Short-term strategy terms, defined fast
Short, jargon-free definitions for the words used across these lessons.
The words used across these lessons
Short-term trade
A position opened to capture one quick move over minutes to a few days, then closed - faster than a swing trade, and a different discipline from an investment.
Short-term trading strategy
The written rule set that decides which fast moves to take, how large to size them, and where to exit, applied the same way every time so the results can be measured.
Intraday
Opened and closed inside a single session, carrying no overnight risk; the fastest short-term clock works inside a 0 to 60 minute window.
Mean reversion
The tendency of a price stretched far from a typical level to snap back toward it; the engine behind most short-term strategies.
Entry rule
The exact, pre-decided level or condition at which a strategy opens a position, rather than a vague 'around here'.
Stop
The pre-decided level that admits the idea was wrong and closes the trade to cap the loss, fixed before the fast clock can rattle you out of it.
Target
The pre-decided level at which the expected snap-back is judged complete and profit is taken on plan rather than on nerve.
Position sizing
Choosing how much of the account a single trade may risk, so no one fast loser can do outsized damage.
Conviction grade
An A-to-D label marking how strong a call is relative to its own model's measured return distribution; there is no E grade.
Drawdown
The deepest peak-to-trough fall in an account or strategy over a period - a more honest read on fast-clock risk than the headline return.
Win rate
The share of trades that closed profitably - meaningful only with the total trade count and the average loss shown beside it.
Cryptographic timestamp
A hash of a call written to a public ledger at release, proving the entry, target, stop and grade existed in that exact form before the move resolved.
Systematic strategy
A strategy whose rules are fixed in advance and applied mechanically, so its record reflects the rules rather than the trader's mood on a fast day.