In a live Trader Roundup discussion, Michael explains that traders should start with one micro contract to minimize leverage, desensitize themselves to losses, and remove urgency around needing the first trade to win. He recommends deliberately taking an initial micro trade (even by flipping a coin) with a defined stop to experience that “baptism of fire,” then reflecting on emotions, accountability pressures (often toward spouses or others), and adopting the mindset of running one’s trading like a business (CEO/CFO/HR), focusing on risk control and process over outcomes. He compares small trading losses to everyday spending and emphasizes that controlling drawdown prevents account “hemorrhaging” and builds confidence.

Multiple traders share experiences: Joe (22, Morocco) trades the opening range gap and first-presented fair value gaps (targeting 50%) with a claimed ~70% win rate but struggles with emotional control when seeing red P/L; a participant suggests hiding P/L on TradingView, and Joe says trading micros helped him stop rushing payouts and improved consistency. Alex (26) describes using first presentations, quadrants, inversions, and “footholds,” and says sizing down to micros helped him get funded after struggling and seeing others’ fast payouts. Zazu (19, Tunisia) recounts severe anxiety with prop firm pressure, blowing an account quickly, then reducing size, detaching from outcomes, using isolation, self-talk, walks/runs, and listening to ICT spaces to manage emotions; he expresses gratitude for ICT’s impact on his life.

Other speakers reinforce themes: a trader from the Dominican Republic describes repeatedly blowing prop accounts with minis and improving by simplifying, detaching from money, discipline, gym activity, and faith; an Armenian-American from Los Angeles discusses journaling, backtesting, using market maker model context, first presentations, and grading wicks/imbalances; he asks about first presentations older than five days, and Michael explains the “5” lookback is to avoid clutter, but older first presentations can matter when aligned with session context and higher-timeframe dealing ranges and draw-on-liquidity logic. John asks why setups didn’t form cleanly this week; Michael cites a weekly doji near the weekly open, OPEX/theta burn, rangebound conditions, and reduced follow-through, advising fewer trades and waiting for higher-probability setups. He answers a question on the price delivery continuum as top-down alignment across timeframes using PD arrays. Papi Trades (33, in Paris) shares needing to return to work after prop firm struggles and asks about balancing work and trading; Michael advises building cash reserves (2–3 years), avoiding undercapitalization, and not rushing full-time trading. Another participant asks about “opposite” first presentations; Michael says he has not fully disclosed it and will cover it later.

Austin (38, South Carolina) shares a three-year journey and asks about aligning monthly/weekly/daily timing for larger expansions; Michael says such alignment exists but depends on market conditions, noting current unprecedented compression and advising trading within ranges rather than demanding highs/lows. Chartist asks about volume imbalances; Michael frames them as common gaps/inefficiencies often revisited and discusses time-based delivery behavior consistent with AMD. Dom asks how displacement relates to buying/selling pressure; Michael says displacement is a signal of algorithmic delivery and institutional participation rather than simple auction pressure.

Near the end, Michael rejects risking 20% of an account and addresses “six-figure months,” recommending building consistency by trading one micro for weeks (e.g., aiming for ~5% weekly), compounding over time, and warning that many claims of huge monthly income are exaggerated. He emphasizes discipline, repetition, and following a consistent model, and notes fundamentals are more useful as higher-timeframe context while intraday trading remains focused on inefficiencies and PD arrays. The session ends as Michael leaves for family time

In a live trading community conversation, a participant asks where the market-controlling “algorithm” is hosted (CME/NY4/NSA involvement). Michael (ICT) responds that no one can prove or tour a central location, says he personally doesn’t believe it’s in the United States, and argues the best “evidence” is repeated precision in price behavior at specific levels and times. He insists the algorithm is based on open/high/low/close, dismissing range bars, tick charts, Renko, and similar chart types, and says markets must be controlled to prevent collective speculation from destabilizing critical markets like treasuries.

The discussion touches on silver’s recent volatility as an example of the algorithm “turning up the dial” where attention is highest, and mentions possible future shifts in volatility depending on metals contract expirations and geopolitical events such as a war with Iran affecting energy prices. A participant speculates Switzerland; ICT says that would be “close,” references major settlement institutions, and notes Switzerland as a place where “high seats” are.

The conversation then shifts to community trade recap and mentorship topics: members discuss hitting bearish and bullish targets, unmitigated settlement prices, and ICT concepts across timeframes (including five-second and fifteen-second charts), with emphasis on higher-timeframe context like the weekly open and a weekly doji/compression on a Friday news/opex day.

Another speaker praises ICT’s earlier remarks about prop firms, arguing many traders become dependent on prop rules and affiliate marketing, and warns firms can change rules and deny payouts. ICT reiterates that traders should invest in themselves using free material, avoid chasing shiny promises from props/gurus/courses, backtest simple ideas like time-of-day highs/lows, and focus on understanding the repeating logic behind his PD arrays rather than seeking gimmicks or social-media validation.

He describes teaching as a legacy for his children, references trading with his son Cameron observing levels being hit in real time, and frames the community space as a supportive forum where traders share struggles and learn paths toward consistency.

Michael Huddleston (ICT):

– Personal update: Michael’s son Cody survived a life‑threatening motorcycle accident. Cody has improved, returned to work and plans to marry, but Michael and his family feel he’s “not quite himself” yet and may take months to fully recover.

– Parenting & priorities: The experience reinforced Michael’s focus on family. He plans to step away from public life (leaving Twitter Nov 11) to protect his family’s privacy and spend more time with his wife and kids.

– Community and gratitude: Michael praised the host’s inclusive trading community and expressed deep appreciation for students who apply his teachings. He values hearing how people use his work to improve lives and stresses “rise by lifting others.”

– Teaching philosophy: ICT frames his market work as a self‑improvement system as much as a trading method—training professional decision‑making, patience and character. He encourages students to find the combination of concepts that fit their personality.

– Practical trading guidance:
– Track and journal every trade; use performance data to build consistency.
– Start with a narrow, repeatable model (e.g., Silver Bullet setups) and master it before expanding.
– Use session timing, previous highs/lows, fair value gaps, PD arrays and liquidity concepts as core ingredients; apply them fractally across timeframes.
– Manage risk and money carefully; take small, consistent targets first (e.g., 5 handles/pips) and scale later.
– He highlighted a high‑probability market‑maker model (second‑stage re‑accumulation/redistribution) as a preferred, repeatable approach.

– Technical note: He discussed combining standard‑deviation measurements with fair‑value gaps and premium arrays to raise probability on targets; many of his specific fib/measurement refinements he keeps private.

– Mentorship & influences: Michael credits long mentors and peers (including M7) for helping him shift from impulsive, high‑risk trading to disciplined, data‑driven practice. He emphasizes community support for overcoming the psychological challenges of trading.

– Future plans: He’s writing books—three technical/teaching volumes and a fourth (fictionalized) side‑story to address skeptics—and intends to take a quieter, family‑focused life while still trading privately. He’ll keep existing content available but won’t remain publicly active.

– Charity work: He intends to scale impact through his Trader Roundup 501(c)(3), focusing on helping disadvantaged people.

– Family succession: Michael hopes his sons (especially Cameron) may carry elements of his work forward publicly; he’ll support them but wants them to build their own discipline and voice.

– Faith and personal testimony: Michael shared personal spiritual experiences that shaped his life and teaching; he acknowledges these may be hard for some to accept and offers a fictionalized book for those seeking that narrative angle.

Bottom line: The conversation blended personal vulnerability, gratitude, and family priorities with concrete trading mentorship: master one repeatable model, track performance rigorously, manage risk, lean on community, and put family first as he steps back from public teaching.

Quiz

1) According to ICT, which three words summarized the parenting theme he opened with?
A. Teach, Train, Triumph
B. Protect, Provide, Pride
C. Love, Guide, Shield
D. Listen, Learn, Lead

2) After the motorcycle accident ICT described, what change did his son make regarding motorcycles?
A. He wanted a faster bike and rode more.
B. He no longer wanted the bike or to ride again.
C. He switched to off-road riding only.
D. He insisted on always riding with friends.

3) What single practice did ICT emphasize as essential for beginners learning to trade?
A. Copying another trader’s every move
B. Trading with maximum leverage
C. Tracking, managing and logging your performance every trade
D. Focusing only on long-term investing

4) In ICT’s explanation, the “Silver Bullet” setup is primarily identified by what feature?
A. Large weekly reversal candles
B. A fair value gap on a very small timeframe during a brief one-sided run
C. Long-term moving average crossovers
D. Economic news releases only

5) If ICT had to pick one public model to trade for the rest of his life, which did he choose?
A. Mean reversion around Fibonacci levels
B. Market maker second-stage distribution (or second-stage reaccumulation) model
C. Breakout trading from long consolidations
D. Pure trend-following on daily charts

Answer key with evidence:

1) Answer: B. Protect, Provide, Pride
Evidence: “we’re talking traon we’re talking parenting was the beginning of the conversation and uh being a father and protect provide and pride” (0:00:00.199 – 0:00:20.920)

2) Answer: B. He no longer wanted the bike or to ride again.
Evidence: “long story short now he doesn’t want the bike he doesn’t want to restore it he never wants to get on it again” (0:07:41.240 – 0:07:48.280)

3) Answer: C. Tracking, managing and logging your performance every trade
Evidence: “the most important thing track manage log your performance every trade is a lesson because you’re going to lose a lot” (2:47:21.479 – 2:47:39.399)

4) Answer: B. A fair value gap on a very small timeframe during a brief one-sided run
Evidence: “Silver Bullet is just a way for me to describe a return to a very small insignificant piece of price action which is the fair value gap on a very very small time frame during a time when it’s going to run for 15 to 30 minutes minimum in one-sidedness in price delivery” (1:11:02.000 – 1:11:07.920)

5) Answer: B. Market maker second-stage distribution (or second-stage reaccumulation) model
Evidence: “if I had to just choose one model for the rest of my life … it would be the second stage distribution of a market maker sell model or second stage reaccumulation of a market maker buy model” (3:30:56.520 – 3:31:08.359)

Summary:

Overview: ICT gives practical, hard‑truth advice on becoming a professional trader—framing the early stage as an unpaid internship that requires disciplined, repetitive work (backtesting, tape‑reading, journaling) to build a repeatable, personality‑fit trading model and the mental edge to trade with real money.

Key points:
– Treat your early years like an internship: expect it to be thankless, slow, and largely unprofitable in cash terms while you develop skills and experience.
– Backtesting is mandatory: study past price action extensively (aim for meaningful sample sizes, e.g., 60+ days or more), log observations and identify repeating patterns that fit your temperament.
– Condition your perception: repetition trains your eye and confidence so setups “jump out” in real time—this is how professionals see edge.
– Start with one simple model that matches your life and personality; don’t try to trade everything at once. Iterate — your first model may not be your forever model.
– Tape‑reading and market replay come after backtesting; avoid jumping into live trading or demoing before you’ve built a robust, conditioned foundation.
– Be the CEO of your trading: write a trading plan and a business plan, set KPIs, SOPs and a schedule (daily/weekly routines). Treat trading like a business, not a hobby.
– Preserve capital and manage risk: impeccable risk and money management (small consistent edges, modest size) beat sporadic big wins. Consistency compounds wealth.
– Expect a long, steep learning curve: being a true professional typically means trading profitably as your primary income for multiple years; there are no shortcuts.
– Embrace boring, monotonous work: repetitive tasks (chart study, journaling) build competence; fall in love with the process, not instant gratification.
– Mindset & environment matter: forge discipline, prune time‑wasters, avoid toxic people, and surround yourself with supportive traders and educators who can prove they trade.
– Community value: peer support, honest feedback, and steady mentorship accelerate growth—be present, listen, take notes, and return to lessons.
– Final encouragement: it’s difficult but achievable. Persistent, disciplined practice yields confidence, freedom, and the potential to replace traditional employment.

Bottom line: Commit to disciplined, repetitive study and risk‑managed practice, treat trading as a business, and be patient—that’s how you become a professional trader.

Quiz

1) According to ICT, how should you treat your early years as a trader?
A. As a way to immediately make as much profit as possible
B. As development similar to an internship (work for experience)
C. As a time to focus only on live trading with real money
D. As a period to avoid backtesting and books

2) What minimum amount of backtesting days does ICT recommend as a baseline?
A. 7 days
B. 30 days
C. 60 days
D. 365 days

3) Which rule does ICT call the “number one tenant” for a professional trader?
A. Trade as often as possible
B. Preserve capital
C. Use maximum leverage to grow fast
D. Follow social media signals

4) How does ICT define a “professional trader” (his opinion)?
A. Someone who makes 50% of their income from trading for one year
B. Someone profitable on social media
C. Someone who can sustain themselves 100% from trading and has done so for at least three years
D. Someone who passes a funded account challenge

5) What daily backtesting routine does ICT suggest for developing skill (time and scope)?
A. Randomly check multiple markets whenever you have time
B. Spend 45 minutes every day backtesting one market, from weekly down to one-minute timeframes
C. Only backtest once a month for a full day
D. Spend 15 minutes on many pairs to diversify quickly

Answer key with evidence:

1) B. As development similar to an internship (work for experience)
Evidence: “before you can even begin thinking about being a professional Trader you have to treat your early years as development as something much like an internship” (0:01:44.579–0:01:52.020)

2) C. 60 days
Evidence: “but at least have 60 days worth of it … the minimum criteria” (0:26:18.659–0:26:31.260)

3) B. Preserve capital
Evidence: “you want to be a professional Trader the number one tenant is preserve capital that’s the first and foremost rule” (0:24:21.000–0:24:29.100)

4) C. Sustain themselves 100% from trading and have done so for at least three years
Evidence: “a professional Trader in my opinion you’re doing it at least three years or longer and it’s your 100 percent source of income” (0:34:40.679–0:34:48.540)

5) B. Spend 45 minutes every day backtesting one market, from weekly down to one-minute timeframes
Evidence: “can you set a schedule every day at this time I do 45 minutes of back testing on one market … I think that if you go from the weekly down to a one minute chart it should take you about 45 minutes” (0:41:12.300–0:41:20.339 and 0:41:36.300–0:41:42.240)