Define the initial balance and trade expansion with confirmation.
The opening range (often the first 5, 15 or 30 minutes of the session) establishes an early balance area. A breakout beyond that range, especially with participation, can signal the session's directional character — but the opening range needs to be genuinely tight and orderly for the breakout to mean much.
| Aggressive | Conservative | |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Enter on the first breakout candle | Wait for a successful retest of the range boundary |
| Trade-off | More exposure to a quick failed break | May miss fast, low-retest breakouts entirely |
Targets are planning references, not forecasts. Position size should be derived from defined account risk and the actual invalidation distance.
The first 15 minutes trade in a tight half-percent range on below-average volume. A breakout above that range on a volume surge at 10am is a much cleaner signal than a breakout from a first 15 minutes that already spanned 3% of the stock's price.