Why it matters
Time stops prevent dead money and thesis drift.
Trading use: the point is not vocabulary. The point is prediction: what changes when this shows up?
Common trap
Holding indefinitely because the trade is not ‘wrong’ yet.
Example
Exiting a breakout trade if it hasn’t moved within a session/day.
Operational cue: if you can’t point to it on the chart, in the DOM, or in your broker logs, treat it as a story and trade smaller.
Notes
Time stops protect attention and prevent emotional management.
Quick rule
- If you see this repeatedly, you are in a different regime than your model assumes.
- Regime change usually means position size change.
- When in doubt: trade smaller, or don’t trade.