Entries: the break and retest, the pullback entry, and the trigger each one needs
The entry is the last thing decided and the first thing most traders think about, which is the wrong way round. By the time you reach this module you can classify the market, choose the level, read the test and run the three timeframes in order. The entry is simply the moment inside that process where a position is opened, and this course uses two models for it. The <b>break and retest</b> enters after a level has been broken with acceptance, on the first return to it from the new side. The <b>pullback entry</b> enters inside an established trend, at a structural level, when the pullback's own small structure breaks in the trend direction. Both need a trigger, both have a precise invalidation, and both are placed at a location chosen on the higher timeframe. The module also covers the failed-break variant, the choice between limit, stop and market orders, and the gold-specific timing that affects all of them.
Entries come last
An entry in this course is never a reason to trade. It is the final step of a sequence that has already decided the direction, the location and the conditions under which the trade is wrong. If you find yourself looking at a candle and asking whether it is an entry, the sequence has been skipped, because the question should have been answered before the candle formed: you should already be waiting at a location for a specific trigger. This matters for a practical reason beyond discipline. An entry defined in advance has its stop and target defined in advance too, so the reward-to-risk can be checked before the trigger prints and the trade can be declined if it is poor. An entry found on the fly has its stop placed afterwards, usually too close, and its target invented, usually too far. The two entry models below are each a fixed sequence: location, confirmation, trigger, with the stop and first target implied by the structure. Learn the sequence, and the entry becomes the least interesting part of the trade.
The break and retest
The break and retest enters after a level has been broken with acceptance, as defined in Modules 7 and 8, on the first return to the broken level from the new side. The sequence has four parts. The break: a close beyond the level on the structure timeframe, H1 or H4. Acceptance: at least one further close beyond the level, or a hold on the following candles. The retest: a pullback that returns to the broken level on small candles, the healthy pullback from Module 9, without closing back through it. The trigger: on M15, inside the zone of the broken level, a low that holds and a close above the previous M15 swing high. The entry is that close; the stop sits beyond the far side of the zone with wick room; the first target is the next structural level in the direction of the break. The entry works because of role reversal: the traders who were wrong at the level and the traders who missed the break both act at the retest, and the trigger shows that they have. It is the cleaner of the two entries because the level has already proven itself twice.
The pullback entry
The pullback entry enters inside an established trend at a structural level, without requiring that the level was just broken. The sequence is the multi-timeframe routine from Module 13 in full. Context: H4 trending, with the three-swing sequence intact. Location: an H4 zone inside the current leg, usually the role-reversed level from the last break or the last H4 higher low, ideally where a valid trendline also arrives. Confirmation: the H1 pullback is healthy and slows into the zone, and the first H1 close inside the zone holds. Trigger: on M15, inside the zone, the continuation sequence, a low that holds and then a close above the previous M15 swing high. The entry is that close, the stop goes beyond the M15 low that held with wick room, and the first target is the H4 high of the current leg. The pullback entry is the one you will take most often inside a trend. Its weakness is the two-leg pullback from Module 9, which is why the location must be a marked level and not simply the first bounce in the middle of the leg.
The trigger, precisely
Both entries share the same trigger, and it deserves to be stated without ambiguity because it is where most hesitation happens. On M15, with price inside the zone chosen by H4 and confirmed by H1: first, an M15 candle makes a low that is not exceeded by the next candle, so that the pullback has stopped making lower lows; second, an M15 candle closes above the most recent M15 swing high, which is the highest high since the pullback began its last leg down. The close is the trigger. Not the wick through the swing high, the close above it. For a short, mirror every word. The trigger is deliberately small, because it is a timing device inside a decision already made, and making it larger would only cost entry price without adding information the H4 and H1 have not already provided. It is also deliberately specific, so that it either printed or it did not. If you cannot point to the M15 candle whose low held and the M15 candle whose close exceeded the swing high, the trigger has not printed and there is no entry.
What invalidation looks like
Every entry has a point at which the structural read was wrong, and knowing it in advance is what makes the stop in Module 15 a decision rather than a guess. For the break and retest, invalidation is an H1 close back through the broken level: role reversal has failed, and the break was false. For the pullback entry, invalidation is an H1 close beyond the far edge of the H4 zone: the pullback has become a break of the level, and the leg is in doubt. In both cases, the M15 low that held is the practical stop location, because if that low is taken out, the small structure that triggered the entry has also failed. What invalidation does not look like is a wick through the M15 low that closes back above it; that is the gold stop run from Module 3, and the stop must sit beyond the wick room for it. Decide the invalidation before the trigger, write it down as a price, and let it be hit if the market goes there. A trade whose invalidation moves after entry is a trade that will be exited on emotion.
The failed-break variant
The failed breakout from Module 8 is traded as a break and retest in the opposite direction. The sequence: price closes beyond a level, fails to accept, and closes back inside within one to three candles on a full-bodied candle. That close back inside is the trigger, and the structural logic is that the level has now been tested with maximum force and held, so it is a rejection with extra evidence. The entry is the close back inside the level, the stop sits beyond the extreme of the false break with wick room, and the first target is the opposite side of the structure the break came from, usually the other edge of the range or the previous swing. The variant needs one additional condition that is easy to forget: the H4 must not be in a strong trend in the direction of the false break, because a false break against an H4 trend is often just a deep pullback, and the level will be broken properly on the next attempt. It is best taken at H4 range edges and at the extremes of tired legs, where the failed break is also the failed higher high from Module 5.
Order types and gold timing
The trigger is a close, so the natural order is a market order on that close, or a stop order placed just above the M15 swing high so that it fills as the break happens. The stop order fills slightly earlier and risks being filled on a wick that does not close above the swing high; the market order on the close is later by a few dollars and avoids that. On gold, the close is the safer choice, because wicks through M15 swing highs that fail to close above them are common. Limit orders at the level itself, placed before any trigger, are not used in this course, because they enter before the test has resolved and turn every acceptance into a loss. Timing matters too. Avoid entering in the last fifteen minutes before a scheduled release, because the spread widens and the first candle after the release is unreadable; let the release print, then read the test on H1 as Module 7 described. The first two hours of London and New York offer the most reliable triggers; the late New York afternoon and the Asian hours offer the fewest, and a trigger in those windows deserves more scepticism.
FAQ
What are the two entries this course uses?
The break and retest, which enters on the first return to a level that was broken with acceptance, and the pullback entry, which enters inside an established trend at a structural level when the pullback's small structure breaks in the trend direction. Both use the same M15 trigger and both have a defined invalidation.
What exactly is the trigger?
On M15, inside the zone chosen on H4 and confirmed on H1: a candle whose low is not exceeded by the next candle, followed by a candle that closes above the most recent M15 swing high. The close is the trigger, not a wick through the swing high. For shorts, mirror every condition.
Where does the stop go for each entry?
For both, beyond the M15 low that held, with room for gold wicks, as Module 15 specifies. The structural invalidation is an H1 close back through the broken level for the break and retest, and an H1 close beyond the far edge of the H4 zone for the pullback entry; the M15 low is the practical stop because the small structure fails there first.
Can I trade a false breakout as an entry?
Yes, as a break and retest in the opposite direction. The trigger is the full-bodied close back inside the level within one to three candles of the break, the stop goes beyond the false extreme, and the target is the other side of the structure. Avoid it against a strong H4 trend, where a false break is often just a deep pullback.
Should I use a limit order at the level?
Not in this course. A limit at the level enters before the test has resolved, so every acceptance beyond the level becomes a loss. Enter on the M15 trigger close with a market order, or with a stop order just above the swing high if you accept the risk of being filled on a wick that does not close through.