Table of Contents
In this Words of Rizdom podcast episode, host Riz sits down with trader Younis to unpack a journey that starts in the 2017 crypto boom and evolves into a disciplined approach to Forex. Younis stands out for treating trading as a mental game first—shedding the hunt for a “holy grail” and doubling down on mindfulness, self-awareness, and process. From leaving hypey communities to devouring Market Wizards and The Power of Now, his pivot is about rewiring habits, building presence, and showing up prepared for the only real opponent in the market: your own mind.
Read on to learn how Younis builds a trader’s edge without the fluff: expecting discomfort, thinking in probabilities, and defining a “win” as following your plan—not just banking a green trade. You’ll see how to prime your mind before sessions, visualize responses to losing streaks, focus on high-quality setups, and cut the big loser from your playbook. If you’re stuck consuming content instead of executing, this piece translates mindset into simple, repeatable actions you can use today.
Younis Ward Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Philosophy & Edge
Before any chart work, Younis keeps the edge simple: trade a small set of repeatable patterns with tight risk and let probability do the heavy lifting. This section explains the mindset and the core idea that consistency beats intensity—use defined rules, accept randomness, and measure success by process, not outcome.
- Define a maximum of 3 playbook setups you truly understand; ignore the rest.
- Treat every trade as a probability event: one risk unit, uncertain outcome, known process.
- Process = win: a trade that followed the plan is scored “win,” even if P/L is negative.
- Build asymmetry: target base 1:3 R; runners can extend to 1:5–1:10+ when structure supports it.
- Hard rule: no trade if you can’t define the invalid level (your stop) precisely.
Market Selection & Session Focus
Younis keeps the universe small to reduce noise and decision fatigue. Here you’ll narrow down when and where you operate, so you see the same movie enough times to recognize it.
- Pick 1–2 instruments (e.g., one FX pair + one index) and one primary session (London or New York).
- Only trade your session’s first 2–3 hours unless a high-impact catalyst extends volatility.
- Skip days when ATR collapses or your pair sits in a well-defined range with no catalyst.
- If spread/volatility spikes outside plan, stand down—no “making it work.”
- Weekly filter: if last week’s net R was negative and >–3R, cut next week’s size by 50%.
Pre-Market Routine & Bias
He builds a light, repeatable pre-market flow that aligns direction without prediction. Use this to define what “good” looks like before the bell so you don’t improvise after it.
- Mark HTF structure (daily/4H): trend, key swing highs/lows, and obvious liquidity pools.
- Define a one-line bias (“Bullish above X, bearish below Y”) updated daily.
- Identify two zones: the “where” you’ll act (supply/demand or prior day’s high/low/VWAP area) and the invalid level.
- Note today’s catalyst (news/time window). If major risk in 15 min, wait; no pre-news entries.
- Pre-commit to max 2 trade ideas for the session with triggers and kill switches.
Playbook Setup #1 — Breaker Reclaim (Failed Break)
This is Younis-style simplicity: let price grab liquidity, fail, and flip back through the level. It’s clean, visual, and great for asymmetric R.
- Conditions: prior swing high/low sweep, immediate reclaim of level, and impulsive close back inside range.
- Entry: limit/market on reclaim + micro pullback; stop beyond the sweep wick.
- Targets: first at 1:3 R, leave 25–33% runner to 1:5–1:10 into opposite liquidity.
- Invalidation: if price re-accepts beyond the swept level on a closing basis, exit—no questions.
- Only one retry allowed if the structure remains intact and the first loss ≤1R.
Playbook Setup #2 — Session Opening Drive Pullback
When your session opens with intent, Younis waits for the first clean pullback to join the move. You’re matching momentum, not predicting it.
- Conditions: opening impulse in the first 30–60 minutes that breaks a prior session level.
- Entry: pullback to impulse origin or VWAP/previous session high-low retest with a lower-timeframe shift back in trend.
- Stop: below/above pullback low/high; reduce size if pullback is wide.
- Targets: partial at 1:2 to 1:3 R, then trail behind swing structure or session VWAP.
- Kill-switch: if two lower-timeframe HL/LH fail (structure breaks), flatten.
Risk, Sizing & Drawdown Protocol
The whole game is staying alive long enough for math to work. Here’s the guardrail system that keeps losing streaks small and winners meaningful.
- Default risk: 0.5–1.0R per trade (R = % of equity you’re willing to lose).
- Daily max: –2R; hit it, you’re done—journal, walk, review.
- Weekly max: –5R; stop trading until you complete a plan review + sim session.
- Scale-down rule: after 3R cumulative, cut position size by 50% until back to break-even.
- Scale-up rule: after +6R net over 10 trades, increase risk per trade by 25% the following week.
Entries, Timing & Triggers
Younis treats entries as a checklist—either the boxes are ticked, or he waits. Use this to avoid “looks good” impulse clicks.
- Must-have trio: location (HTF zone) + LTF confirmation (shift in structure) + clean invalidation within 1R.
- Time filter: no fresh entries in the 10 minutes before or after tier-1 news.
- One chart to fire, one to verify: execute on your trigger timeframe, confirm with one higher.
- If the spread widens > 1.5× normal, skip or halve size.
- If entry misses by <0.2R, do not chase—let the next setup come to you.
Trade Management & Exits
The plan tells you where you’re wrong and where you’ll get paid. This is how Younis locks base R while keeping the door open for outliers.
- First partial at 1:3 R; move stop to break-even + fees.
- For trends, trail below/above swing pivots; for ranges, target the opposing range boundary.
- If momentum stalls and two consecutive failed pushes appear, take another 25% off.
- Hard time-stop: end of session—flatten runners unless a macro catalyst justifies holding.
- Never widen the stop. If invalid is hit, exit and log.
Journaling, Metrics & Review
He tracks behavior as much as P/L. These bullets make performance visible so you can coach yourself like an athlete.
- Journal immediately after each trade: setup tag, entry reason, invalid level, emotions (1–5), adherence (Y/N).
- Weekly scoreboard: Win%, Avg R win, Avg R loss, Expectancy per trade, Drawdown depth.
- Behavior metrics: % trades taken inside plan, % skipped that met plan, and late exits.
- Keep a 10-shot review: for every 10 trades, annotate charts and write one improvement rule.
- If expectancy over the last 30 trades < 0, pause live trading and run 20 sim trades of your A-setup only.
Mindset & Mindfulness In Practice
Younis emphasizes presence over prediction: regulate state first, then execute. This section turns “psychology” into concrete daily reps.
- Two-minute breath before charts; label state (calm/amped/tired). If amped/tired, delay trading 30 minutes.
- If-then scripts for tilt: “If I take 2 losses, then I close the platform, walk 15 minutes, and journal.”
- Define A-day/B-day/C-day before the open; only A/B days allow full risk.
- Post-loss reset: count 10 slow breaths, write the next trade’s checklist by hand, then decide.
- Daily shutdown: list 3 things you did right, 1 improvement, 1 non-trading win.
Prop Firm & Capital Efficiency Tactics
Rules are tighter when trading evaluations or firm capital. Here’s how Younis keeps discipline under additional constraints.
- Use lower daily risk (0.25–0.5R) during evaluation phases; widen to normal only after passing.
- Favor A-setup only until a +4R buffer is built on the account.
- Daily loss protection: set a platform hard stop at –1.5R to avoid trailing violations.
- News embargo: if the firm bans it, trade post-news only once volatility normalizes.
- Weekly payout mode: once up +8R, shift to 1:2–1:3 base targets and reduce frequency to protect equity.
Continuous Improvement Loop
Younis’ edge compounds via iteration—tighten what works, delete what doesn’t. Use this loop to make next week better than this one.
- Each Friday, retire one rule that didn’t help and promote one that did into your core checklist.
- Build a chart library of your last 50 A-setups—print or PDF—review before each session.
- Once per month, A/B test one micro-tweak (e.g., partial at 1:2.5 vs 1:3) over 30 trades.
- If your time-of-day heatmap shows a cold hour, ban it for two weeks.
- Keep your playbook under 10 total rules per setup; clarity > complexity.
Size Risk Like a Pro: Fixed R, Scale Down in Drawdowns
Younis Ward keeps it brutally simple: every trade risks a fixed R, so outcomes are comparable and discipline is automatic. By anchoring to one risk unit—say 0.5%–1.0% of equity—he removes the urge to “feel” size and lets probability do the work. When the account hits a rough patch, he doesn’t argue with the market; he immediately scales down risk to protect the next opportunity.
In practice, Younis Ward sets a daily max loss in R, stops when it’s hit, and returns with a smaller size until he’s back in rhythm. Winners are allowed to compound carefully, but only after a verified stretch of positive expectancy. This rhythm—fixed R on entries, smaller R in drawdowns, modest bumps after streaks—keeps volatility of results in check and prevents one bad day from defining the month.
Let Volatility Guide You: ATR Windows Decide Your Position Size
Younis Ward sizes positions by what the market is actually doing, not what he hopes it will do. He uses ATR windows to gauge current volatility and then adjusts both stop distance and position size so each trade still risks the same R. When ATR expands, he widens the stop to respect the tape and reduces the size to keep risk constant; when ATR contracts, he can tighten stops and increase size within the plan.
For Younis Ward, this removes guesswork and keeps trades comparable across different regimes. He predefines the ATR lookback (e.g., 14-day) and ties entry, stop, and target planning to that reading before clicking buy or sell. No “feel” overrides: if ATR spikes beyond a threshold, the setup is either smaller or skipped entirely. The result is smoother equity swings and a strategy that breathes with the market instead of fighting it.
Diversify Smartly: Mix Underlyings, Setups, and Holding Durations
Younis Ward avoids “one-trick” exposure by spreading risk across a small basket of uncorrelated underlyings, a couple of well-defined setups, and staggered holding times. He caps any single symbol or theme at a fixed percentage of total risk, so one idea can’t sink the week. If EUR and GBP are marching to the same macro drumbeat, he treats them as one bucket and sizes accordingly. This keeps his P/L from riding the fate of a single narrative.
He also diversifies by setup mechanics—one mean-reversion play, one momentum play—so he isn’t reliant on a single market regime. Duration matters too: Younis Ward runs quick intraday clips alongside selective swing holds to capture both volatility pops and trend legs. He avoids stacking similar trades at the same time of day and trims overlap if correlations spike. The outcome is a portfolio of small, independent bets where no single failure has permission to dominate.
Trade the Mechanics, Not Predictions: Triggers, Invalidation, Predefined Exits
Younis Ward doesn’t try to outguess the market; he follows a mechanical checklist that either fires or it doesn’t. Each trade starts with a location, a trigger, and a stop already mapped—not drawn after entry. If the trigger doesn’t print, he passes; if the invalidation hits, he’s out—no edits. This keeps his attention on execution quality instead of storytelling.
Predefined exits do the heavy lifting: partial at base R, trail behind structure, and time-stop when the session ends. Younis Ward also bans mid-trade “creative thinking,” because tweaks are usually disguised hopes. He measures success by how cleanly he followed the mechanics, not by whether the candle closed green. The result is fewer impulsive clicks, faster recovery after losses, and a strategy that stays stable across market moods.
Prefer Defined Risk; Cap Undefined Plays with Time and Size
Younis Ward builds around defined risk first: clear invalidation, fixed R, and no tolerance for widening stops. If a setup can’t give him a precise exit level, it doesn’t make the A-list. For instruments or structures that carry gap or headline risk, he trims size and shortens the holding window so a surprise can’t nuke the day. The philosophy is simple—certainty on the downside, openness on the upside.
When Younis Ward does touch “undefined” scenarios—fast tape, news spikes, or instruments with jump risk—he caps exposure with a smaller initial size, a hard time-stop, and preplanned partials. He refuses to scale into losers, and any add must tighten average risk, not expand it. If volatility blasts beyond his thresholds, he scratches rather than negotiates with the market. By defaulting to defined risk and strictly throttling the rest, he keeps the equity curve climbable and the compounding engine intact.
In the end, Younis Ward’s message is disarmingly practical: edge comes from repeatable mechanics executed in a stable headspace, not from hot takes or hero trades. He keeps risk fixed per trade, defines the stop before entry, and lets volatility dictate distance and size so each position risks the same R. His playbook favors simple structures—failed breaks reclaimed, opening-drive pullbacks—executed only in his chosen session windows, with a clear invalidation and prewritten exit logic. Losses are treated as tuition; two hits in a row trigger scale-down and a reset, not revenge. He tracks behavior as much as P/L, measuring adherence to plan, time-of-day performance, and whether he actually traded his A-setups. And he puts psychology to work in small daily reps—brief breathing, if-then scripts for tilt, and a hard stop when the session ends—so discipline isn’t a mood, it’s a routine.
What you can lift from Younis Ward right now is a blueprint you can run tomorrow: codify two A-setups with ≤10 rules each, risk a fixed fraction of equity, and trade only where you have location, trigger, and invalidation in the same frame. Let ATR or recent range guide stop width and position size so your R stays constant across regimes. Cap exposure on “undefined” scenarios with a smaller size and time-based exits, and never widen stops after entry. Journal immediately, grade process over outcome, and review every ten trades to promote one useful rule and retire one that didn’t help. Whether you’re trading your own account or a funded evaluation, keep the same spine—mechanics first, prediction last—and let consistency compound the equity curve one clean decision at a time.
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