Hi everybody — JD here with your Rational Trader market outlook.

In today’s video:

We’re coming off the Memorial Day weekend, which gave me time to reflect on something I’ve been trading all month: a recurring pattern that reminds me a lot of those Magic Eye posters from the ‘90s.

You remember those, right? You’d stare at a page of visual noise, and suddenly a 3D dolphin or a spaceship would pop into focus. Most people couldn’t see it. But once you did? It was hard to unsee.

Trading is a little like that.

The Pattern I’m Seeing Everywhere

When you trade as often as I do — looking for 20–30 basis points per day using a rules-based strategy — you start to recognize repeatable structures in the market.

And recently, I’ve been seeing this specific pattern over and over again.

I don’t have a formal name for it, but here’s the gist: the market gives you a level that acts like a flatline. It doesn’t seem important at first, but everything starts gravitating toward it — like a price magnet.

There’s no big news event. No dramatic volume spike. Just this quiet, persistent behavior: the market keeps drifting back toward that level.

That’s where I strike.

I wait for a brief move away — an overreaction, often driven by algos or retail — and I fade it. I get in on the wrong-footed move and ride it back to the “magnet.”

This style of trading isn’t about big wins. It’s about consistent edges. It’s not uncommon for me to be in and out with 25 basis points in 30 minutes. That may sound small, but stack enough of those in a structured system, and you build something durable.

I call that structure the Money Fortress.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Lately, we’ve been in a market that looks bullish on the surface — but underneath, there’s fragility. A few stocks are doing the heavy lifting, while most names are chopping sideways or rolling over.

That’s when these flatline patterns become even more powerful. When volatility is low and narratives aren’t dominating the tape, price action reveals more than the headlines do.

Some traders sit out on days like this. I press in — but with rules. With small size. With a clear plan.

That’s why this approach has kept me sane and profitable all May long.

Talk soon,
—JD
The Rational Trader

P.S. Geof Smith tells us gold’s entering its next Historic Supercycle.