21, from Lincolnshire—sits down in London for a straight-talk session on how he went from retail indicators and blown challenges to a disciplined, SMC-driven approach that actually sticks. He’s relatable, still working shifts at a gym, and laser-focused on routine over bravado: sessions, alerts, and a plan he believes in. If you’ve been chasing prop-firm headlines and signal chats, Pat’s journey is a timely reset on what really moves the needle.
You’ll learn how Pat replaced “pass the challenge at all costs” with a repeatable playbook: predefined targets, partials, and the patience to skip days that don’t fit his edge. We’ll cover why signals don’t translate, how to defuse greed once the time limits are gone, and why narrowing to realistic session windows (think Frankfurt/London open) can save your psychology. Most of all, you’ll see how community, routine, and a clear why turn flashy wins into sustainable results—without living glued to the screen.
Pat Frain Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Setup: Markets, Timeframes, and Tools
Here’s the skeleton of how Pat organizes his day so decisions are quick and repeatable. Locking in instruments, timeframes, and a minimalist chart layout removes hesitation and keeps your eyes on the signal, not the noise.
- Trade focus: major FX pairs with tight spreads (e.g., GBPUSD, EURUSD) and one index if desired; max 2 instruments per session.
- Primary timeframe stack: HTF bias on H4/H1, setup refinement on M15/M5, execution on M1–M3 only after the higher-timeframe narrative is clear.
- Chart layout: raw price + session opens + structure labels; optional SMC tools (BOS/CHOCH, FVG markers), but avoid indicator stacks.
- Economic calendar checked once pre-market; stand down 15 minutes before/after high-impact releases unless it’s part of the plan.
- Alert-driven workflow: alerts on key HTF levels and session highs/lows; no chart babysitting between alerts.
Session Plan: When He Trades and Why It Works
Pat concentrates attention where liquidity concentrates: Frankfurt/London for FX. Tight time windows cap overtrading, improve focus, and make the statistics more stable.
- Core window: 2 hours around Frankfurt/London open; optional add-on is the first hour of NY overlap if London produced a clean structure.
- No trades outside the window unless a tagged “A+ continuation” forms with HTF alignment.
- Daily target: 1–2 quality trades; hard cap at 3 attempts per day.
- If the first two trades are losses, stop for the day and review—no exceptions.
- Screens off at session end; wins/losses get tagged immediately in the journal.
Bias & Structure: The SMC Read
Pat’s edge starts with structure: who’s in control, where stops are clustered, and what inefficiencies price wants to rebalance. This gives context before any entry pattern shows up.
- Define HTF bias: mark last valid swing structure on H1/H4; confirm bullish with clean BOS + higher lows, bearish with BOS + lower highs.
- Liquidity map: pre-draw obvious equal highs/lows, previous day’s high/low, and session high/low as stop pools.
- Imbalance/FVG: note fresh inefficiencies on H1/M15; prefer trades that tap/partially fill them in line with bias.
- Premium/discount logic: in uptrends, hunt longs in a discount of the HTF range; in downtrends, hunt shorts in premium.
- One narrative per session: if bias is unclear, stand by; “no bias” = “no trade.”
Entry Triggers: From Idea to Execution
Once the narrative is set, Pat waits for the price to prove intent near a level. Entries are rules-based to avoid forcing trades.
- Preferred pattern: liquidity sweep into HTF level → M5/M1 shift in structure (CHOCH/BOS) → small FVG or retest of the decision candle.
- Limit entry at the FVG/decision candle open; market entry only if the shift candle closes and the retrace is too shallow.
- Initial stop: beyond the swing that invalidates the shift (usually 4–12 pips on majors during London); never below 1:1 reachable to first target.
- First target: opposing intra-session liquidity (equal highs/lows or session open line) or 1R—whichever is first.
- If the entry doesn’t trigger within 20–30 minutes after the alert, cancel and move on.
Risk & Money Management: Keep the Edge Intact
Survival first. Pat sizes small, scales out, and protects mental capital with hard stops and daily limits.
- Risk per trade: 0.25%–0.5% of account; max daily risk 1%.
- Max open risk at once: 0.75% across all positions.
- Move stop to breakeven after partials at 1R or after a confirmed BOS in your trade direction on M1/M3.
- Standard partials: 50% at 1R, 25% at 1.5–2R, runner for session high/low or HTF target.
- If the spread widens or news is imminent, reduce the size by half or skip.
Trade Management: Let Winners Breathe, Bin the Rest
Management is mechanical: lock in, scale out, and either let the runner hit the map target or get stopped at breakeven.
- After 1R partial, trail below/above structure on M1/M3 (swing-by-swing), not by fixed pips.
- If price stalls at a key level for >3 consecutive M1 candles with lower momentum, close another 25%.
- Inverse signal appears (clean BOS against you on M1/M3)? Exit remaining size—don’t “hope.”
- Session close rule: no runners held beyond your defined window unless the HTF target is close and structure remains intact.
Execution Hygiene: Checklists That Prevent Dumb Mistakes
A simple checklist keeps emotions out and consistency in. Pat runs these before, during, and after every trade.
- Pre-trade: HTF bias marked, liquidity pools mapped, news checked, level alerts set, risk sized.
- Pre-click: entry location = inside premium/discount with shift confirmed; stop placement validated; 1R reachable.
- Post-fill: partial plan and breakeven trigger pre-written; no adding unless a second, separate setup form.
- Post-trade: screenshot + tags (pair, session, setup type, result, R multiple, error codes if any).
Psychology & Routine: How He Stays Disciplined
Routines make results boring—in a good way. Pat avoids the “always-on” trap and protects energy for the window that matters.
- Fixed start: arrive 30 minutes before session; five-minute breathing and market read; no phone, no messages.
- Fixed stop: hard end-of-session; review and log even if flat—especially if flat.
- Red-tag days (poor sleep, distractions): cut size in half or skip entirely.
- One tweak per week max: change only one variable (target, partials, or entry filter) and track the effect for 20 trades.
Data & Review: Turn Trades into Feedback Loops
Pat treats journaling as part of the edge. Tags and simple metrics reveal which setups deserve more risk and which should be cut.
- Mandatory tags: session, bias (up/down/neutral), setup (sweep→shift→FVG, continuation, breakout fail), R multiple, adherence (Y/N).
- Weekly stats: win rate, average R, expectancy, and error rate (rule breaks ÷ total trades).
- Promote/demote: if a setup’s 30-trade sample has expectancy < 0, shelve it; > 0.3R, consider modest size increase.
- Archive screenshots into playbook pages by setup; update the “A+ criteria” with fresh examples quarterly.
Prop/Challenge Adaptation: Same Edge, Different Constraints
When time limits or daily drawdown rules apply, Pat narrows the playbook and clamps risk. The structure read doesn’t change—only the aggression level.
- For challenges: trade only the top setup in the top session; cap to 1 trade/day; risk 0.25% until equity buffer forms.
- Hard daily loss line at 0.5%–0.75% for prop rules; stop trading immediately if hit.
- Withdraw early and often on funded phases; treat payouts as the real KPI, not the dashboard balance.
- If rule pressure distorts decisions, revert to personal account sizing until discipline is back.
Size Risk First: Let Volatility Decide Position and Leverage
Patrick “Pat” Frain starts with risk, not the chart pattern, and that’s the whole edge. He looks at current volatility first, then lets it dictate position size so one wild candle can’t wreck the day. If ATR or session range expands, Pat automatically scales down to keep the same dollar risk per trade. When conditions are quiet, he sizes up modestly—but only enough to keep payoff-to-pain consistent.
Pat Frain also ties leverage to the instrument’s behavior rather than his conviction level. He caps total open risk and refuses to stack correlated trades, because volatility clusters and losses do too. Stop placement is defined by the structure that invalidates the idea, then size fills in—never the other way around. This way, every setup pays in R, not luck, and the account grows on math, not moods.
Diversify by Underlying, Strategy, and Timeframe—Not Just Tickers
Patrick “Pat” Frain spreads risk across different engines of P&L, not just a basket of similar pairs. He separates by underlying (e.g., a major FX pair and one index), by strategy (breakout failure vs. sweep-and-shift), and by timeframe (intraday scalp vs. short swing). That way, when one environment cools off—say, London is choppy—another lane can still produce. Correlation is the enemy, so Pat sidesteps mirror trades that live on the same driver, even if the tickers look different.
Pat Frain also diversifies by trade frequency and hold time to smooth equity swings. A fast, mechanical scalp can pay the bills while an HTF continuation matures in the background. He tags outcomes by “engine” in his journal so he can cut what drags and feed what compounds. The result is a portfolio of behaviors, not just symbols—resilient when volatility shifts and durable through the inevitable cold streaks.
Trade the Rules, Not Predictions: Mechanics Over Market Opinions
Patrick “Pat” Frain doesn’t forecast; he follows a checklist that tells him exactly what to do next. He waits for structure to confirm, then executes the same entry, stop, and partial plan every time. If a setup is missing a required ingredient—like a clean BOS or a fresh imbalance—he passes without debate. Pat treats opinions as noise because opinions don’t pay; rules with expectancy do. That’s how he keeps his session objective and avoids chasing narratives.
Pat Frain also automates decisions wherever possible with alerts and predefined parameters. Once price tags his level and the trigger fires, he sizes, places the stop, and sets partials in seconds. Management is mechanical too: partial at 1R, stop to breakeven, trail under structure, done. By removing discretion after entry, he turns a messy market into a repeatable process that either hits targets or cleanly stops—no second-guessing, no spiral.
Define Your Risk: Cap Losses, Avoid Open-Ended Downside
Patrick “Pat” Frain starts every idea by asking, “Where am I wrong—precisely?” If he can’t mark the invalidation with a clean structure point, he won’t take the trade. His stop lives beyond that line in the sand, not where it “feels right,” so a single spike can’t knock him out unless the premise is actually dead. Pat caps daily drawdown and refuses to widen stops mid-trade, because moving the line turns a small paper cut into a wound.
Pat Frain also treats undefined risk as a career risk—no martingale, no averaging down, no revenge adds. Position size is the variable, not the stop; he shrinks size when volatility swells and scales only after risk is boxed in. Once the first partial hits, he shifts to breakeven to remove tail risk and let the runner work without stress. By making the downside fixed and the upside variable, he keeps expectancy intact and gives himself infinite shots at the next clean setup.
Process Wins: Routine, Journaling, and Post-Trade Reviews Drive Consistency
Patrick “Pat” Frain treats routine like risk management for the mind: same start time, same prep, same window. He runs a quick pre-market checklist—bias, levels, news, alerts—so execution later is almost automatic. Red-tag days (poor sleep, distractions) mean reduced size or no trading, because protecting energy protects equity. By keeping a narrow session and closing the screens on time, Pat prevents “extra” trades from erasing good ones.
Pat Frain’s journal is a playbook factory, not a diary. He tags each trade with session, setup type, risk, R multiple, adherence, and error codes, plus a screenshot of the key moments. Weekly, he calculates win rate, average R, expectancy, and rule-break frequency, then promotes or demotes setups based on the numbers. The goal is simple: make what works easier to repeat, and make what fails harder to do.
In the end, Patrick “Pat” Frain’s edge isn’t a secret indicator—it’s a system that survives changing conditions. He starts with volatility-aware risk, pins invalidation to structure, and lets a small, repeatable playbook do the heavy lifting during the highest-liquidity windows. By separating bias formation from execution, he keeps judgment clean: map the liquidity and narrative on higher timeframes, then let a simple trigger (sweep → shift → refined entry) convert ideas into trades with defined downside.
Pat Frain’s process keeps compounding because everything is measured and adjustable. He diversifies by engine, underlying, strategy, and duration—so one cold patch doesn’t freeze the whole account. He journals like a coach, promotes what earns, and cuts what drags, while routine and session limits keep emotions from leaking into decisions. The lesson for the rest of us is straightforward: build rules that fit your market and schedule, size by volatility, protect your mental capital with structure and time boxes, and let the math—not the mood—run the account.
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