How to Read the Confluence Table

Before any trade fires, you already have information.

The 30m trend either exists or it doesn't. A level is either marked or it isn't. The 3m either printed a confirmation close or it's still pending. None of this is hidden — it's all in the market. The Confluence Table just puts it in one place.

It's the LS Model's pre-trade gate: one row per required condition, worked top to bottom, and every row must read PASS to take the trade. Any FAIL — stop. The rows below it don't matter. Build this same table on your own chart, so the gate travels with you into every session.

A binary gate, not a score

One thing to understand before the rows: the table is not a grading system. There is no A, A+, or A++ in the LS Model — no "strong" setups that earn bigger size and no "weak" setups you take with half conviction. Every condition passes, or there is no trade. Why a yes/no beats a grade is its own post: The Confluence Gate — Why We Don't Grade Setups.

Phase 1 — Session gate

Checked before you look at a single candle:

| Check | PASS condition | |-------|----------------| | Session window | Inside NY 9:30–11:00 AM ET | | News | Not inside the 10:00 AM news window | | Trade count | Fewer than 2 trades this session | | Daily stop | Fewer than 2 losses today |

If any of these fail, the day's decision is already made. This phase exists so you never have to be disciplined in the moment — the gate is disciplined for you.

Phase 2 — Trend (30m)

| Check | PASS condition | |-------|----------------| | Trend exists | 2+ same-direction breaks of structure over the last 2–3 trading days | | BOS confirmed | The latest break is a candle body close beyond the prior swing — a wick through is not enough | | Not ranging | 30m structure is clearly directional. Mixed → no trade | | Reference marked | The latest 30m break is marked as the current-leg reference |

The "not ranging" row is the most valuable line in the whole table. It's the no-trade condition — the one that keeps you flat on the days that chew up everyone else.

Phase 3 — Level (30m)

| Check | PASS condition | |-------|----------------| | A level is marked | An unmitigated FVG within the leg, or the last swing before the BOS (from candle bodies). Either alone is enough | | Right half of the leg | The level sits in discount (lower half) for longs, premium (upper half) for shorts — except a momentum FVG that formed after the swing |

Phase 4 — Trigger (3m)

| Check | PASS condition | |-------|----------------| | Pullback arrived | Price has traded back into the marked level | | Rejection visible | Rejection wicks, engulfing candle on the 3m | | Confirmation close | A 3m close beyond the recent high/low in the trade direction. No close = no trigger = no trade | | Entry type chosen | Continuation, Bias Flip, or Opening Drive |

The confirmation close is the row most traders skip in the wild — they see the wick and jump. The table doesn't let you. Pending is pending.

Phase 5 — Trade plan

Set before entry, not during the trade:

| Check | PASS condition | |-------|----------------| | Stop placed | At the developing 3m structure — all entry types | | Target set | The next opposing liquidity. RR is the floor, not the target (1:2 min on Continuation, ideally 1:3; 1:2 cap on Bias Flip; 1:1 on Opening Drive) | | Risk sized | 1% on evaluations/challenges, 0.5% on funded accounts | | Management ready | Single exit, no partials. Breakeven at 1:1, then trail the 3m structure |

How to actually use it

Work the table top to bottom in real time, and treat a FAIL as a full stop — not a "yes, but." The power of the gate isn't in the rows themselves; it's in the order. You never evaluate a trigger for a trend that doesn't exist, and you never size a trade whose target can't clear the floor.

When price tags a marked level, you'll have Phases 1–3 already green and you're watching one thing: the 3m. That's the pre-setup read — calm, prepared, with one question left to answer.

And the kill-switch rows work in reverse too: if price tags the level but no 3m rejection forms within the session window, that's the time stop — skip it. Do not force the trade that almost happened.

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The concepts behind the rows: What Is a Break of Structure? covers Phase 2, What Is a Fair Value Gap? covers Phase 3, and Why the LS Model Exits Once covers Phase 5. Or join the free Discord and watch the gate worked live.