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Nick Bencino sits down for a candid interview about how he actually trades—why he ditched indicator clutter, why support/resistance is king, and how he keeps trading to just a few focused hours a week without losing edge. He’s a veteran price-action trader and educator known for straight talk and practical setups, and this conversation cuts through the noise to show what’s working now and why it matters for retail traders looking to level up.
You’ll learn how Nick adapts to low-volatility regimes by prioritizing range trading, when he drops from daily charts to 12h/8h/4h/1h (and even 5-minute) for tighter targets, and how he balances win rate with a 1:3 risk-to-reward mindset. He explains why the 200-day moving average can act like “institutional” support/resistance, how to set entries and exits around real levels (not guesses), and how tracking average daily range keeps you honest about what’s actually possible. If you want a clear, modern playbook for trading today’s calmer tape—without babysitting screens all day—this breakdown gives you concrete rules you can apply on your next session.
Nick Bencino Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Market Regime First: Choose the Right Game to Play
Before placing a trade, Nick maps the market’s mood. He distinguishes trending from ranging conditions and adapts the plan so his expectations match what price can realistically deliver. This keeps him from forcing trend tactics in a dead market—or fading a freight train.
- Identify regime daily: if Average Daily Range (ADR) is contracting and swing structure is choppy, assume range; if higher highs/lows with expanding ADR, assume trend.
- In ranges, prioritize mean-reversion: buy near support, sell near resistance; in trends, trade pullbacks only in the trend direction.
- If the regime is unclear after two looks (HTF and LTF), do not trade that instrument today.
- Track a rolling 14–20 day ADR; cap targets inside 60–80% of ADR in ranges.
Key Levels & Bias: Let Price Tell You Where to Fight
Nick builds a simple map: major support/resistance, round numbers, and the 200-day moving average that institutions watch. The goal is to decide where you’re willing to do business and which side you prefer—long or short—before lower-timeframe noise tempts you.
- Mark weekly/daily swing highs/lows, gaps, and the 200-day MA; draw levels only if price has pivoted there at least twice.
- Set directional bias: above 200-day and holding prior high → bullish; below and rejecting prior low → bearish; between with whipsaw → neutral/range.
- Favor confluence: only take trades that touch at least two of (level, MA, prior day high/low, round number).
- If price closes beyond your key level by more than 0.25× ADR, update the map and drop the old bias.
Timeframe Stack: From Big Picture to Trigger
He starts high and drills down. Higher timeframes set the story; mid timeframes shape entries; the lowest timeframe provides the trigger without letting noise run the show.
- Top-down sequence: Weekly → Daily → 4h/1h for setup → 15m/5m for trigger.
- If the daily is range-bound, avoid triggers below 5m to reduce chop.
- Never take a 5m signal that contradicts the 1h structure (trend, swing points).
- Align at least two consecutive timeframes (e.g., Daily + 1h) before arming an order.
Entry Patterns: Simple, Repeatable, “Seen It Before”
Nick’s entries are basic price-action cues around pre-marked levels. He uses rejection wicks, break-retests, and failed breakouts—things you can spot fast and trade consistently.
- Rejection entry: at a pre-marked level, wait for a candle that probes and snaps back (long lower wick at support / upper wick at resistance); enter on break of that candle’s body.
- Break-retest: after a clean break of a level, wait for the price to retest and print a small inside/engulfing candle; enter with a stop beyond the retest wick.
- Failed breakout fade (range only): when price breaks beyond the range by <0.2× ADR and closes back inside, fade toward the opposite side of the range.
- Limit “fresh idea” trades to two patterns you’ve backtested; if the setup isn’t one of them, pass.
Risk & Sizing: Protect First, Compound Second
Consistency comes from standardized risk mechanics. Nick keeps risk per trade small, places stops where the idea is wrong, and aims for asymmetric outcomes.
- Risk is a fixed fraction per trade (e.g., 0.25–0.5% of account).
- Hard stop always beyond the invalidation: under support for longs / over resistance for shorts; never hide stops inside the noise.
- Default target is 3R in trends, 1–2R in ranges (or the far side of the range if closer).
- If stop distance exceeds 1.2× ADR fraction for your timeframe (e.g., >0.3× ADR for a 1h swing), skip the trade—too wide for the edge.
Trade Management: Let Winners Breathe, Kill Losers Fast
He preplans exits so emotions don’t decide. Winners get a room; losers get the trapdoor.
- If price moves +1R, move stop to entry only when structure confirms (e.g., new HL in uptrend); otherwise, leave it.
- Scale out 25–50% at the first logical target (prior swing/ADR band), then trail the rest behind structure (last 1h/15m swing).
- If price closes decisively against your setup on the entry timeframe (engulfing in the opposite direction), exit immediately—don’t negotiate.
- No adding to losers. Ever.
Tools & Filters: Keep the Chart Clean
Nick keeps indicators minimal so he sees price, not a dashboard. A couple of moving averages and ADR are enough to frame expectations.
- Use only: 200-day/200-period MA for bias, 20-period ATR or ADR for range context, session highs/lows.
- Avoid overlapping indicators that tell the same story; if two tools conflict, defer to price and levels.
- Pre-define the trading window (e.g., first 3 hours of London/NY); if you miss the move, you’re done for that session.
- One instrument at a time until you’re consistent; add more only when results are stable for 8–12 weeks.
Range Game: How He Trades Quiet Markets
When volatility is muted, Nick plays ping-pong between boundaries. The edge comes from patience at the edges and realistic profit targets.
- Define the range: two clear touches on top and bottom, with closures contained.
- Enter only at the outer 20% zones of the range; skip mid-range trades.
- Targets: midline first, opposite boundary second; don’t aim past ADR.
- Stand down after two failed attempts at the same boundary—range may be breaking.
Trend Game: Ride Pullbacks, Not Hope
In trends, he buys dips and sells rips. The goal is to sync with momentum, not predict reversals.
- Confirm trend with higher highs/lows (or lower highs/lows) on the 1h/4h and a supportive daily bias.
- Enter on pullbacks to prior swing/MA with a trigger candle (engulfing/inside break).
- Partial at the last swing extreme; trail under/over successive swing lows/highs.
- If two consecutive pullbacks fail to make progress (no new HH/LL), assume trend exhaustion and stop trading that direction.
Pre-Market Routine: Win the Day Before the Open
Nick’s routine locks in discipline and reduces decisions during live action. Five minutes of clarity saves hours of second-guessing.
- Update the level map and write a one-line plan: “Bullish above X toward Y; bearish below A toward B.”
- Set alerts 5–15 ticks/pips/points before your key levels; no chart babysitting.
- Define max trades (e.g., 3) and max session loss (e.g., 1R–2R); hit either and you’re done.
- Journal only what mattered: regime, setup type, adherence to rules, R multiple.
Post-Trade Review: Keep What Works, Drop What Doesn’t
Edge compounds when you iterate. Nick reviews outcomes against process, not feelings.
- Tag every trade by regime (trend/range), setup (rejection/break-retest/failed breakout), and result (R).
- Cut any setup that shows a <0.9 profit factor over the last 40 occurrences; double down on those >1.3.
- Note common mistakes (late entries, chasing mid-range) and create a pre-trade checklist line to prevent them.
- Re-estimate realistic targets monthly using the latest ADR so expectations match the tape.
Size risk first: fixed fraction stops and realistic ADR targets
Nick Bencino starts every trade by deciding how much he’s willing to lose, not how much he hopes to make. He uses a fixed fraction of equity per idea, so bad streaks don’t spiral and good streaks compound cleanly. Stops go where the thesis is wrong—beyond the true support or resistance—not at round numbers that get hunted. If the required stop makes the position size tiny or the R multiple ugly, he skips the trade.
Targets are set against what the market can actually deliver, using recent Average Daily Range as the reality check. He aims for asymmetric outcomes—think 2R to 3R in trends and tighter, honest goals inside ranges. Session risk is capped, too; once the daily loss limit hits, he’s flat and done. The result is a playbook where risk defines the game and profits are the byproduct of discipline.
Trade the regime: trend pullbacks or range fades, not guesses.
Nick Bencino starts by naming the market he’s actually in—trend or range—so every decision fits the environment. In trends, he waits for pullbacks into prior swings or a key moving average and only enters when a clean trigger forms. No knife catching, no early stabs; if momentum is real, the next higher low or lower high will show itself. By filtering this way, he rides the push that already has proof behind it.
When the market is ranging, Nick Bencino flips to a mean-reversion mindset and only does business at the extremes. He looks for false breaks that snap back inside the box, then targets the midline first and the opposite boundary second. Mid-range trades are off the table because there’s no edge in the mush. The headline rule: define the regime, pick the tactic that matches it, and ignore everything else masquerading as a “signal.”
Build confluence: key levels, 200-day, and session highs/lows.s
Nick Bencino stacks evidence before he risks a dollar, and confluence is his filter. He marks weekly/daily swing highs and lows, watches the 200-day moving average for “institutional” bias, and notes prior session high/low as intraday magnets. If two or more of those align in the same zone, that’s a place he’s willing to trade; if not, he keeps scrolling. This stops him from chasing single-signal noise and keeps entries anchored to where other traders actually care.
When price reaches a confluence zone, Nick Bencino waits for a clean trigger—rejection wick, break-retest, or a quick failure back inside the level. Stops go just beyond the confluence, not inside it, so random wiggles don’t clip the trade. First targets are logical: prior swing, session midline, or a measured ADR portion; only then does he trail. The rule of thumb: more reasons at the level, more confidence in the trade; fewer reasons, no trade.
Diversify by timeframe and setup, not by random ticker.s
Nick Bencino doesn’t scatter trades across a dozen symbols just to feel diversified; he diversifies by how and when he takes risks. One instrument can give multiple, uncorrelated looks if you separate trend pullbacks from range fades and swing entries from intraday triggers. That lets him express different edges without adding platform clutter or doubling correlation. The payoff is cleaner data, faster iteration, and a tighter feedback loop on what actually works.
He also staggers duration, so not everything depends on the same move resolving today. A daily-to-4h swing might run for a day, while a 15m pullback pays the bills this session, both following rules that fit their tempo. If a setup repeats across timeframes, he selects the clearest one and passes on the rest to avoid hidden overlap. For Nick Bencino, true diversification is mixing validated setups and time horizons—not collecting tickers for the sake of it.
Process beats prediction: pre-plan entries, exits, and review metrics.
Nick Bencino treats every trade like a preflight checklist, not a guess. Before entry, he writes the bias, the trigger he needs to see, the exact stop location, and where he’ll take partials. If the market doesn’t present that picture, there is no trade—he doesn’t negotiate with price. This removes the urge to chase and keeps execution consistent when emotions spike.
After the trade, Nick Bencino scores the process, not just the P/L. He logs regime, setup type, adherence to rules, and R-multiple, then tags avoidable errors like mid-range entries or moving stops early. If a pattern underperforms over a stack of occurrences, it gets cut or reworked; if one shows strong expectancy, it gets priority. The rule is simple: plan the action, trade the plan, and let the metrics decide what stays in the playbook.
In the end, Nick Bencino’s edge is refreshingly simple: read price, map the battlefield, and size risk so reality—not hope—sets the limits. He strips charts to support/resistance and a 200-day anchor, lets Average Daily Range define what’s actually possible, and switches gears as regimes change. When markets go quiet, he embraces ranges with surgical entries at the extremes; when momentum returns, he rides pullbacks that have already proved themselves on higher timeframes. The result is a playbook that trades what is and ignores everything that isn’t.
What ties it all together is process. Nick Bencino preplans entries, stops, and targets; chooses the clearest timeframe/trigger instead of stacking correlated bets; and reviews outcomes with tags and stats so only high-expectancy patterns survive. He’ll demo ideas before risking capital, cap daily loss, and quit early when the tape says “no.” If you want a takeaway you can use tomorrow: define the regime, mark levels with confluence, fix your risk per trade, and let ADR set your expectations. Do that consistently, and you’ll have a strategy that breathes with the market instead of fighting it.
