If there’s one thing I want from my trading in 2026, it’s consistency. Not a lucky week, not a
one-off home run, just repeatable decisions that I can make in real time without second guessing myself.
That’s why I keep coming back to two setups that fit how the market trades right now, Opening Range Breakouts (ORBs) and INMERELOS (IMLS). I’ll show you how I think about them from the daily chart down to the 5-minute chart, and how I manage them once I’m in.
Why consistency wins in trading
I was looking at the last seven days of action, and the NASDAQ 100 (NDX) has been doing what I love most, moving in a steady way. Up nearly 2 percent, up over 1 percent, up around a quarter percent, then up over a percent again today (January 2, 2026). It’s not flashy, it’s just steady.
That steady action is also how I want to trade.
If you think about your favorite sports team, the player you trust most is usually the one who shows up every game. That’s what I’m chasing in 2026.
Here’s what “consistent” means in my own process:
- Consistent setups: I focus on ORBs and IMLs most days.
- Consistent stock selection: I want the right names, the ones showing relative strength.
- Consistent execution: similar sizing, similar stops, similar management rules.
I’m trying to do the same things, in the same way, over and over.
Intraday relative strength is the main thing I’m hunting
When I’m picking trades, I’m always asking one question: is this stock stronger than the market right now?
I care about relative strength across multiple time frames:
- Daily chart relative strength heading into the session
- 5-minute relative strength during the setup
- Ongoing intraday relative strength after I’m in the trade
The market is packed with algorithms, and that changes the “feel” of price action. For me, it also makes one thing stand out even more, strong stocks keep acting strong. Weak stocks keep acting weak.
On the daily chart, I pay close attention to three moving averages because so many traders and systems react to them:
- 10-day EMA
- 21-day EMA
- 50-day SMA
When those averages start clustering and price tightens up around them, I pay attention.
A simple way I screen a chart before I even think about an entry:
- Price contraction near key daily moving averages (10, 21, 50).
- Sideways action while the index is weak (the stock refuses to break down).
- Confirmation on the 5-minute chart (clean strength right at the moment of the setup).
I also use a relative strength line tool in TradingView. If you want it, it’s published here: my free RS line indicator for TradingView.
Setup 1: Opening Range Breakouts (ORB)
An ORB is one of the cleanest ways to trade momentum early in the day. For me, it starts with one key data point, the first 5-minute candle.
The stock I walked through was FLNC (Fluence Energy), and it’s a great example of how the daily chart and the 5-minute chart can line up.
FLNC ORB: what I want to see on the daily chart first
Before I care about the first 5 minutes of the session, I want the daily chart to look “ready.”
On FLNC, I saw:
- Consolidation on the daily chart
- Tight action around a cluster of key moving averages (10-day EMA, 21-day EMA, 50-day SMA)
- A stock that can move, with a strong average daily range (ADR)
One of my favorite tells was the contrast on December 31.
FLNC printed a small, doji-like day around the 50-day area. On its own, that doesn’t look dramatic. But when I compared it to SPY on the same day, SPY printed an ugly bar that pushed down through key levels with heavy movement.
That contrast matters.
A stock that can go sideways and hold its ground while the index is getting hit is already showing me something. It’s not about the stock ripping higher yet. It’s about the stock refusing to break.
That’s a big part of my approach: relative strength often shows up before absolute strength.
FLNC ORB: the first 5-minute candle and the entry trigger
Now the session opens (January 2, 2026). I’m watching that first 5-minute candle.
What I liked about FLNC right out of the gate:
- It opened near the low of the bar
- It had a small shakeout-style lower tail (buyers stepping in)
- It pushed up and closed on the high of the candle
It couldn’t have closed much stronger.
At the same time, SPY was not doing the same thing. SPY was trading more like an inside situation early, while FLNC was pushing through the prior day’s high and reclaiming overhead levels.
My basic ORB plan is simple:
- Entry: buy through the high of the first 5-minute candle
- Stop: below the low of the first 5-minute candle (or a nearby level that matches the setup)
That’s the easy part.
The hard part is what I do after I’m in.
FLNC trade management: I hold stronger stocks longer
Once I’m in a trade, my goal is not to micromanage. My goal is to stay with strength and get out when the stock starts giving clear weakness.
A big tool I use for intraday management is the 5-minute 6 EMA. When a stock is trending well intraday, it often respects that line. When it loses it and keeps losing it, that’s a sign the move is fading.
I also pay attention to MACD as a supporting tool. It’s not the reason I enter, but it can help confirm the strength is still there.
Here’s what stood out as FLNC pushed higher:
- It kept making new highs of day while the index was struggling at its own highs
- Breakouts happened with increased volume
- Pullbacks stayed controlled, often holding above that intraday moving average
At one point, SPY attempted a high of day break and printed a “supply shoot” type candle (a push up that failed). When I see that kind of failure on the index, I watch my stock even more closely. FLNC stayed strong anyway, which is exactly what I want.
Using 20-day ADR percent as a “fuel tank”
This is a big part of my exit thinking.
I look at a stock’s 20-day ADR percent and I measure the intraday move from low of day to high of day (I ignore gaps for this). In my head, that ADR number is the fuel tank size.
In FLNC, the 20-day ADR was roughly around 10 percent. During the move, FLNC pushed to about 12 percent from low to high intraday, so it had already exceeded its typical daily travel.
That doesn’t mean it must reverse, it just tells me the stock has already run hard. It’s used a lot of its fuel.
So what becomes the exit signal?
For me, one clean rule is:
- Back-to-back closes below the 5-minute 6 EMA after the stock is extended and has hit or exceeded its ADR
That’s often the point where the trend for the session is done. The stock isn’t “bad,” it’s just out of fuel for the day.
Stock character matters (how far it can run on a big day)
Another thing I like to check is the stock’s history on big up days. On FLNC, I looked back and saw prior big up days in the rough range of 10 percent, 11 percent, 16 percent, and 18 percent. That gives me a feel for what’s normal when FLNC really gets going.
It’s not a prediction, it’s context.
If the stock is already up around its typical “big day” range and it starts losing trend support, I’m not interested in chasing. I’d rather take the clean trade and move on.
A quick word on Apple and why I manage more tightly
I also pulled up Apple because it showed something I see a lot now.
Apple opened, pushed up, looked strong, then rolled over hard. That kind of “go, go, go, then fade” action is common in an algo-heavy tape.
When I see that, it pushes me toward being more of an intraday trader. I’m fine holding a runner if it’s acting right, but I don’t want to sit through a full round trip.
So for a name like Apple on a day like that, repeated closes under an intraday moving average is enough for me to step aside.
The tools I use to spot and manage these setups
I’m not trying to clutter my charts. I want a few tools that I can apply the same way each day.
What shows up again and again in my trading:
- Daily moving averages (10 EMA, 21 EMA, 50 SMA) to frame the bigger picture
- 5-minute 6 EMA (and sometimes the 5-minute 21 EMA) to manage the trend
- 20-day ADR percent to judge how far the stock has already traveled
- Volume to confirm the breakout attempts
- Relative strength versus SPY or QQQ to keep me focused on leaders
If you want the platforms I use, here are the resources I shared:
Here’s a quick checklist format I like using before I take an ORB or IML:
| Check | Yes/No |
|---|---|
| Daily relative strength vs index? | |
| Near key daily moving averages (10, 21, 50)? | |
| Clean setup candle (ORB or IML)? | |
| Volume supports the move? | |
| Holding above the 5-minute 6 EMA after entry? | |
| Room left in ADR “fuel tank”? |
Setup 2: IMLs (my “inside momentum long” style trade)
IMLs are more involved than ORBs because the setup is built from several pieces, not just the first 5 minutes.
The example I walked through was ONDS, and I showed two sessions where the pattern set up in a very similar way.
The core idea is simple: I want a stock that holds up while the index is weak, then turns up hard as pressure fades.
ONDS IML #1: the 10:10 setup and what happened before it
On the daily chart, ONDS was trading near the 10-day EMA and 21-day EMA area. That proximity matters because those areas often act like decision points.
Intraday, the timing was around 10:10, which can be an important part of the morning when momentum names start showing their hand.
In the 15 minutes leading into the setup:
- QQQ printed three red bars in a row, pushing down toward low of day and key support
- ONDS did not mirror that weakness, it showed more controlled action and then a strong reversal-style candle
Two relative strength tells stood out:
- ONDS was closer to high of day while QQQ was pressing low of day
- ONDS had a stronger look on momentum tools (MACD behavior supported the strength)
My entry plan on this type of IML candle:
- Entry: through the high of the IML trigger bar
- Stop option 1: below the low of the trigger bar (tighter risk, around 1.5 percent in this case)
- Stop option 2: low of day (wider risk, around 3 percent in this case)
I choose based on the stock’s behavior and whether I’m treating it as a pure day trade or leaving room for more.
ONDS IML #1: managing the trade after entry
Once I’m in, I go bar by bar. I’m not trying to predict the top. I’m watching for a change in character.
What I want to see after entry:
- The stock stays above the 5-minute 6 EMA
- Pullbacks are shallow
- Breaks to new highs happen with volume
In ONDS, once QQQ stopped pushing down and started drifting sideways, ONDS broke to new highs of day with a clear volume pop. That’s a clean “pressure is off, leader goes” look.
Then the ADR “fuel tank” idea shows up again.
ONDS ran from low of day to high of day about 11.6 percent, which was roughly in line with its 20-day ADR percent. Around that point, it printed a large volume bar and a supply shoot type candle near the highs.
That’s the type of spot where I start protecting gains. The stock often starts stalling because it’s already made its main move for the session.
ONDS IML #2: the next session was a repeat
The next day, ONDS set up in almost the same way, around the same time.
What I saw before the IML:
- QQQ was pushing down again below the 5-minute 6 EMA, MACD looked bearish
- ONDS was building a higher low and reclaiming the intraday average
- The trigger candle closed strong, right near the high
Again, ONDS was positioned far better versus QQQ in terms of where it sat relative to high of day and low of day.
After entry, it pushed up hard, then printed another supply shoot after running beyond its ADR range, around 12 percent versus an ADR closer to 11 percent.
That “ADR max plus supply shoot” combination is something I take seriously. It often marks the point where the easy part of the move is over.
ORB vs IML: how I think about the difference
ORBs are cleaner because the setup is anchored to that first 5-minute candle.
IMLs take more reading because I’m judging strength:
- Before the setup candle
- At the setup candle
- After the setup candle (that’s trade management)
Both setups work best when the stock is strong on the daily chart and keeps proving it intraday.
Building my 2026 playbook (and keeping it simple)
I like the idea of a trading playbook, and one book that stuck with me is The PlayBook by Mike Bellafiore at SMB Capital. The point is to know what you trade best, then do more of that.
For me, ORBs and IMLs are the core. I also like trigger bars, shakeout demand moves, and gap-down reversal-style bars, but ORBs and IMLs are what I come back to most often.
When I’m in the right stock, these tend to be the trades where a small group of winners can drive a large chunk of performance. The best ones keep showing strength, and I just stay out of their way.
“Stocks will give you a signal to get in, and they’ll give you a signal to get out.” I still trade with that idea in mind.
If you want to follow along with how I structure my days, my membership community is here: JackCorsellis.com membership and trading community. If you want the practice framework I use, I also shared this: deliberate practice and return simulation Google Sheet template.
Conclusion
My goal for 2026 is simple, show up and trade the same way every day, with a tight focus on relative strength. ORBs keep me disciplined early in the session, and IMLs give me a structured way to buy strength after pressure fades. The 5-minute 6 EMA and 20-day ADR percent help me stay in the move, then step out when the stock has already run. If you take one thing from this, let it be this, trade what you can repeat.