Session Trading

What is Session-Based Trading Analysis?

Session-based trading analysis tracks your performance across different market sessions throughout the 24-hour futures trading day. Instead of treating all trading hours equally, it recognizes that markets behave differently during Asia hours, London open, NY session, and overnight periods—and your performance varies dramatically across these sessions.

The futures market never sleeps, but you shouldn't be trading all 24 hours. Session analysis helps you identify exactly when you have an edge and when you're just donating money to traders who understand that session better than you do.

"I was trading every session thinking more screen time meant more opportunity. Session analytics showed I was profitable during NY AM and bleeding money everywhere else. Focused on one session, passed my eval in 3 weeks instead of burning through 5 attempts."

Why Session Analysis Matters

The Five Trading Sessions

Our system automatically categorizes every trade into one of five sessions based on entry time (America/New_York timezone):

1. Asia Session (6:00 PM - 2:00 AM ET)

Character: Low volume, range-bound, mean-reversion dominant

Who succeeds: Scalpers, range traders, patient traders who wait for high-probability setups in quieter conditions. Traders who can identify support/resistance and fade extremes.

Who struggles: Breakout traders, trend followers, impatient traders who force trades in low-volatility environments. Those expecting big directional moves.

Key considerations:

• Tightest ranges of any session—adapt position sizing accordingly
• Overnight holds from previous day can influence price action
• Lower liquidity means wider spreads and increased slippage risk
• Ideal for traders in Asia/Australia timezones or night owls in US
• Often consolidates in preparation for London open volatility

2. London Session (2:00 AM - 7:30 AM ET)

Character: Increased volatility, trend development, directional moves, breakout opportunities

Who succeeds: Breakout traders, early morning US traders, European traders, those who can catch and hold trends that develop during London hours.

Who struggles: Range traders expecting Asia-style behavior, traders who can't handle increased volatility, late sleepers who miss the setup phase.

Key considerations:

• Often provides the initial directional bias for the full trading day
• Liquidity increases significantly vs Asia—better fills, tighter spreads
• Macro news from Europe can drive sharp moves (ECB, UK data, etc.)
• Pre-market US economic data (8:30 AM reports) can interrupt trends
• Requires waking up early for US-based traders (2-5 AM starts)

3. NY AM Session (9:30 AM - 12:00 PM ET)

Character: Highest volume, maximum opportunity, most volatility, professional participation, institutional flow

Who succeeds: All trading styles can work if you have the skill—scalpers, day traders, swing traders. This is the "main event" of futures trading.

Who struggles: Beginners overwhelmed by speed and volatility, over-traders who can't filter quality setups, revenge traders who chase losses during peak volume.

Key considerations:

• Equity market open at 9:30 AM brings massive liquidity and volatility
• Economic data releases at 8:30 AM and 10 AM can drive sharp directional moves
• Tightest spreads and best execution of any session
• Most opportunities but also most competition—requires A+ setups
• This is where most professional traders make their money

4. Lunch Session (12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET)

Character: Reduced volume, choppy price action, false breakouts, whipsaws, consolidation

Who succeeds: Experienced scalpers who understand lunch dynamics, traders patient enough to sit on hands, those who use lunch for review instead of trading.

Who struggles: Almost everyone. This is statistically the least profitable session for most traders. Pros take lunch. Amateurs give back their morning gains.

Key considerations:

• Professional traders literally leave for lunch—volume drops sharply
• Chop and false breakouts dominate—stop hunts are common
• Best used for trade review, planning, and preparing for PM session
• If you must trade, reduce size and expect lower probability setups
• This session costs more traders money than any other—consider avoiding entirely

5. NY PM Session (1:30 PM - 4:00 PM ET)

Character: Moderate volume, trend continuation or reversal, positioning for overnight, closing dynamics

Who succeeds: Trend traders who catch PM extensions, reversal traders who identify exhaustion, traders who understand end-of-day positioning flows.

Who struggles: Over-traders still forcing setups after profitable mornings, traders who don't adapt to reduced volatility vs AM session, those who hold too long into close.

Key considerations:

• Volume picks back up but never reaches AM levels
• Often extends AM trends or provides reversal opportunities
• 3:50 PM equity market close can drive sharp moves in ES/NQ
• Consider whether to hold overnight or close all positions
• Good session for part-time traders who can't trade mornings

Overnight vs Regular Session Trading

Beyond the five standard sessions, our analytics distinguish between regular session trades (entry and exit during normal hours) and overnight trades (holding positions across sessions):

Regular Session Trading

• Definition: Enter and exit within the same session or adjacent sessions
• Risk: Lower—you're present to manage the trade
• Control: High—you can react to price action in real-time
• Ideal for: Day traders, scalpers, those learning market structure

Overnight Trading

• Definition: Holding positions across multiple sessions or overnight
• Risk: Higher—overnight gaps, news events, reduced liquidity
• Reward: Potential for larger moves and better risk/reward
• Ideal for: Swing traders, position traders, those with strong directional conviction

Session analytics separate these trade types so you can see whether your edge is in quick intraday execution or multi-session position trades.

Session Analytics You'll See

For each trading session, the analytics page shows comprehensive performance metrics:

Per-Session Metrics

• Total P/L by Session - Net profit/loss for each session
• Win Rate by Session - Success rate during Asia, London, NY AM, etc.
• Trade Count by Session - How many trades you take in each window
• Average Trade P/L by Session - Size of wins and losses per session
• Profit Factor by Session - Gross wins vs gross losses per session
• Best/Worst Session - Which session is your edge, which is your leak

Time-of-Day Breakdown

• Hourly Performance - P/L for every hour of the trading day
• Session Transitions - Performance during session overlaps and transitions
• Volume vs Performance - Whether you trade more or less during profitable sessions

Behavioral Insights

• Over-Trading Analysis - Are you taking too many trades during weak sessions?
• Under-Trading Analysis - Are you missing opportunities during your best session?
• Consistency Check - Does your edge hold across multiple weeks in the same session?

How Session Analysis Changes Your Trading

Scenario 1: The "More Is Better" Trader

Before Analytics: Trading 12-14 hours per day across all sessions thinking volume creates opportunity.

After Analytics: Discovers 80% of profits come from NY AM (9:30-11 AM). The rest of the day is breakeven or losing. Focuses exclusively on 90 minutes per day. Profitability doubles.

Scenario 2: The London Breakout Trader

Before Analytics: Convinced they're great at catching London breakouts.

After Analytics: London win rate is 38%. NY AM win rate is 64%. Realizes they're better at high-volume momentum than low-volume breakouts. Switches primary session. Passes eval.

Scenario 3: The Lunch Gambler

Before Analytics: Makes $300 during NY AM, then trades through lunch and gives back $200.

After Analytics: Sees lunch session has -$4,500 P/L over 3 months despite 47% win rate (death by small cuts). Stops trading lunch entirely. Monthly P/L increases $1,500.

Scenario 4: The Part-Time Trader

Before Analytics: Frustrated they can't trade the "best" session (NY AM) due to day job.

After Analytics: Discovers NY PM (1:30-3 PM) has higher win rate and better average trade. Focuses on afternoon edge. Stops feeling FOMO about mornings.

Best Practices for Session-Based Trading

1. Identify Your #1 Session

Review at least 30 days of data. Which session produces consistent profits? That's your primary focus. Build your trading schedule around that window.

2. Avoid Your Worst Session

If analytics show you're consistently losing during a specific session (often lunch), stop trading it. Not every trader needs to trade every session. In fact, most shouldn't.

3. Match Strategy to Session

Don't use your breakout strategy during range-bound Asia. Don't use your range strategy during volatile London. Different sessions require different approaches.

4. Track Volume vs Quality

If you take 50 trades during your best session and 5 trades during your worst, that's good. If you take 50 during your worst and 5 during your best, you're sabotaging yourself.

5. Consider Your Lifestyle

If your edge is London (2-7 AM ET) but you have young kids, maybe trading isn't compatible with your life right now. Or maybe you trade NY PM instead. Session analytics + life reality = sustainable trading.

6. Monitor Session Changes Over Time

Your best session might change as your skills develop. Review session performance quarterly. What worked 6 months ago might not be optimal today.

Session Trading + Account Types

Session performance often varies by account type. Our analytics let you filter by both session AND account:

• Eval Accounts: Do you perform better in lower-volatility sessions when pressure is high?
• Funded Accounts: Do you take more risk during high-volume sessions when trading with house money?
• Sim Accounts: Are you more disciplined during your "practice" sessions?

Cross-reference session analytics with account analytics for deeper insights into your psychology and performance patterns.

Common Session-Based Mistakes

Who Benefits Most from Session Analysis?

Mobile Session Tracking

Session analytics are fully accessible on mobile devices. Review your performance breakdown between sessions, check which sessions are working, and adjust your trading schedule from anywhere.

Start Trading with Session Awareness

The moment you start thinking in sessions instead of "all day trading," your performance will improve. You'll stop forcing trades during your weak hours. You'll double down on your strong hours. You'll build a trading schedule that actually works instead of hoping more screen time equals more profit.

Session analysis isn't just about data—it's about self-awareness. It's about accepting you don't have to be good at everything. Pick your session. Dominate it. Ignore the rest.

Next Steps

• Trade Journal - Learn how trades are automatically categorized by session
• Analytics & Reports - See all session metrics in comprehensive reports
• Trading Psychology - Understand how emotions vary by session
• Dashboard - Monitor session performance in real-time