00 / START HERE
Before a single trade.
A skill takes time.
This is not a get-rich-quick route. Study, practise and review before committing capital.
Respect the difficulty.
The source warns that most retail traders lose money. Do not assume you will be an exception.
Use a defined process.
Rules, data and reviews should guide decisions. Treat trading as disciplined work, not entertainment.
Keep learning.
Your habits and responses to uncertainty need as much attention as your chart reading.
01 / LEARN → TEST → REVIEW
Three phases. No deadline.
The PDF’s timing is a rough learning roadmap, not a promise of readiness or funding. Move forward on evidence, not the calendar.
- 1–2 MONTHS / FUNDAMENTALS
Build your vocabulary.
Start with futures mechanics, then study ICT (Inner Circle Trader), SMC (Smart Money Concepts) and liquidity. Research, take notes and use free learning resources. Ask the community when a concept is unclear.
- 3–6 MONTHS / YOUR SYSTEM
Test one strategy.
Define a system, then backtest and/or forward test at least three months of data. The guide suggests an hour or two a day. Journal every trade and review the evidence.
- 6+ MONTHS / FUNDING & LIVE
Assess readiness honestly.
The source proposes a prop-firm route before using personal live capital, then starting small only after consistency. This is a suggested progression, not a recommendation for everyone. Evaluation fees and account rules can create losses too.
02 / YOUR WORKSPACE
Give each tool a job.
| Purpose | Source examples | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Charts | TradingView or the prop firm’s platform | Correct instrument, market data and exchange permissions. |
| News calendar | ForexFactory, FinancialJuice | High-impact CPI, NFP and FOMC events; timezone and current release times. |
| Journal | Tradezella, Notion or a built-in journal | A consistent record you can review. |
| Study notes | Paper or digital notebook | Definitions, screenshots of your own chart work and lessons. |
| Futures prop firms | Apex, Lucid, Tradeify, Topstep | Evaluation fees, simulated/live status, drawdown, consistency and payout rules. |
| Personal brokers | AMP Futures, Blueberry Markets, BlackBull Markets | Legal entity, jurisdiction and whether the actual product is exchange-traded futures or a CFD. |
03 / THE MECHANICS
Understand the contract first.
Futures are standardised contracts traded on an exchange such as CME. The underlying exposure can be an index, commodity or bond. Unlike a retail forex currency pair, the examples here track an equity index.
The guide highlights centralised pricing, liquidity, spreads and leverage. These features vary by contract and market conditions; centralised trading does not remove execution risk. Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains, and futures are not inherently easier than forex.
| Contract | Per point | Tick size | Per tick |
|---|---|---|---|
| NQ E-mini Nasdaq-100 | $20.00 | 0.25 | $5.00 |
| MNQ Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | $2.00 | 0.25 | $0.50 |
| ES E-mini S&P 500 | $50.00 | 0.25 | $12.50 |
| MES Micro E-mini S&P 500 | $5.00 | 0.25 | $1.25 |
A tick is the smallest price increment. Check current specifications with CME Group before trading.
20,000.00 → 20,000.25
That is a 0.25-point move: $5 for one NQ or $0.50 for one MNQ, before fees. Whether it is a gain or loss depends on your direction.
Micro versus mini
For these pairs, one mini has the point exposure of ten micros: NQ/MNQ and ES/MES. The guide favours micros while learning because each tick carries less dollar exposure. Smaller does not mean risk-free; simulation is an option before risking money.
04 / READING PRICE
A lens for studying the chart.
ICT describes price as moving between pools of liquidity: potential clusters of stop and breakout orders around equal highs and lows, swing points, support and resistance, and session extremes. In this vocabulary, orders above old highs are buy-side liquidity; those below old lows are sell-side liquidity.
Conceptual sequence only. Not every range produces this pattern.
- Displacement & fair value gap (FVG)
- A sharp move can leave a three-candle pattern where the first and third candles’ wicks do not overlap across an area. ICT calls this a fair value gap. Traders study a possible return into it; a return or reversal is not assured, and the pattern alone does not establish institutional volume.
- Order block
- In the source’s usage, the last opposing candle before a strong move: a down candle before a rally, or an up candle before a sell-off. It is a candidate area to study in context, not a stand-alone entry instruction.
- Inversion (IFVG)
- An FVG that price trades through may be interpreted as switching roles, from potential support to resistance or vice versa. The source pairs this with liquidity being taken and structure shifting.
- Market structure
- A break of structure (BOS) describes a continuation break. A change of character (CHoCH) or market structure shift (MSS) suggests a possible reversal. Track the sequence of highs and lows and define your own confirmation rules.
05 / THE SESSION MAP
Time is part of the model.
The source groups trading study around ICT “killzones.” These are framework-specific windows, not official exchange hours. All times below are New York local time (ET).
Asian range
Study the overnight range; the window crosses midnight.
London open
A window for studying liquidity around the London session.
New York AM
The source’s preferred morning window; higher probability is a claim to test.
London close
Study potential reversals and continuation. This is late morning in New York.
06 / YOUR MODEL, ON PAPER
Answer before you enter.
Define the full decision before looking for a trade. Use these prompts as a study worksheet, then backtest at least three months, journal every trade and review weekly.
- InstrumentWhat do I trade? For example, MNQ.
- SessionWhich exact windows, in which timezone?
- BiasWhich higher-timeframe liquidity area is relevant?
- SetupWhat confirms the idea: a sweep, structure shift, FVG?
- EntryWhat exact conditions must be met?
- StopWhere is the idea invalid?
- TargetWhich price or liquidity area am I aiming for?
- RiskRisk per trade, maximum trades per day and daily loss limit?
Precision over activity: a model should help you reject trades as well as find them. Refine it using recorded evidence, not a desire for constant action.
07 / THE NON-NEGOTIABLES
Risk comes before conviction.
Set the limits before the session.
- Choose a small, fixed risk amount. The PDF cites 0.5–1% of an account as a common range; this is general context, not a suitable target for every account.
- Understand daily loss limits, trailing maximum drawdown and consistency rules. A prop account’s advertised size may not be its actual loss allowance.
- Cap both the number of trades and the day’s loss. Stop when either limit is reached.
- Never increase size to win back a loss.
The PDF claims more funded accounts fail through rule violations than bad trades. No evidence is supplied for that comparison; the practical lesson is to understand the rules, without treating the claim as established data.
08–09 / EXECUTION & PSYCHOLOGY
Review the process, too.
| Failure mode | Review prompt |
|---|---|
| Overleveraging & revenge trading | Did I exceed risk, overtrade or increase size after a loss? |
| No defined model | Was there a tested reason to enter, or did I change rules on impulse? |
| Ignoring time | Did I force a setup outside my planned window? |
| Inconsistent execution | Did I cherry-pick signals, move stops or cut winners out of fear? |
| Emotional decisions | Did fear, hesitation or overconfidence replace my process? |
A loss is not a personal failure. A trade that followed your tested rules can lose; assess the quality of the decision separately from its outcome. If you feel an urge to recover immediately, step away.
Do not tie self-worth to a profitable day. Patience, discipline and methodical review are habits to practise, not guarantees that markets will reward you. The source calls psychology “the overlooked 80%”; that is emphasis, not a measured statistic.
10 / THE NEXT STAGE
Read the rules behind “funded.”
The guide suggests prop firms as an on-ramp: use the model you tested, do not invent setups to pass a challenge, respect drawdown rules and avoid rushing. Keep at least the discipline you used in simulation.
The community and the live sessions
The PDF describes free SPR community access for live chat, ICT breakdowns, setups, questions and accountability, with optional paid sessions to watch TRDR’s real-time execution and commentary. Confirm current channel access and schedules; the membership page describes INSDRS as weekday live trading.
Join the SPR Discord or explore the creator account listed in the guide, @h3m1sh on Instagram. Learning, testing one model and journaling remain the core process.
SOURCE NOTES / READ BEFORE ACTING
Keep the framework in perspective.
Adapted from SPR-TRDR-FREE-Guide-2026.pdf. Provider lists, access promises, prop-firm terms and session conventions need periodic review. Claims about “highest probability,” institutional activity, failure rates and psychology percentages are not substantiated by the PDF. The headline “from zero to funded” is an aspiration, not an expected outcome.
The source’s general warning that a majority of retail traders lose money is retained as a caution; it supplies no population, timeframe or supporting study. No specific loss rate is asserted here.
Educational purposes only
This guide is not financial advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Never trade with capital you cannot afford to lose. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Do your own research and consider your own circumstances before trading.