Advanced Trading Strategies Using the Floating Zone

Today I want to share a couple of trading concepts that many of my students have been asking about. We'll tackle two key topics: adjusting Market Maker Accumulation (MMA) boxes and understanding the lanes of the floating zone.

I've received quite a few emails from traders wanting to know how long they can stay in trades for more extended positions, so let's dive right in.

Understanding Market Maker Accumulation Boxes

Let's first look at the Market Maker Accumulation boxes – those white boxes you see on your charts when using my PAT indicator. These boxes are crucial because they highlight areas where market makers are actively accumulating positions before major price movements occur.

You can adjust the PAT settings by trimming them. In my current setup, I'm using 5, 8, 8, 24. We rarely need to adjust these settings, but with recent market volatility from tariffs and other economic factors, we're seeing different types of market movement than usual. This has resulted in fewer market maker activity areas appearing on charts than we would typically expect.

While you can adjust these settings to generate more trading opportunities, I should add a quick caveat here: is there actually a need to do this?

Do You Need to Adjust Market Maker Settings?

Let me show you a practical example using a 30-minute chart before moving to the 15-minute and 5-minute timeframes.

On our 30-minute chart, we can see a setup forming. We're below a key line, which signals we should be looking for selling opportunities. As the market lifts back up, we get a pressure point indicated by a diamond at the top. This is our signal that the market is likely to start moving down.

I noticed we don't get any further boxes as we move lower. I had to shift the chart to see another box form further down. This becomes quite important later when the market lifts up, comes back through, forms our pressure point, and then fails, continuing its downward trend.

Here's the first crucial point: notice how once the market breaks through, it gets down into the lower lane of the floating zone and stays there all the way down. I've seen this countless times – when the market breaks away from the floating zone, it becomes "overstretched." Eventually, you can expect it to push back up, which is exactly what happens. The market breaks away, comes back up, stays in the downside load, and then breaks through.

Why wouldn't we want to go long here? Because we're still under the key level. The moment the market moves back into the lower half of the floating zone, the lane change returns, and we're back into weakness once again.

This answers both questions:

1. How long can you stay in a trade?
2. Should you be trimming your market maker activity settings?

The effect of this one Market Maker Accumulation area continues to play out. We didn't see more market maker activity boxes because the market was in full trend moving downward. Had the market reversed, we would have seen another box appear.

So in answer to the question: no, you don't need to continually adjust your settings for the white market maker activity boxes, especially if you're looking at longer-term trades.

The Floating Zone: Your Trend Confirmation Tool

Let's examine another example using GBPJPY on a lower timeframe.

In yesterday's session, we had set up a line from our box that we carried forward from the 30-minute timeframe. We were above this line, which suggested we should be thinking about a long opportunity. A pressure point formed, creating a definite buying opportunity.

Regardless of whether this worked out long-term (that's just part of trading), I want to explain why this was a valid buy. We were above the line, and when the market broke above this level, it was a valid buy signal.

Looking at the five-minute chart to see this more clearly, our buy note formed as it broke above the level. The market then moved up into the floating zone. We were above the line, in the top lane of the floating zone, during the trading session – everything about this was a great setup for taking a trade.

But then the market continued up, came back down, and dipped back into the floating zone. This was our first warning sign that things might not work out as we thought. In this case, we'd be long, the market would break up, we'd have a stop under, and we'd take a very small loss on this trade.

Don't worry about taking small losses – it's all part of the game we play as traders.

Later, the market went down through the floating zone, put up another pressure point, but didn't break above, and then dropped down through our line. We wouldn't go long here. If it had broken above again, we certainly would, but instead, the market came down and broke through our line.

On the 15-minute chart, the market broke down, put up a pressure point, and this became a great selling opportunity. The pressure point appeared while we were under the line and had broken through the lower band. The market then continued its downward trajectory.

We're using the strength or weakness relative to our line, and the fact that the market has broken out of a confined area provides a foundation for our trading decisions.

Notice what happened next: the market started to move back up, crossed over the floating zone, but remained under our key line. We were still looking at weakness. The market then formed another pressure point, got back into the lower floating zone, came back up to the bottom, but again stayed in the lower half of the floating zone.

Putting It All Together

This is the essence of what I wanted to share today: using the floating zone as a guide for staying in a market and as an overall indicator of trend continuation.

Pay attention to when the market comes back up and crosses over the line. If it crosses back over but remains under a key level, this often presents a continuation move where you can continually sell as the market falls.

The floating zone serves as confirmation that everything's ready to play out. When the market crosses down through your line (coming from your 30-minute timeframe) and enters the lower half of the floating zone, followed by a pressure point indicator, treat this as excellent confirmation to sell. At this point, everything is lined up in your favour.

Professional Trader Training

I've developed these concepts through years of professional trading, and they form part of my comprehensive trader training programme. My students learn to interpret these signals using my proprietary PAT indicator – a tool I've refined over many years and isn't available anywhere else.

When I first started trading, I made all the classic mistakes that most retail traders make. I'd chase the market, ignore clear signals, and fight against what the market makers were doing. It took me years to understand their business model – how they accumulate positions, manipulate price to trigger retail stops, and then ride the market in their preferred direction.

My training focuses on aligning your trading with market maker activity rather than fighting against it. The PAT indicator helps reveal their footprints, but more importantly, I teach you how to interpret these signals within the context of overall market structure.

If you're tired of being on the wrong side of trades and want to learn how professional traders approach the markets, my mentorship programme might be exactly what you need.

Remember, successful trading isn't about finding a magical indicator – it's about understanding the market's structure and the behaviour of its biggest players.

Until next time, trade carefully and I'll catch up with you soon.