DefinitionTruth #2: 2s show direction; 2s going 3 show rejection. Price must trade in the direction of the most 2s: the direction with the most evidence.
If every timeframe is 2u, price is going up on all timeframes, so price must be going up: 2u month, 2u week, 2u day means up this month, up this week, and up today. Price must trade in the direction of the most 2s, the direction with the most evidence. However, the day and the 60 can override the week and the month for control today and right now.
Watch the count change: real chart
SPY, July 31 2025, hour by hour: real data aggregated up from the 60-minute stream. July is 2u, the week is 2u, and the day opens 2u: three 2u’s. But the day trades red while still 2u: a 2u red is a 2 going 3, and the rejection shows in the color before yesterday’s low ever breaks. The week’s 2u goes red too. When the low finally breaks, the day is a full 3, and a 3 counts as zero. Final count: UP 1, DOWN 2, with the day and 60 overriding the green month, and the next session gapped down to close at $621.72.
Count the 2s: real chart
From the course: price must trade in the direction of the most 2s and 2s going 3, across 4 or more timeframes. Counting is the whole method. Label the current bar of each timeframe; the majority of 2s is the direction of the majority of forced aggression.
MU, June 2 2026 at the close: real data, aggregated up from the 60-minute stream, each panel on its own scale. The month, week, day, and 60 have all taken out their prior bar’s high without taking its low: 2u on every timeframe. The most 2s point up, and the next day printed $1,089, June’s high. A unanimous count usually coincides with FTFC up, but FTFC is measured from the opens: the two are related, not identical.
A 2 is a completed act: a group that already broke an extreme. A 2u trading red (or a 2d trading green) is a 2 going 3: the rejection shows in the color before the other side even breaks. Once both sides are broken it is a full 3, and a 3 counts as zero: no directional evidence either way.
The chain of truths under Truth #2
Truth #2 has a sub-truth, and everything in timeframe analysis flows from it:
The opening price. The opening price of each timeframe cannot be disputed for direction. That is the universal truth of the opening price.
From the opening price come:
Full timeframe continuity (FTFC): the last sale on the same side of four aligned opens, the state where every participation group agrees.
Conflict: the opens split around the last sale; participation groups are forced in opposite directions.
Override: the Day and 60 agreeing overrides the Month for immediate control; the flip decides who keeps it.
Uncoupling: the first time the four opens separate (earliest: the second hour of Tuesday), and the timing rules that follow from it.
TheStrat was developed by Rob Smith. These docs are written by Alex Sopa (AlexsOptions) and quote his teaching. Work in progress: spotted an error? Tell Alex.
For AI agents: free TheStrat tools (MCP and REST) at thestrat.ai/agents.
Join Discord & Open #help-ticket:
TheStrat
Create a free account
TheStrat docs, the Playbook, and updates — one free account.