NewThe new curriculum, released class by class

ICT day-trading course for NQ futuresMake your mistakes on the replay,not on the account.

Everything you need in one place: 91 short lessons in 13 video classes of 90 minutes, from your first NQ chart to a prop‑firm payout.

Start learning nowWatch 5 free lessons

US$1,660One payment, lifetime access

xStarRiverInstructor · Founder of XSR2,000+ traderslearning in the XSR DiscordUS$156,004See the proofpaid out to our students

Curriculum

The whole ICT futures course, out in the open.

Eight chapters and thirteen classes of exactly 90 minutes, in the order you need them: where the orders sit, the marks they leave, when they act and which way, the models, risk, the prop-firm path and a live session. Every lesson is listed with its length.

8Chapters
13Classes of 90 min
91Lessons
19.5Hours of video

Released class by class, in order. Five lessons are free previews:

01Welcome: how the XSR course works02Why NQ: futures contracts, ticks and margin05Liquidity: who is on the other side of your trade30Killzones in Hong Kong time (and daylight saving)80How prop firms really work

Level 01 / 08

Chapter 01 · Basics

The contract, the clock, liquidity and structure

14 lessons, 3 h of video2 classes

Set up like a futures day trader: the NQ contract, the New York clock and candles read as ranges. Then the ideas everything else rests on: liquidity, the Power of Three, market structure, CISD and the expected value that keeps an account alive.

Class 1 · 90 minHow the market really moves

Recording
  1. Lesson 1Welcome: how the XSR course works · Lesson · Free8 min
  2. Lesson 2Why NQ: futures contracts, ticks and margin · Lesson · Free15 min
  3. Lesson 3Your chart: New York time, CME candles and templates · Lesson12 min
  4. Lesson 4A candle is a range: OHLC, wicks and candles inside candles · Lesson15 min
  5. Lesson 5Liquidity: who is on the other side of your trade · Lesson · Free15 min
  6. Lesson 6The Power of Three: accumulation, manipulation, distribution · Lesson15 min
  7. Lesson 7Expected value: win rate × R, and why XSR aims for 2R · Lesson10 min

Class 2 · 90 minLiquidity, structure and CISD

Recording
  1. Lesson 8Buy-side and sell-side liquidity: where the stops sit · Lesson12 min
  2. Lesson 9Raid or break: the close decides · Lesson12 min
  3. Lesson 10Market structure: swing points, BOS, MSS and displacement · Lesson20 min
  4. Lesson 11CISD: the change in state of delivery · Lesson12 min
  5. Lesson 12Internal and external liquidity: the draw on liquidity · Lesson12 min
  6. Lesson 13Inducement and the Judas swing: the fake move comes first · Lesson10 min
  7. Lesson 14Drill: mark liquidity, structure and CISD on three NQ days · Drill12 min

Level 02 / 08

Chapter 02 · PD Arrays

Gaps, blocks and the dealing range

14 lessons, 3 h of video2 classes

Read what a fast move leaves behind: the fair value gap and its CE, inversions, balanced price ranges, volume imbalances and opening gaps. Then find where the orders were placed (order blocks, breakers, mitigation and rejection blocks) and frame each one inside the dealing range with premium, discount and OTE.

Class 3 · 90 minImbalances: the FVG family

Recording
  1. Lesson 15Displacement and the fair value gap: why price comes back · Lesson15 min
  2. Lesson 16Consequent encroachment: reading the 50% · Lesson10 min
  3. Lesson 17Inversion FVG: when support becomes resistance · Lesson15 min
  4. Lesson 18Balanced price range: the gap that is already paid for · Lesson10 min
  5. Lesson 19Volume imbalances and liquidity voids · Lesson12 min
  6. Lesson 20Opening gaps: NDOG, NWOG and the opening range gap · Lesson13 min
  7. Lesson 21Drill: grade ten gaps (respected, inverted or ignored?) · Drill15 min

Class 4 · 90 minBlocks and the dealing range

Recording
  1. Lesson 22Order blocks: the last opposing candle · Lesson15 min
  2. Lesson 23Breakers and mitigation blocks: when a block fails · Lesson15 min
  3. Lesson 24Rejection blocks and the wick's CE · Lesson12 min
  4. Lesson 25The dealing range: premium, discount and equilibrium · Lesson12 min
  5. Lesson 26OTE and standard deviations: entries and targets from one fib · Lesson14 min
  6. Lesson 27The PD array matrix: which array matters, and when · Lesson10 min
  7. Lesson 28Drill: build tomorrow's PD array map · Drill12 min

Level 03 / 08

Chapter 03 · Time & Bias

When to trade, and which way

14 lessons, 3 h of video2 classes

Trade when the algorithm is active, and know the direction before the open. Learn the New York clock, killzones in Hong Kong time, session liquidity, the Silver Bullet, macros and news days. Then work out daily bias, daily and weekly profiles, SMT and the ADR, and put them into one pre-market checklist.

Class 5 · 90 minTime: the trading clock

Recording
  1. Lesson 29The New York clock: midnight, 8:30 and 9:30 opens · Lesson12 min
  2. Lesson 30Killzones in Hong Kong time (and daylight saving) · Lesson · Free12 min
  3. Lesson 31Session liquidity: what New York does with Asia and London · Lesson13 min
  4. Lesson 32The Silver Bullet: three one-hour windows · Lesson13 min
  5. Lesson 33Macros: ICT's 20–30-minute windows · Lesson10 min
  6. Lesson 34The opening range and the first presented FVG · Lesson12 min
  7. Lesson 35News days: CPI, NFP, FOMC and the PO3 around them · Lesson18 min

Class 6 · 90 minBias: the day and the week

Recording
  1. Lesson 36Top-down: from the weekly to the 1-minute in one pass · Lesson12 min
  2. Lesson 37Daily bias from yesterday's candle · Lesson12 min
  3. Lesson 38Daily profiles: London reversal, New York reversal, New York manipulation · Lesson12 min
  4. Lesson 39Weekly profiles and TGIF: when the week's high or low forms · Lesson18 min
  5. Lesson 40SMT divergence: NQ against ES and YM · Lesson12 min
  6. Lesson 41Average daily range: how far can today go? · Lesson9 min
  7. Lesson 42Lab: the XSR pre-market checklist · Lab15 min

Level 04 / 08

Chapter 04 · ICT Models

Five classic models, taught exactly, then tested

7 lessons, 1 h 30 min of video1 class

Assemble the pieces into rules you can follow: the 2022 model, the Silver Bullet, Turtle Soup, the Unicorn and the Market Maker Buy and Sell Models. Each one comes with an entry, a stop, a target and the conditions that cancel it.

Class 7 · 90 minThe ICT playbook

Recording
  1. Lesson 43What makes a model: win rate, R and frequency · Lesson8 min
  2. Lesson 44The 2022 model: raid, displacement, FVG · Lesson15 min
  3. Lesson 45The Silver Bullet setup · Lesson12 min
  4. Lesson 46Turtle Soup 1 and 2: the reversal and the continuation · Lesson15 min
  5. Lesson 47The Unicorn: breaker plus FVG · Lesson10 min
  6. Lesson 48Market Maker Buy and Sell Models (MMXM) · Lesson20 min
  7. Lesson 49Drill: one model, ten replays · Drill10 min

Level 05 / 08

Chapter 05 · XSR Models

The XSR CISD Model and the house intraday models

23 lessons, 4 h 30 min of video3 classes

The house playbook, rule by rule. Two classes on the XSR CISD Model (TTFM): the CME 4-hour candle sequence, the CISD that confirms it, the IC-CISD entry and a year of NQ evidence. Then timeframe alignment, playbooks and time of day. Last, XSR's intraday models: the XSR Breakout Model (the old 15-minute MSB), the XSR Wick Model (three 1-minute wicks), the IDM and Breaker models, and volume-imbalance entries.

Class 8 · 90 minXSR CISD Model I: the candle sequence

Recording
  1. Lesson 50Where the model comes from, and the 4-hour grid · Lesson8 min
  2. Lesson 51Candle 2: a closure, or a continuation candle · Lesson12 min
  3. Lesson 52Candle 3 closure: when candle 4 becomes the trade · Lesson10 min
  4. Lesson 53CISD inside candle 2: wick first, body second · Lesson12 min
  5. Lesson 54The intracandle CISD (IC-CISD) entry · Lesson12 min
  6. Lesson 55Stops and targets: the wick, the protected swing, 2R · Lesson12 min
  7. Lesson 56Trading candle 2, 3 or 4: the ideal formation · Lesson14 min
  8. Lesson 57What a year of NQ says · Lesson10 min

Class 9 · 90 minXSR CISD Model II: alignment and playbooks

Recording
  1. Lesson 58Timeframe alignment: which chart times which candle · Lesson12 min
  2. Lesson 59Playbooks: scalp, intraday and swing timeframe sets · Lesson13 min
  3. Lesson 60Trade with the bias: daily bias and weekly profile first · Lesson12 min
  4. Lesson 61Targets: internal and external liquidity, projections · Lesson12 min
  5. Lesson 62Time of day: when the model works best · Lesson10 min
  6. Lesson 63Management: fixed, trailed, or out at the candle close · Lesson10 min
  7. Lesson 64The checklist, trade by trade · Lesson8 min
  8. Lesson 65Lab: your first 20 CISD replays · Lab13 min

Class 10 · 90 minXSR intraday models

Recording
  1. Lesson 66The XSR Breakout Model: the 15m swing and the 1m MSS · Lesson15 min
  2. Lesson 67The XSR Breakout Model: entry, stop and the two targets · Lesson15 min
  3. Lesson 68The XSR Wick Model: three wicks on the 1-minute · Lesson15 min
  4. Lesson 69The XSR IDM Model: inducement, then the second entry · Lesson12 min
  5. Lesson 70The Breaker model: the 9:30–11:30 retest · Lesson11 min
  6. Lesson 71Volume-imbalance entries: the four-step rapid fill · Lesson10 min
  7. Lesson 72Drill: which model is this? · Drill12 min

Level 06 / 08

Chapter 06 · Risk & Mindset

Size it, survive it, review it

7 lessons, 1 h 30 min of video1 class

Size every trade in R, put the stop where the idea is wrong, manage winners with partials and trailing stops, survive the losing streak, and keep the journal that turns losses into lessons.

Class 11 · 90 minRisk, management and review

Recording
  1. Lesson 73Position sizing in R: contracts, ticks and dollars · Lesson12 min
  2. Lesson 74Stops and invalidation for any model · Lesson12 min
  3. Lesson 75Targets and partials: liquidity, standard deviations, 2R · Lesson12 min
  4. Lesson 76Managing the trade: fixed, trailed or timed · Lesson12 min
  5. Lesson 77Drawdown maths: surviving the losing streak · Lesson12 min
  6. Lesson 78Trading psychology: rules over feelings · Lesson15 min
  7. Lesson 79Lab: the journal and the weekly review · Lab15 min

Level 07 / 08

Chapter 07 · Prop Firm Playbook

From evaluation to payout

7 lessons, 1 h 30 min of video1 class

Turn the method into a payout. Learn how prop firms make money and decode the rulebook (trailing drawdown, daily loss, consistency). Then choose a firm, size an evaluation plan from the drawdown, and run funded accounts through to payouts.

Class 12 · 90 minFrom evaluation to payout

Recording
  1. Lesson 80How prop firms really work · Lesson · Free10 min
  2. Lesson 81The rulebook decoded: intraday vs end-of-day drawdown, daily loss, consistency · Lesson18 min
  3. Lesson 82Choosing a firm with the XSR prop-firm hub · Lesson12 min
  4. Lesson 83Your evaluation plan: risk per trade from the drawdown · Lesson15 min
  5. Lesson 84Funded: payouts, buffers and safety nets · Lesson15 min
  6. Lesson 85Scaling: more contracts, more accounts, copy trading · Lesson10 min
  7. Lesson 86Lab: plan an evaluation in the prop budget calculator · Lab10 min

Level 08 / 08

Chapter 08 · Live

One real New York session, start to finish

5 lessons, 1 h 30 min of video1 class

Put it all together in real time. Prepare the session with your trading plan and the pre-market checklist, trade the New York open and the Silver Bullet hour, then debrief, sit the final assessment and earn the certificate.

Class 13 · 90 minThe live session

Recording
  1. Lesson 87Your trading plan and pre-market prep · Lesson12 min
  2. Lesson 88Live: the New York open · Live30 min
  3. Lesson 89Live: the Silver Bullet hour · Live30 min
  4. Lesson 90Debrief: journal and grade every decision · Lesson10 min
  5. Lesson 91Graduation: final assessment and certificate · Assessment8 min

08 floors, one building

Start at the bottom. Climb at your pace.

Every floor is a chapter, in the order you need it. The free lessons are open today; the whole building is one payment, for life.

Start learningUS$1,660Try the free lessons

Pricing

2,000+ traders
already on the journey.

One payment, access for life. Or start free, and open the course when you are ready.

Video course

All 13 classes at your own pace, with the labs and the certificate.

US$1,660one payment

  • All 91 lessons in 13 video classes of 90 minutes
  • 9 drills and labs in the XSR tools
  • Each new class as it is released, at no extra cost
  • A final assessment and a certificate anyone can verify
  • Every tool, without the free limits
  • Access that never expires
Get the video course

1-on-1 mentorship

The same course on your own charts, coached live, then followed up for life.

US$2,680one payment

  • Everything in the video course
  • 8 calls of 60 minutes: you watch the classes first, the call works on your charts
  • The last call live, at the New York open
  • Check-ins through your evaluation, reviews once you are funded
  • Then your journal reviewed by voice note and your questions answered, for life
  • 3 new students a month
Get 1-on-1 mentorship

Free account

US$0free, forever

  • Full Discord community access
  • Journal, prop-firm budget and backtest lab within free limits
  • The 5 free preview lessons, as they are released
  • The replay lab on this page
Create a free account

Pay once by card through Stripe, or in USDT. Access opens as soon as the payment is confirmed.

Only need the tools? Pro lifts the free limits for US$19 a month. Compare every plan

Meet xStarRiver.

Your instructor

XSR founder · ICT futures trader

xStarRiver on stage, presenting How I Started Day Trading
Presenting “How I Started Day Trading”

xStarRiver founded XSR. He made his first trade in October 2024 as a first-year university student, taught himself from YouTube, and inside three months had blown up his account and a bank loan with it.

He rebuilt from zero on ICT concepts and prop-firm risk rules, built the XSR strategy with a partner, and has taken more than US$200K in payouts since. Apex Trader Funding invited him to speak in Korea in July 2025, and that November he ran a trading seminar at HKUST.

On stage

With the Apex Trader Funding team in Korea, July 2025
Jul 2025Invited to speak in Korea
The seminar at HKUST, November 2025: a full lecture theatre
Nov 2025A seminar at HKUST
Read the full story

  • Trading since

    Oct 2024Self-taught from YouTube in my first year at uni

  • Total payouts

    US$200K+The first one: Topstep, Feb 2025

  • Talks

    Apex · HKUSTKorea, Jul 2025 · Hong Kong, Nov 2025

  • What I trade

    NQBTCUS stocksWith ICT at the core

Students

Their words, and the payouts behind them.

A few lines from the notes our students wrote to us, beside the payout certificates they sent in. All 9 notes and every proof are on the student feedback page.

Read all 9 notes and 31 payouts
Apex Trader Funding$2,000

Once I changed how I looked at it, the whole thing changed.

出金鳥菜VIP member · Discord

Trading isn't a gamble any more — it can have a strategy and risk control.

XSR memberInstagram · 2 months in

Someone who has done it answers your questions directly — you can't get that teaching yourself ICT.

XSR memberInstagram
Topstep$1,119

Lucky I was willing to take that first step.

XSR memberVIP member · Instagram

The students wrote in Cantonese; the lines are our translation, and every note links to the original.

How it works

Watch, practise, prove. Then certify.

Every lesson and every class runs the same loop, and nothing counts until it is proved. Prove it all, and the certificate issues itself.

  1. 01Watch itEvery lesson

    One idea per lesson

    Short lessons of up to about 20 minutes, in classes of exactly 90, released in order.

  2. 02Practise itEvery class

    In the XSR tools

    A drill or a lab in every class. The Backtest Lab checks your marks as you go; the replay missions are scored on the server.

  3. 03Prove itEnd of every lesson

    A check you can't bluff

    Every lesson ends in a short check, graded on the server against a key your browser never receives.

The same loop for all 91 lessons in 13 classes

04Certify itOnce, at the end

A certificate anyone can check

  1. Finish all 91 lessons
  2. Pass the final assessment
  3. Hold an average of 80% or more

Meet all three and it issues itself, with a unique code and a public page anyone can look up.

Verify a certificate

XSR Academy

Certificate of completion

Awarded to

Jordan Vale

for completing XSR Day Trading Course

Average 91%Distinction

Certificate code

XSR-2025-8K4P2M

Issued

02 Mar 2025

xStarRiver · Founder of XSRVerified

FAQ

Questions before you start

Straight answers on starting free, the course, the 1-on-1 and paying.

Getting started

Is it really free to start?

Yes. Creating an account opens the journal, the prop-firm budget, the strategy previews and the community straight away, with no card, and the five free preview lessons as they are released. You only pay for the whole course, its labs and the certificate.

Do I need a funded account to start?

No. Chapter 01 starts from zero, with the NQ contract, the New York clock and how to read a candle. The prop-firm chapter comes near the end, once you have a model to trade and a plan for the evaluation.

The course

Are the lessons videos?

Yes: 13 video classes of 90 minutes, cut into 91 short lessons of at most about 20 minutes each. They are being recorded now and released class by class, in order. A class opens for you the day it is published, at no extra cost.

Is the tick data real?

The replay missions replay a deterministic, seeded simulation of a futures session, built for training rather than taken from a live feed. That is deliberate: every learner sees exactly the same tape, so a score means the same thing for everyone, and any run can be replayed and checked on the server.

What does the certificate actually prove?

That you completed every lesson of the course, passed the server-graded checks and the final assessment, and held an 80% average. Each certificate carries a unique code and a public page anyone can check, and it can be revoked — so a valid one stays meaningful.

1-on-1

How does the 1-on-1 work?

  1. Before each call

    You watch the matching classes and send your homework the day before.

  2. 8 calls of 60 min

    Each works on your own charts. The last is live at the New York open (09:45–10:45 New York time).

  3. During your evaluation

    Four check-ins of 20 minutes.

  4. Once you are funded

    Two reviews of 30 minutes.

  5. For life

    Your journal reviewed by voice note, and your questions answered in a private channel.

We take 3 new students a month. Coaching is about your own process, never advice on what to buy or sell.

Paying and the fine print

How do I pay, and is it a subscription?

It is a single payment, not a subscription. Pay by card through Stripe — the processing fee is shown before you pay — or in crypto at the listed price. Access opens as soon as the payment is confirmed.

Is any of this investment advice?

No. Everything in the academy is education. Trading futures and other leveraged products carries a high risk of loss, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything.

Not answered here?

Ask us in the XSR Discord, or write to us.

Ask in the DiscordWrite to us