Traders often ask, “Hima, how do you close the gap between trading prep, and actually pressing the button?” That’s exactly what my Futures Trading Lab was built to show. And I’ve got some super helpful tips for you whether you attend these sessions or not, so keep reading!
I run Futures Trading Labs on Tuesdays. It’s simple on purpose. You come in, type questions in the Zoom chat, and I’m the only one on mic while I share my screen.
And everything happens inside a real trading plan — not theory, not cherry-picked highlights.
What Happens Inside
What is a Trading Lab? It’s a live session where I open a Zoom Webinar room to traders to attend in real-time. You can communicate with me via chat, while I’m the only one with the microphone on and I’m sharing my screen.
When I do this, I’m literally going through my entire preparation process per my trading plan. I share the exact checklist of analysis I’m doing on the charts across multiple time frames, from 60-minute down to 3-minute and 15-second candlesticks. I also review the VIX daily and 60-minute charts as part of my prep.
I also share a live trading journal where I capture the notes session to session.
You’re not just watching trades; you’re watching a trading plan in motion, unfolding step by step.
The Unique Twist That Solved a Real Problem
Here’s the big twist. With my style — especially being on 15-second ES charts — I find it very challenging to trade and talk at the same time. But live attendees and those watching the recordings still need a way to understand what I’m doing in real time.
So now I use the Notepad feature on my PC. I type in really big font the same things I would have typed into my trading journal, except I do them on the screen so that you can see them instantly. I immediately paste them into the Zoom chat so that it’s all captured. Then after the session, my team copies and pastes those notes over to the interactive trading journal.
This has been a huge game changer for traders, attending live or watching the recordings, to understand exactly what I’m doing without me having to say it out loud while I’m also pressing buttons and confirming trades. It’s practically instantaneous: you see why I’m making a trade, why I’m managing it the way I am, and why I’m excited.
That simple Notepad has become the bridge — making my thought process visible in real time.
Real Trades, Real Management (News and All)
I run the Trading Lab mimicking my trading style that I’m doing on my own. So that’s a good example for you to see the type of signals I’m taking, the kind of risk I’m applying, how I’m treating news events and more.
Attendees see wins, losses, neutral trades, and how decisions shift when news hits the tape. Nothing is filtered out.
Another little hack is that when I know that news is coming up I mark it on my 15-second chart with a vertical cyan (very bright blue) line. For example, if there is data coming up at 10:00 AM Eastern, I mark the 15-second chart at the 10:00:15 mark. That way I can literally SEE when the data is coming and it helps manage any trades that may still be one. Give it a try if you’re daytrading or scalping, you’ll love it!
The Post-Session Review (Where a Lot of Learning Lives)
At the end of each session, which runs from about 9:15 to 10:10 AM Eastern, I take a few minutes to go back through the charts with any trades I did – like the actual buy and sell points, plainly visible. I mark them on the charts and share feedback on the reasons behind my trades.
This is a reflection of the same review process I do and teach my private students in depth, and that I recommend for pretty much anyone. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video and reviewing what you just did is worth a million more.
Those few minutes of markup and reflection often contain the biggest learning moments. If you’ve never recorded a video immediately after completing a trading session, especially one that had lots of action, I recommend putting that on your list of things to help you grow. There are great simple tools out there you can try for free like Loom.com.
Where This Fits in Your Routine
For me, running a Futures Trading Lab pairs naturally with The Skinny on the Mini (daily) ES futures research report I put out, anchored by the weekly SPY research report. You can even model the lab flow for your own sessions: prep → notes → trade → quick review.
The goal is always the same — to close the loop between research and execution so that your trading plan isn’t just written down, but lived out on the screen.
So here’s an action recommendation: take five minutes after every trading session to mark up your trades and write a few sentences on what you’d like to repeat or change next time. That reflection muscle is exactly what Futures Trading Lab models in real time.
And if you’re an S&P Edge Pro member, don’t miss the next Futures Trading Lab — it’s your chance to see this process in action. Here’s the Events Calendar for details.
~Hima
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