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In this interview, we sit down with Ali Crooks to unpack the mindset and mechanics behind his trading—straight from the source and in his own words. Filmed for YouTube, the conversation hits on why Ali’s voice matters right now: he’s crystal-clear about discipline, future-pacing your decisions, and refusing to break rules when emotions surge. If you’ve ever felt that “do something!” urge mid-trade, Ali explains why most traders act on it—and why you shouldn’t—so you can move from the 80% crowd to the 20% who actually execute with consistency.
You’ll learn how Ali Crooks turns raw emotion into structured action: future-pacing to avoid impulsive clicks, sticking to predefined rules, and building a strategy you can actually trust under pressure. We’ll break down his practical filters for entries and exits, how he treats rule-breaks as deal-breakers, and the mindset that separates hobbyists from pros—so you can implement a repeatable trader strategy that reduces regret and compounds good decisions over time.
Ali Crooks Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Philosophy: Rules First, Outcome Second
Trading works when your process is crystal clear and repeatable. Here’s how to lock in a simple edge you can execute without second-guessing, even when the market’s loud and your emotions are louder.
- Define your edge in one sentence: “I trade with the trend after a pullback into a prior level, confirmed by momentum.”
- Prewrite the session objective before the open (e.g., “Only trend-continuation; no reversal attempts today”).
- Use R-based thinking: every decision is framed in risk units (R), never in dollars.
- Hard rule: if the setup isn’t on your playbook card, you don’t touch it—no exceptions.
- Decide your max daily loss in R (e.g., -2R) and hard-stop trading if it’s hit.
Market Selection & Session Plan
Pick instruments that fit your method and avoid the rest. A tight daily plan stops you from chasing noise and keeps your attention where your edge actually lives.
- Trade 1–3 instruments you truly know (e.g., your best FX pair, a liquid index future, one clean commodity).
- Pre-mark the session’s HTF bias (bullish/bearish/neutral) and the two best locations to do business.
- Schedule your participation window (e.g., London open + first 2 hours, or NY session only).
- If ATR is below your minimum threshold, reduce size or skip—your strategy needs a range.
- Set premarket conditions to “green-light” the session (e.g., clean structure, no major news within 30 minutes of entry).
Multi-Timeframe Context & Levels
Context first, setups second. You trade at the intersection of higher-timeframe direction and lower-timeframe precision.
- Start with Daily/4H to tag structure: trend, key swing points, and untested supply/demand.
- Promote only 2–3 A-levels to the active plan: prior day high/low, session VWAP bands, HTF swing zone.
- Drop to 15m/5m for execution; only act when LTF aligns with HTF bias.
- Never fade the first clean break of the HTF structure without a completed reversal pattern on LTF.
- In news hours, treat HTF levels as “areas,” not lines—wider stops or no trade.
Entry Playbook: Continuation After a Pullback
This is the bread-and-butter. You’re joining strength after the market proves it wants to continue—no heroics, just probability.
- Trigger = pullback to pre-marked level + rejection candle + momentum confirmation (e.g., higher low + break of trigger bar).
- Entry goes one tick/pip beyond the trigger bar in the trend direction.
- Initial stop: beyond the invalidation point, not “X pips”—the chart decides.
- Use a fixed partial at +1R or the last swing high/low; then trail with structure.
- If price stalls for two full candles and fails to progress, scratch or reduce risk to 0.5R.
Entry Playbook: First Reversal at a Key Level
You only counter-trend at A-plus locations with proof. No proof, no trade.
- Require confluence: HTF level + liquidity sweep (wick through level) + LTF reversal pattern (double bottom/top or quasi-H&S).
- Trigger = break of the pattern’s neckline plus immediate acceptance back inside the level.
- Stop goes past the sweep extreme; if that gets tagged, you were early—stand aside.
- First target = the opposing LTF structure; bank at least 1R before managing for a runner.
- If momentum fails to follow through within 3–5 candles, exit to breakeven.
Risk & Position Sizing
Sizing is mechanical, so psychology doesn’t hijack the trade. You decide risk before the market tempts you.
- Risk a fixed fraction per trade (e.g., 0.5R–1R); never escalate size to “make it back.”
- Position size = (Account × %Risk) ÷ Stop distance; round down to the nearest lot/contract.
- Cap total daily risk (-2R) and weekly risk (-5R).
- For correlated instruments, treat them as one position and split risk (e.g., EURUSD and GBPUSD share 1R total).
- No add-ons unless unrealized > +1R and structure justifies—then add with a new independent stop.
Trade Management & Exits
You don’t “hope” your way to profits; you manage to your plan. Let winners breathe while preventing slow leaks.
- Move stop to breakeven only after a clear structural shift in your favor (e.g., HL after entry in longs).
- Trail behind swing lows/highs or a chosen baseline (e.g., 20-period MA) only after the first partial is banked.
- Time stop: if price hasn’t produced a new swing in your favor within N candles (e.g., 10–12 on 5m), reduce risk or exit.
- If a major level or session boundary is hit, pay yourself—flat or scale to a runner.
- Never widen stops; if you’re wrong, be wrong fast and small.
News & Volatility Protocol
Volatility is your friend when you have structure; it’s your enemy when you guess. Have a rule for both.
- 15 minutes before high-impact news on your instrument, no new entries; flatten discretionary runners 2–5 minutes before if not well in profit.
- Post-news, wait for the first stable structure (higher low/lower high) before engaging.
- On abnormal spreads/slippage, halve risk or stand down for the session.
- If ATR spikes 2× normal, switch to the wider of: structure-based stop or a minimum volatility stop.
- If your first two trades post-news are losses, stop trading that news cycle.
Pattern Filters & Disqualifiers
Good filters keep you out of trouble. Disqualifiers are there to save your month.
- Skip trades into nearby opposing HTF level (<1R away).
- Avoid entries when price is mid-range between your A-levels—imprecise, poor R: R.
- No trade if three consecutive wicks reject your direction at the same micro-level.
- Disqualify setups during the final 15 minutes of your session window.
- If your last two trades were rule breaks, the next session is plan-only with half risk.
Daily Routine & Preparation
Pre-market routine is where consistency starts. The goal is to show up already decisive.
- Review yesterday’s top two decisions (one good, one to fix) and write a one-line improvement for today.
- Mark HTF levels, session bias, and two “business zones.”
- Set alerts at your zones; no chart-staring between them.
- Prewrite your first trade type for today (continuation or reversal) and one reason you’d pass.
- Visualize the rule you’re most likely to break and how you’ll stop yourself (future-pacing).
Execution Discipline & “Future-Pacing”
You don’t need willpower mid-trade if you thought it up front. Future-pacing keeps emotion out of the cockpit.
- Before the session, write the exact moment you’ll move to breakeven, the condition to partial, and the condition to exit.
- If you feel the urge to “do something,” read the card: “Wait for trigger or do nothing.”
- Use an OCO (entry + stop + target) so mechanics happen automatically.
- After a loss, run a 60-second reset: stand up, deep breath, read the plan—no chart clicks.
- Track a single metric this week (e.g., “% of trades taken only at pre-planned levels”); aim for> 80%.
Journal & Feedback Loop
You improve what you measure. Make journaling fast, factual, and focused on the next action.
- Log only five fields per trade: setup type, location quality (A/B/C), R risked, R realized, rule adherence (Y/N).
- Tag mistakes by category (entry early, stop moved, traded mid-range, news violation).
- Weekly: export stats by setup and time window; drop the bottom 10% performers for a month.
- Screenshot the ideal example of each setup and keep a “yes/no” gallery open while trading.
- Reward process, not P&L: if rule adherence ≥ 90% this week, keep size; if < 80%, cut size by half next week.
Playbook Cards (Ready to Trade)
Keep a one-card checklist for each setup so execution is plug-and-play.
- Continuation Card must read: HTF trend aligned; pullback to A-level; rejection candle; momentum confirmation; entry beyond trigger; stop at invalidation; partial at +1R; trail per structure.
- Reversal Card must read: HTF level + sweep; LTF pattern complete; break/acceptance trigger; stop beyond sweep; partial at first opposing structure; time stop if no progress in 3–5 candles.
- Risk Card must read: fixed 0.5–1R; daily cap -2R; correlated risk shared; no size bumps after losses; no widen stops.
- News Card must read: no entries ±15m; flatten discretionary runners near release; post-news wait for structure; halve risk in abnormal spreads.
- Discipline Card must read: if two rule breaks, next session half risk and plan-only; if daily cap hit, platform closed.
Size Risk First: Use Fixed-R and Always Trade Defined Risk
Ali Crooks keeps it simple: every trade risks a fixed R, never a floating guess tied to emotions. That means the stop goes where the setup is invalidated, and position size adjusts to fit—never the other way around. By committing to defined risk on every idea, Ali transforms randomness into math, turning “hope” trades into measured bets that survive losing streaks.
He also treats daily and weekly loss caps as non-negotiable circuit breakers. When the plan says -2R for the day or -5R for the week, he’s done—no revenge sizing, no “one more.” The result is consistency: small, controlled losses and room for winners to work. Follow Ali Crooks here—make R your language, size from the stop, and keep every trade inside the fence of defined risk.
Trade the Mechanics: Rules, Triggers, and Execution Over Predictions
Ali Crooks doesn’t guess where the market “should” go—he runs a checklist and lets the trade either qualify or die. The mechanics come first: pre-mark a level, wait for the trigger, execute the plan exactly as written. If a condition is missing—no momentum confirmation, sloppy rejection, or news window—he passes without drama. His point is simple: predictions are for egos; mechanics are for traders who get paid.
In practice, Ali Crooks uses binary rules to delete hesitation. Either price reaches the level and prints the trigger candle, or it doesn’t; either the stop sits at invalidation, or there is no trade. Orders are prebuilt (entry, stop, target) so fingers don’t improvise when emotions spike. He measures success by rule adherence first, P&L second, because tight execution produces repeatable outcomes—while forecasts produce stories.
Volatility Dictates Exposure: Expand In Range, Shrink When Quiet
Ali Crooks sizes exposure to volatility, not vibes. When markets are moving—clean range, healthy ATR, responsive levels—he allows the position to breathe and, if appropriate, scales only after risk is paid for. In quiet sessions with compressed ranges, he cuts size or skips entirely because “no range = no edge.” This keeps him aligned with the tape instead of forcing trades that the market can’t pay.
Practically, Ali Crooks sets a baseline size, then adjusts around ATR and session structure. If ATR is above his threshold and momentum confirms, he’ll take full risk and consider a measured add once +1R is locked. If ATR drops or spreads widen, he halves the risk or goes plan-only with no adds. The rule is simple and repeatable: volatility up, exposure can step up; volatility down, exposure must step down.
Diversify Smartly: Underlying, Strategy, and Timeframe—Not Just Tickers
Ali Crooks pushes diversification beyond the surface level of owning “more stuff.” He splits risk across uncorrelated underlyings, distinct strategy types, and separate timeframes so one bad theme can’t sink the boat. If FX majors are all riding the same dollar trend, he treats them as correlated and caps combined exposure, not just individual trades.
He also diversifies by playbook: continuation vs. first-reversal, trend vs. mean-reversion, session breakout vs. pullback. Time diversification matters too—London vs. New York behavior, open-drive vs. midday rotations—so the same idea isn’t cloned across identical conditions. For Ali Crooks, the rule is simple: if the catalyst, structure, and session behavior rhyme, they share risk; if they don’t, they earn independent slots. That way, you avoid faux diversification and build a portfolio of edges that can win independently.
Discipline Wins: Pre-Plan Sessions, Cap Drawdowns, Journal Every Trade
Ali Crooks treats discipline like a tradable edge. Before the bell, he writes a simple plan: what setups are valid today, where they live, and which behaviors he’ll avoid. That pre-commitment makes decisions binary when the heat is on. And when the daily cap is hit, he stops—no hero trade, no “last shot.”
After the session, Ali Crooks journals like a coach, not a critic: what rule was followed, what rule was broken, and what specific fix goes on tomorrow’s card. He measures process first and P&L second, because repeatable execution compounds faster than occasional big wins. Over time, that loop—plan, execute, review—turns discipline into muscle memory. The result is a calmer trader who bleeds less on bad days and presses advantages on good ones.
The throughline of Ali Crooks’ approach is simple: feel the same emotions everyone feels—and then refuse to act on them. He “future-paces” the moment of urge, reminds himself that breaking rules destroys trust in the strategy, and chooses to be the trader who follows the plan rather than the one who reacts. That mindset shift—rules over impulse—creates a foundation you can actually build on day after day.
From there, everything becomes binary: you either behave like the majority who click from emotion, or you join the minority who execute their rules. Ali’s challenge—“Do I want to be the 80% or the 20%?”—isn’t a slogan; it’s a daily filter for decisions, from pre-market planning to position sizing to the moment you feel like “doing something.” If you adopt that lens and pair it with fixed-risk entries, time-boxed sessions, and a clean review loop, you put yourself in the 20% that let structure—not feelings—do the heavy lifting.
