setup-recap

Whalor Setup Recap: August 11, 2026

6 resolved options setups, 4 profitable outcomes, 67% profitable, plus price action, alert rationale, and the complete contract-by-contract receipts.

Session price action

On August 11, 2026, the major indices experienced downward intraday pressure. $SPY opened at 774.53, traded in a range of 769.20 to 774.61, and closed at 770.39, representing a -0.53% decline from the open and finishing below its session VWAP of 771.64. Similarly, $QQQ opened at 723.29, traded between 715.50 and 723.35, and closed at 718.48 (-0.67% from the open, below its VWAP of 718.95). $IWM opened and closed at the exact same level of 300.93 (+0.00% from the open) after trading between 300.60 and 301.99, closing below its session VWAP of 301.23. Meanwhile, $AMD opened at 474.75, traded between 463.21 and 475.99, and closed at 473.68 (-0.23% from the open), notably closing above its session VWAP of 469.53.

Why the setups fired

The intraday price action triggered six setups across these assets. Early volatility triggered bullish opening drive reversals for $QQQ near 720.68 and $SPY near 773.62 as they attempted to reclaim initial washout levels. $IWM triggered a bullish 15-minute trend-supportive EMA pullback continuation near 301.91. As the indices weakened, bearish setups triggered: $QQQ fired a failed breakout breakdown trap near 720.18, and $SPY fired a bearish EMA pullback continuation near 772.49. Lastly, $AMD triggered a bullish prior day low reclaim near 470.67.

What the outcomes showed

Out of today's 6 resolved setups, 4 were profitable and 2 resulted in losses, representing a 66.7% win rate. The one-contract modeled P&L for the session was +$249, bringing the month-to-date record to 32 profitable setups out of 41 resolved (78.0% win rate) and +$1,903 in modeled P&L.

Today's bearish setups yielded the largest gains. The $QQQ $719 PUT and $SPY $772 PUT both reached +100% returns, reaching tracked peaks of +292% and +306% respectively. Two bullish setups also hit profit targets: the $QQQ $720 CALL and $AMD $480 CALL both gained +30% (with peaks of +33% and +32%). Conversely, the bullish $IWM $302 CALL and $SPY $774 CALL both stopped out at -65%. The average tracked peak across all setups was +110.5%.

What traders can learn

The session highlights the importance of aligning setup directions with intraday trend structures. The bearish index setups thrived as $SPY and $QQQ closed below their session VWAPs. In contrast, the bullish index setups on $SPY and $IWM resulted in maximum stop-outs. However, $AMD's relative strength—closing above its session VWAP—allowed its bullish setup to remain profitable. While tracked peaks show the extreme potential range of a move, they are not achievable exits. Maintaining disciplined risk parameters helped protect capital on failed setups while allowing the winning setups to run to their designated targets.

We invite you to review every setup and its stock-candle outcome replay in the Whalor app.

Month-to-date record

Through August 11, 2026, Whalor has recorded 32 profitable outcomes and 9 losses across 41 resolved setups (78.0% profitable). The one-contract modeled result is +1903 dollars under the published methodology below.

Every resolved setup

ContractSetupOutcomeReturnTracked peak
$QQQ $720 CALL · 2026-08-11opening_drive_reversal: opening_drive_washout_reversing / opening_drive_down_reclaim / 1m_opening_drive_reversal_reclaimPROFIT TAKEN+30%+33%
$IWM $302 CALL · 2026-08-11ema_pullback_continuation: 15m_trend_supportive / 5m_21ema_pullback_hold / 1m_pullback_reversalSTOPPED OUT-65%+1%
$SPY $774 CALL · 2026-08-11opening_drive_reversal: opening_drive_washout_reversing / opening_drive_down_reclaim / 1m_opening_drive_reversal_reclaimSTOPPED OUT-65%-1%
$QQQ $719 PUT · 2026-08-11failed_breakout_breakdown_trap: resistance_trap_rejection / 5m_failed_breakout / 1m_failed_breakout_lossPROFIT TAKEN+100%+292%
$SPY $772 PUT · 2026-08-11ema_pullback_continuation: 15m_trend_supportive / 5m_21ema_pullback_reject / 1m_pullback_rejectionPROFIT TAKEN+100%+306%
$AMD $480 CALL · 2026-08-14prior_day_high_low_reclaim_rejection: prior_day_low_reclaimed / 5m_prior_day_low_reclaim / 1m_prior_day_low_reclaim_high_breakPROFIT TAKEN+30%+32%

Methodology: Modeled P&L assumes one contract per setup. A setup that reached +50% is counted at +50%; otherwise a setup that reached +30% is counted at +30%; all other resolved outcomes use the recorded exit return. Tracked peak is hindsight context, not an assumed exit. Educational only, not financial advice.

$AMD $IWM $QQQ $SPY