# Block 00b — Process foundations: anti-patterns

**Status:** ✓ done
**Phase:** Phase 1 (Process foundations, prerequisite for all trade-construction blocks)
**Inserted:** 2026-06-30 (Block 009 dialogue restructure)

## Topic scope

The 7 standard discretionary macro anti-patterns per `00-methodology/anti-patterns.md`:

1. **No invalidation** — entering a trade without defining the fact that kills it
2. **Averaging down a loser** — adding to a position that's moving against you because the entry "feels right"
3. **Moving the stop** — adjusting the stop loss further away to give the trade "more room"
4. **Narrative without pricing** — having a coherent macro story that the market isn't paying you for
5. **Confusing activity with progress** — taking trades to feel like you're working, without edge
6. **Position size drift** — gradually increasing size on similar setups until one loss is catastrophic
7. **FOMO / late-cycle entry** — entering after a move has happened because you don't want to miss it

For each: what it looks like, why it feels right, why it's wrong, replacement behavior.

## Why this block is at the START of Phase 1

Anti-patterns are the *failure modes* of the trade lifecycle. They show up in every trade block from 001 onwards. Calibration 2026-06-21 marked "Process — anti-patterns" as **Weak** (the file `anti-patterns.md` didn't exist at calibration time; created 2026-06-21 v0.1 with the 7 standard anti-patterns). The user has read the file but hasn't drilled the patterns as recognition + replacement behavior.

## Plan

_(Filled at session close of prior block, per 2026-06-23 convention.)_

## Session 11 (2026-07-02) — completion summary

**Pre-block probe (recall, plain text):** 5/7 patterns named cold. Gaps: #2 averaging down, #3 moving the stop. Doc vocabulary mapped (e.g., "not using trade invalidation" → #1 no invalidation; "view without pricing" → #4 narrative without pricing).

**TEACH step (sticky-note compression):** Walked all 7 patterns. For each: name, mechanism, why seductive, why wrong, replacement behavior. Compression target: one-line name + one-line check. Distinction flagged: prohibitions work when discipline is available; positive questions (e.g., "what is the market pricing?") are decision-frameworks that work when discipline is depleted.

**Anchor walk (3 open positions, plain text):**
- **GC-S:** Anti-patterns #6 (position size drift) + #4 (narrative without pricing). Size 250bp/trade = 3.3x framework ceiling. *Reframed: size is pre-process (framework not yet defined at entry), not current drift. The current question is whether to resize, trim, or tighten stop — three explicit options in management log. Pricing-gap articulation (TIPS + DXY) carried to Block 00b close as next-session deliverable.*
- **SLV-S:** Anti-patterns #6 (size drift) + #5 (confusing activity with progress — tag-along on GC, not independent dispersion thesis). High correlation (ρ ≈ 0.7–0.9) means combined bp/trade ≈ sum of legs. *Three reframe options: dispersion trade (GC long / SLV short), combined-leg position with single invalidation, or close SLV. Decision deferred to next session.*
- **QQQ-S:** Anti-patterns #1 (no invalidation) + #4 (narrative without pricing). §6 invalidation loose ("Fed turns dovish or wars accelerate"). *Reframed: pre-process artifact (Block 00a not yet taught at entry). Forward action: rewrite trade doc with rubric when Block 00c closes — not a current anti-pattern, deferred rewrite exercise.*

**Verification gate (4 probes, all plain text, no countdown):**
- Probe 1 (cold 7-pattern list): 7/7. Vocabulary aligned with doc. Both gaps from pre-block probe closed.
- Probe 2 (pre-trade checks): 7/7 patterns addressed. Form is prohibitions; tightening observation noted (positive-form questions for willpower-depleted state) — not a re-take, presentation observation only.
- Probe 3 (3-position audit): see anchor walk above. Two management-log entries drafted (GC, SLV), QQQ deferred as pre-process artifact.
- Probe 4 (quarterly audit protocol): structured. Sources: management-log spine (mandatory) + journal/research periphery (read on cluster signal). Entry schema: `<YYYY>-<MMDD>-<#>` ID + date + trade + pattern tags + source + status. Output: table + aggregations (rate by week, distribution by pattern, avg time-in-trade to pattern emergence, patterns-per-trade distribution). Process-change triggers: recurrence 3+/quarter, severity (single instance → -5% book), process-doc gap. Cadence: calendar quarterly, action list conditional on findings.

**Anki cards generated (Session 11 add-on):** 7 atomic cards on the gold pricing-vs-narrative point per user mid-session request. Pushed via AnkiConnect (deck convention, port 6565) to `Macro Study::Phase 1 — Components::Process`. Tag: `anti-pattern-4 gold-pricing block-00b`. Note IDs: 1782975741400 → 1782975742086. Atomic breakdown: concept (1, 4), mechanism (2), structure (3), catalysts (5), second-leg role (6), reverse operational contrast (7). Convention check: AnkiConnect used, no manual .apkg — per study-program/README.md.

**Status transition: Process — anti-patterns Untested → Working.**

**Carry-forward to Block 00c + post-block exercise:**
- **GC-S pricing-gap articulation** (TIPS + DXY, X→Y structure, Y > X test) — to be addressed in next session before Block 00c closes. If gap can be articulated, gold trade gets live-thesis upgrade; if not, trade remains a "view that happened to work" in management log.
- **SLV-S reframe decision** (dispersion / combined-leg / close) — before Block 00c so the open-risk figure going into drawdown-protocol territory is correct.
- **QQQ-S rubric rewrite** — deferred to post-Block 00c exercise session (3 trades queued: GC → SLV → QQQ). Pre-process framing means no anti-pattern stamp; rewrite is process-upgrade not remediation.

## Verification gate

- All 7 anti-patterns can be named cold
- For each: a recent trade (or imagined one) where it could have applied
- For each: the replacement behavior articulated as a concrete pre-trade check
- Quarterly process audit structure per process.md §5: how to check yourself for these patterns

## Carry-forward to next block

_(Filled at session close.)_