The Story
My buddy introduced me to the power of the opening range by showing me a strategy that worked on the Dow Jones (YM for futures traders & US30 for the Forex heads). It worked by activating once the Dow moved a certain distance after the market opened. It was a profitable trade.
Shortly after, my nephew told me about the Schoolhouse Trade, my first introduction to the ORB strategy. This lead me into a deep dive learning from Merci Trades, Lance B, and Masi Trades about the power of the opening range, the movement and power of those first seconds and minutes in the market. I watched those same traders make hundreds, thousands, and even millions using the power of the opening bell.
Fast forward and it is the key ingredient to my strategy! The ORB / Opening Range sets the tone of the market every NY Session across multiple stocks and futures indexes.
Why Structure at the Open Matters
The traders I studied didn’t all use ORB. Some worked with zones, some with custom levels, some with supply and demand. But they all had one thing in common: structure.
Every one of them came to the open with a plan. They knew their levels. They had if/then conditions. They had expectations for what the market could do and what they would do in response.
The open is too powerful to trade blind. Liquidity pours in. Volatility spikes. If you don’t have structure, you’ll get chopped up in the first thirty minutes. With structure, that same volatility becomes opportunity.
Why I Use ORB
I found ORB to be the simplest and most repeatable way to trade the open. While others built complex playbooks, ORB gave me one clear framework. The first 15 minutes form the range. When price moves and confirms beyond that range, I have my trade idea.
That doesn’t mean it’s the only way. Plenty of traders succeed with different models. But ORB is what gave me confidence, consistency, and a way to stay disciplined when the market is moving fast.
Practical Steps to Apply ORB
Here’s how to put ORB into practice:
Mark the Range: Identify the high and low of the first 15 minutes after the open.
Wait for Confirmation: Don’t chase moves inside the range. Let the market break and hold outside it.
Plan Your Risk: Use stops just inside the range to manage failed breakouts.
Target Momentum: Aim for a clean risk-to-reward (1:1, 1:2) or scale out into strength.
Stay Disciplined: One good trade on the opening move beats ten random entries all day.
Closing
I didn’t create ORB. I chose it because it gave me structure when I needed it most. The open will always be the most important part of the trading day. Without structure, it’s chaos. With it, it’s opportunity.
If you want to trade it with clarity, I’ve built tools to help. ORB Core is my free indicator that marks the opening range for you. ORB Pilot takes it further, giving you the tested rules I use every day. Both are available at bento.me/DustinTrades.