Glossary, Pre-Session Checklist, GC→XAUUSD Conversion and Contract Cheat Sheet

≈8 min read · Real gold futures examples with XAUUSD equivalents · Free

In this appendix: A glossary of every important term in the book, from A to Z, with a pointer to the chapter where it is explained in full. A one-page pre-session checklist you can print and use before every gold session. A step-by-step explanation of how to convert gold futures (GC) levels into approximate XAUUSD (CFD) levels, with a worked example. And a cheat sheet of the key facts about the GC and MGC contracts. Contract facts were checked in October 2026; exchanges change specifications, margins and hours from time to time, so always re-check the official CME Group pages before relying on any number here.

Pre-Session Checklist (One Page)

Print this page, or copy it into your notes, and work through it before every session. Write answers, not ticks alone; the act of writing is what moves decisions from a hot state to a cold one. This is a process checklist, not a trading signal.

1. Contract and clock

• [ ] I am looking at the active month of GC (and MGC if I trade it), not an expiring contract or a back-adjusted chart.
• [ ] I know today's session definition (full Globex from 18:00 ET, or day session from about 08:20 ET) and my profile, VWAP and CVD all use the same one.
• [ ] I have checked for daylight-saving differences and for holiday or early-close hours.

2. Context (observations, not predictions)

• [ ] Yesterday's day type (balanced, trend, double distribution, rotational) and profile shape.
• [ ] Where we are now relative to yesterday's value: above, inside or below.
• [ ] What Asia and London did: overnight high and low, London high and low.
• [ ] Is value migrating higher, lower or overlapping over the last few days?
• [ ] Anything notable in related markets (dollar index, Treasury yields), as observation only.

3. News

• [ ] Today's releases and their exact times in ET (CPI, NFP, FOMC, speeches).
• [ ] My written rule for before and after each release.
• [ ] If I trade XAUUSD, the release times converted to my platform's clock.

4. Level map (five to seven levels)

• [ ] Yesterday's VAH, VAL and POC.
• [ ] Any naked POC within reach.
• [ ] Session VWAP (and weekly or anchored VWAP if relevant).
• [ ] Prior day high and low; overnight and London high and low.
• [ ] Levels ranked by confluence; levels within two or three ticks merged.
• [ ] For each level: source, rank and "what I want to see".
• [ ] XAUUSD equivalents written next to every GC level, using today's measured gap.

5. Scenarios

• [ ] Two or three if–then scenarios, each with a written invalidation.
• [ ] My confirmation and veto checklist for each scenario, in objective terms.

6. Risk

• [ ] Risk per trade in dollars and in R.
• [ ] Contract choice (GC or MGC) checked against the typical logical stop distance today.
• [ ] Maximum number of trades.
• [ ] Daily loss limit in R.
• [ ] Stop condition (for example, after two consecutive losses).
• [ ] If I trade a funded account: type of drawdown floor and today's distance to it.

7. Personal state

• [ ] Sleep, focus, stress (rate 1–5). If low, reduced size or no trading today.
• [ ] No outside commitment that will force me to manage a position badly.

8. After the session

• [ ] Journal completed for every trade and every veto (entry part was filled in before the outcome).
• [ ] Plan compared with what happened: which scenario, if any, played out?
• [ ] Screenshots saved.
• [ ] One lesson written in one sentence.

Converting GC Levels to XAUUSD

Most of the analysis in this book is done on gold futures (GC), because only an exchange with a central order book shows real volume and the aggressor side of every trade. But many readers trade gold as a CFD, usually under the symbol XAUUSD, on a broker platform. The two prices are not the same, so every futures level needs an approximate CFD equivalent.

Why there is a gap

GC is a contract for gold delivered at a future date. XAUUSD tracks spot gold, for immediate settlement. Holding gold until a future date has a cost, mainly the interest you could have earned on the money, partly offset by the income from lending the gold. This cost of carry makes the futures price sit above spot in normal conditions. The further away the delivery month, the larger the gap.

A rough formula:

Futures ≈ Spot × (1 + net carry rate × days to expiry ÷ 365)

Illustrative numbers. With spot gold at 4,168, a net carry rate of about 3% a year and about 84 days to the expiry of the December contract:

4,168 × 0.03 × 84 ÷ 365 ≈ $28.8

That is why, in October 2026, GC traded roughly $27–30 above XAUUSD. You do not need to compute the carry yourself; you measure the gap directly. The formula only explains why it exists and how it behaves.

How the gap behaves

• It shrinks slowly as the contract approaches expiry, because fewer days of carry remain.
• It jumps at the roll. When the active month changes (for example from December to February), the new contract is further away, so the gap widens. With the same illustrative numbers, two extra months of carry add roughly $20.
• It drifts a little during the day and from day to day as interest rates, lease rates and supply and demand change.
• It differs slightly between brokers, because each CFD broker builds its own XAUUSD price feed and adds its own spread.

How to measure it

1. At one moment, ideally just before you write your level map, read the active-month GC bid and ask and compute the mid price: (bid + ask) ÷ 2.
2. At the same moment, read your own broker's XAUUSD bid and ask and compute the mid price.
3. Gap = GC mid − XAUUSD mid.
4. Convert every level: XAUUSD level ≈ GC level − gap. To go the other way: GC level ≈ XAUUSD level + gap.
5. Re-measure at least once per session, and always after a roll.

Using mid prices matters: comparing a GC ask with an XAUUSD bid would add half of both spreads to your gap.

Worked example

Illustrative numbers, not a market analysis.

At 07:45 ET:

Gap = 4,196.1 − 4,168.3 = 27.8

Now convert the level map:

Write the CFD equivalents as zones rather than exact prices, for example "VAL ≈ 4,152–4,155 XAUUSD", because the gap drifts by small amounts and your broker's feed is not the futures market.

What converts and what does not

• Price levels convert approximately: value area edges, POC, VWAP, session highs and lows.
• Volume does not convert. The volume, delta and footprint information behind those levels comes from the futures market. Your broker's XAUUSD volume is tick volume and does not tell the same story.
• Order-book events do not convert. A sweep or an iceberg seen in GC happened in the futures book, not in your broker's feed. The CFD price usually follows, because arbitrage keeps the markets aligned, but the CFD chart will not show the event itself.
• Times may need converting. Many CFD platforms display server time, often two or three hours ahead of London, not New York time.

Gold note: Always say "approximately" when you quote a converted level. The gap is an estimate measured at one moment, from one broker. It is close enough for a level map, not precise enough for exact orders.

Contract Cheat Sheet: GC and MGC

Verified October 2026. Always re-check the official CME Group contract specifications, margins and holiday calendar before trading.

The two contracts side by side

Hours and key times (New York time, ET)

Remember that the US and Europe change daylight-saving time on different dates, so for a few weeks a year the gap between London and New York is an hour different from usual.

Contract months

Futures month codes: F Jan, G Feb, H Mar, J Apr, K May, M Jun, N Jul, Q Aug, U Sep, V Oct, X Nov, Z Dec. A contract is written as product + month code + year, for example GCZ26 (GC, December 2026) or MGCZ26.

For gold, the main active months are traditionally February, April, June, August and December (G, J, M, Q, Z), and CME settlement notices have also treated October as a lead month. Volume concentrates in one active month at a time and migrates to the next one around each roll. Check which contract is active before every session.

Delivery, margin and limits

• Delivery. Both contracts are deliverable. Day traders close or roll positions before the delivery period; check CME's calendar for first notice and last trading dates.
• Margin. Margin is collateral, not the price of the contract. Exchange margins are typically a small percentage of notional value and change, sometimes sharply in volatile periods; brokers set their own day-trading margins on top. Never treat a margin figure as fixed.
• Losses can exceed your deposit. Futures losses are not limited to the margin you posted.
• Fast-market protections. CME uses mechanisms such as Velocity Logic and price-fluctuation limits that can pause or limit trading in extreme moves.

Quick formulas

• P&L = (price change ÷ 0.10) × tick value × number of contracts.

Example: gold rises from 4,200.0 to 4,202.5 = 25 ticks. On 1 MGC: 25 × $1 = $25. On 1 GC: 25 × $10 = $250.

• Position size = allowed risk ÷ (stop distance in ticks × tick value + costs per contract). Round down.
• Costs in ticks = round-trip commission and fees in dollars ÷ tick value. The same dollar cost is ten times as many ticks on MGC as on GC.
• XAUUSD equivalent ≈ GC level − measured gap (roughly $27–30 in October 2026; always measure, always say approximately).

Education only. Not financial advice. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.