# Mastering a Simple 9 A three-step 9:30AM opening-range trading strategy: mark key levels, wait for a retest and enter on a 1-minute trigger instead of chasing breakouts. Source: https://jarvinpowertools.top/mastering-a-simple-9/ · based on the channel [Scarface Trades](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI7bfebbOWLqw3m4zW7XjIg) · Video: [Once You Master This Strategy, Trading Becomes Incredibly Simple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AXhoDnnSWw) · 2026-10-19 ![Mastering a Simple 9](https://jarvinpowertools.top/mastering-a-simple-9/mastering-a-simple-9.webp) ## Key takeaways - The strategy is built around the 9:30AM New York open and the first move of the session. - Three steps: mark the setup (prior day high/low, premarket range), define the trade, then use a 1-minute entry trigger. - The entry is a retest of a broken level, not the breakout candle itself. - A 1-minute chart is used only for the trigger, while the setup is read on higher timeframes. - Position sizing must fit the stop distance, since tight intraday stops require larger size for meaningful risk. The simplest way to trade the 9:30AM open is to stop hunting for setups and instead trade one repeatable sequence: mark the prior day's high and low plus the premarket range, wait for price to break a level, then enter on the retest with a 1-minute trigger candle. That three-step model is the core of the strategy Scarface Trades breaks down in the video, and the free [Simple Trader Playbook course](https://events.scarfacetrades.com/the-simple-trader-playbook-waitlist) walks through the same framework step by step. Most traders lose money not because they lack strategies but because they collect too many of them. Two indicators say sell, a trend line says buy, and the trader freezes or takes the worst of both. A single rule set with clear levels removes that decision fatigue. ## Why most traders make trading harder than it needs to be Trading gets complicated when the decision to enter depends on five conflicting signals instead of one price level. The pattern is familiar: a trader stacks moving averages, RSI, VWAP and a couple of trend lines, then finds that on any given candle at least one of them disagrees with the others. The result is hesitation, late entries and revenge trades. The video's argument is that a chart with fewer inputs produces cleaner decisions, because every trade can be judged against a single question: did price break a level and hold it on the retest? If the answer is no, there is no trade, and that is a complete answer rather than a missing one. This is also why so many viewers describe the setups as obvious in hindsight. They are obvious in hindsight precisely because they are simple; the difficulty is patience, not analysis. ## Step 1: Set up the chart before the bell The setup step happens before any entry is considered, and it consists of marking a small number of reference levels. On the instrument you trade — a futures contract, an index ETF or a liquid large cap — mark: 1. The prior day's high and prior day's low (PDH and PDL). 2. The premarket high and low, or the overnight range for futures. 3. Any obvious swing high or low from the last two or three sessions that price has already reacted to. These levels matter because they are where resting orders sit: stop losses from the previous session, breakout orders from traders watching the same reference points, and limit orders from longer-term participants. When price reaches them, movement tends to accelerate. One practical caveat raised by viewers is what to do when price opens in the middle of the prior day's range, far from both PDH and PDL. In that case there is no edge in forcing a trade at the open; the levels are simply too far away, and the honest move is to wait for price to reach one of them or for the premarket range to be broken. ## Step 2: Define the trade with a level, a stop and a target The second step turns a marked level into a trade plan, and it must be done before the entry candle appears. Decide three things: - **Direction bias:** which level is price approaching, and is it approaching from below (breakout setup) or from above (breakdown setup)? - **Invalidation:** where the idea is wrong. For a long off a broken resistance level, that is typically just below the level or below the retest candle's low. - **Target:** the next marked level, such as PDH for a long taken from the premarket high, or the prior day's midpoint for a partial. Risk is defined by the distance between entry and invalidation, not by a fixed dollar amount. This is where a common viewer objection comes in: with a very tight 1-minute stop, the position size needed to risk a meaningful amount looks large. That is arithmetic, not a flaw in the strategy — a five-point stop on a futures contract requires more contracts than a twenty-point stop for the same dollar risk. If the required size exceeds what your account or broker allows, the correct adjustment is to trade a smaller instrument or skip the setup, not to widen the stop arbitrarily. ## Step 3: Use the 1-minute chart only for the entry trigger The entry model is the part of the strategy that gets the most skepticism, and it deserves a clear rule. The 1-minute chart is not where the trade idea comes from; it is where the trigger is confirmed. The sequence is: 1. Price breaks the marked level. 2. Price pulls back toward that level instead of running away. 3. A 1-minute candle closes in the direction of the trade off the level, and the entry is taken on that close or on the following candle, with the stop beyond the level. That is the difference between chasing a breakout and waiting for a retest. Chasing means buying the extended candle that broke the level, with a stop so far away that the risk-to-reward is poor. Waiting for the retest means the entry is closer to the level, the stop is tighter and the trade is invalidated quickly if the breakout was false. Traders who dislike the 1-minute timeframe can apply the same logic on a 5-minute chart; the trigger candle is simply larger and the stop wider, which reduces the number of signals but also the noise. ## Reading the levels on a real example A worked example makes the mechanics concrete. Suppose the premarket high sits at a round number and price breaks above it shortly after the open, then stalls. The trader is not buying that first push. Instead they wait for price to return to the broken premarket high, watch for a 1-minute candle that closes back above it, and enter with a stop under the retest low. The first target is the prior day's high; if price clears that level and retests it, the same pattern can be repeated for a second leg. The reverse applies on the short side: a break below the prior day's low, a retest from underneath, a bearish 1-minute close, stop above the level, target at the next support. What makes or breaks this approach is not the pattern recognition but the filtering. A retest that grinds sideways for many candles, or one that produces a large counter-candle, is a weaker signal than a clean, quick pullback and rejection. Reviewing past sessions candle by candle is the only reliable way to build that judgment, and it is the step most traders skip. ## Common questions traders ask about this approach Several recurring doubts are worth addressing directly, because they decide whether the strategy survives contact with a live market. **Time zone.** The 9:30AM reference is New York time, the cash equity open. Traders in other regions should convert it rather than assume their local session behaves the same way. **Instruments.** The levels logic transfers to forex pairs such as EUR/USD, but the reference points change: the prior day's high and low and the London or Asian session range replace the premarket range, and spreads matter more on short-timeframe entries. **How many instruments.** Concentrating on one or two liquid names — a single futures contract or one or two large caps — makes the levels easier to track and the patterns easier to recognize than rotating through a long watchlist. **Choppy sessions.** A range-bound open with no clean break is not a failure of the strategy; it is a no-trade day. The strategy produces fewer setups than it appears to in a highlight reel, and the win rate depends heavily on skipping the messy ones. ## Useful links - [Simple Trader Playbook free course](https://events.scarfacetrades.com/the-simple-trader-playbook-waitlist) - [The Accelerator private community and live trading](https://whop.com/scarface-trades) - [Scarface Trades on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/scarfacetrades_) - [Scarface Trades on X](https://twitter.com/ScarfaceTrades_) ## Final thoughts on keeping trading simple The value of this three-step framework is that it replaces a screen full of indicators with a short checklist: mark the levels, define the invalidation and target, wait for the retest and a 1-minute trigger. Everything hard about trading then moves to execution — patience before the entry, discipline with the stop, and honest record-keeping afterward. Backtest the levels on your own instrument before risking money, because the setups look far easier on a finished chart than they do in real time. This breakdown is based on the approach presented by the Scarface Trades channel; for the full walkthrough and the free playbook, start with the [Simple Trader Playbook registration](https://events.scarfacetrades.com/the-simple-trader-playbook-waitlist). ## Questions & answers **Do I have to use a 1-minute chart to trade this strategy?** No. The 1-minute chart only provides the entry trigger after price breaks a marked level and pulls back. Traders who find it too noisy can use a 5-minute candle close as the trigger, which produces fewer signals but wider stops. The setup levels themselves are read on higher timeframes. **How much capital do I need if the stop is only a few points wide?** Position size is determined by the stop distance, so a tight stop requires a larger position to risk the same amount. If that size exceeds your account limits or comfort level, trade a smaller instrument or skip the setup rather than widening the stop arbitrarily. Risk should stay constant in dollars, not in contract count. **Does the strategy work on forex pairs like EUR/USD?** The logic of breaking a level and entering on the retest transfers to forex, but the reference points differ. Instead of a premarket range you would mark the prior day's high and low plus the London or Asian session range, and you need to account for spreads, which matter more on short-timeframe entries. **What should I do when price opens in the middle of the prior day's range?** There is no trade at that moment, because price is far from the levels where orders cluster. Wait for price to reach the prior day's high or low, or for the premarket range to break, and only then look for a retest and a trigger candle. Forcing a setup in the middle of a range is how good strategies produce bad trades.