Trade Journal

A+ morning. 4h FVG below with major buy-side overhead — swept the IML, CISD on the 5min, everything filled. Held the full 2R runner without touching the stop. Best trade of the week and it is only getting started.

Manipulation above PDH into the 1h FVG, CISD lower, shorted the retrace. Took most of the 2R at the session low shelf. Boring and green.

Clean start to the week. Swept the IML into the 1h FVG, CISD, longed the 5min iFVG. One R, platform closed. The one-trade rule is now just how I trade.

Second setup was actually valid this time — real 1h FVG and SMT — so I took it, but I managed it to BE and got scratched. No loss, no rule broken. Big difference from the greedy second trades: this one had confluence and I protected it. Ending the demo period disciplined.

Monday long off the 1h FVG, CISD + SMT, 1R. Started the week green and clean. This is the rhythm — show up, wait for MY setup in MY session, take the R, protect the account.

A+ Friday long on ES. 4h FVG, swept sell-side, CISD, held for ~2R into the target. Best ES trade in a while and it capped my best week of the quarter. One clean trade, held with conviction.

Manipulation above PDH, CISD lower, clean SMT, 1R short. AND — one trade only today. Closed the platform after. Applying yesterday's lesson the very next day. That is discipline.

And there it is again — the second trade. Already green, forced a short with no CISD and no SMT. Small loss but it is the SAME pattern I flag every week. After the first winner: CLOSE. THE. PLATFORM. I have to make this a hard rule, not a suggestion.

Retrace long into the 1h EQ, CISD + SMT, 1R. Simple and clean. Bounced right back from yesterday's small loss.

Short off the 1h FVG, no strong SMT this time and it reclaimed. Cut it before full stop when the CISD invalidated — took -0.7R instead of the full -1R. Good risk management on a losing trade. The read was slightly off, the execution was fine.

Trade of the month, maybe the quarter. Monthly buy-side target above, 4h FVG below, textbook manipulation of the sell-side, CISD, and I held it for the full 3R into the monthly high. Every confluence stacked. I did not touch the stop or take profit early — just let the A+ work. This is the ceiling of what the model can do.

Independence Day observed — US markets closed. Long weekend. Reviewed H1: passed a combine, got funded, survived my worst discipline week and came back. Ready for a strong July.

Genuinely an A+ setup — got everything filled, HTF 1h FVG, 15min FVG, 5min iFVG with CISD. I got out on BE and about 10 min after I got out it went to my original SL. I saved myself from a loss. I respected my BE levels and did not fear the market. Great execution even though it scratched.

First trading day of July, first day of H2. Clean 1h FVG long, CISD, 1R. Same model into the new half. Consistency compounds.

Month-end A+ short. Manipulation above PDH into the 4h FVG, strongest SMT I have seen in weeks, CISD lower and I held for 2R into the buy-side below. Closing H1 the exact way I want — patient, mechanical, funded.

Strong start to the last week of the quarter. Manipulation below IML, CISD, longed the iFVG, took a touch over 1R at Session high. Locked in and focused.

Friday 1R off a clean 1h FVG + CISD. Closing June on a green note. After the mid-month scare, finishing the month disciplined and profitable feels like the real win.

Longed the 1h FVG, took partials at +0.5R and got out — the market was choppy and I did not trust the runner. It did go on to 2R without me. Slightly under-managed but I banked green. Working on trusting the runner when the CISD is clean.

A+ manipulation long. Swept sell-side into the 4h FVG, CISD, everything filled, held for 2R. Immediate answer to yesterday's loss — do not let one red day change the process. Same model, patiently executed.

Textbook short setup that simply did not work. CISD gave, I entered correctly, market reclaimed and stopped me at 1R. This is a GOOD loss — right process, wrong outcome. Win rate is never 100%. Honored the stop instantly. On to the next.

Clean Monday long off the 1h FVG, 1R. Nothing to write home about and that is exactly the point. Boring and green.

Juneteenth — US markets closed. Nice to end a recovery week on a holiday. Reviewed the week: 4 for 4, zero rule-breaks. That is who I am when I follow the process.

Manipulation above PDH into the 1h EQ, strong SMT, CISD, shorted for 1R. Closing out the short week green. Recovery week complete — best possible answer to last week.

Simple 1h FVG retrace long, CISD, 1R. Three green days in a row after the reset. Momentum is back and it is built on discipline, not luck.

THIS is the trade that puts the bad week behind me. 4h FVG, swept the low, CISD, held for 2R without touching the stop or second-guessing. Proof the model works and the last week was ME, not the strategy.

Monday reset trade. Short off the 1h FVG with clean CISD + SMT, 1R, done. Rebuilding confidence one clean trade at a time.

Longed the 1h FVG, moved to BE per plan, got tapped out flat. Scratch to end a hard week. The important thing: zero rule-breaks Thursday and Friday. The habit is back.

Back to basics. One A setup, CISD confirmed, took my 1R at target and closed the platform. No second trade, no ego. After a week like this a clean rule-following 1R is worth more than the money. Discipline restored.

Chose not to trade today. Still shaken from yesterday and I know myself — trading tilted just compounds it. There was actually a clean setup at 15:40 that I watched go to target without me. It hurt to miss but sitting out while emotional was the right call. Reset day.

Revenge trade. Right after the stop-moving disaster I jumped straight back in to "make it back". No setup, no CISD, pure emotion. Stopped again. Two rule-breaks in one day. I closed the platform after this and walked away. Down bad on the day and it was 100% self-inflicted.

The worst kind of loss — a choice, not the market. Shorted a decent 1h FVG, it went against me and instead of taking my 1R I MOVED THE STOP. Three times. Told myself the SMT would save it. It did not. -1.8R on a trade that should have been -1R. I did not honor the stop. This is the discipline failure I cannot afford on a funded account.

Clean Monday long, CISD off the 1h FVG, 1R. No idea this would be the only good day of the week.

Good long off the 1h FVG but I got nervous into the news and took partials early instead of the 2R. Booked +0.6R. Not wrong to protect but I left a clean R on the table because of fear. Note it.

Decent setup but price never gave the CISD, it just ran through my 1h FVG. Full 1R stop honored. Nothing wrong with the loss — the setup did not confirm and I still respected risk. This is an acceptable loss.

Up 2R on the funded account and I took a counter-trend second trade with no CISD. Stopped. This is the exact pattern I keep flagging — the day was already won at the A+ trade. I have to physically close the platform after the first winner.

A+ on the funded account. 4h FVG, swept sell-side, CISD, held for 2R. Did not fear the funded money — treated the runner exactly like I would on a demo. That is the whole battle, and I won it today.

Retrace short into the 1h FVG, CISD lower, 1R. Second funded day, second green. Feeling calm on the funded account, which is what I wanted.

First trade on the FUNDED account. Real money rules now. Kept it identical to the combine — 1h FVG, CISD, 1R. Do not change a thing just because it is funded. Same model, same size, same discipline.

Finished May exactly how I wanted. Monthly buy-side above, 4h FVG below, swept and reversed with a picture-perfect CISD. Held for 2R+ into the monthly high. Best month of my life so far — passed a combine, funded on the way. The process is real.

Bounced right back from yesterday. Waited for the iFVG this time, no chasing. CISD, longed, 1R. That is the correction — patience on the entry.

Valid setup but I entered late — chased the 5min FVG after the CISD instead of waiting for the iFVG retrace. Full 1R loss. Setup was a B not an A because MY entry was rushed. Honored the stop though, no drama.

Back after the long weekend. Short off the 1h FVG with clean SMT and CISD. 1R. Good to start the short week green on the Apex account.

Memorial Day — US markets closed. Rest and review. Went over the month's A+ setups. Every one was a 4h FVG + CISD in the NY session. That is the whole edge.

Friday, cleanest week yet. One A setup, one 1R, done. No second-trade nonsense this Friday. Growth.

Longed the 1h FVG, moved to BE at the first MTF resistance per plan, price tapped my BE and rolled. Scratch. It later did go to target without me but I do not regret protecting — BE beats a loss.

Manipulation above PDH into the 1h FVG/EQ, strong SMT vs ES, CISD lower and I shorted. 1R banked on the Apex account. Discipline holding well this week.

Second trade again. I was green and I forced one more without a real CISD. Same mistake as last week — after the A setup pays, log off. The "one more" trade is where I bleed.

Clean retrace long into the 1h FVG, CISD confirmed. Took 1R at Session high. Simple and correct.

Started the Apex 300K combine today too. Monday manipulation below IML, CISD, longed the iFVG and held for 2R. Great start on the second account. Same model, bigger account.

Last time. I took another London session trade because I was bored waiting for NY. Got clipped. From now on I do NOT trade London — it is not for me, the delivery is different and I do not read it well. Writing it down so I stop doing it.

Combine is passed so no pressure. Kept it mechanical — 1h FVG, CISD short, SMT vs NQ, took the 1R. Nothing fancy. This is the version of me I want every day.

THE trade. 4h FVG below, monthly buy-side above. Swept the session low, CISD, everything filled top to bottom. I held for the 3R to the 4h target and did not fear it. This one PASSED the TopStep 150K combine. Patience and process — it works.

Retrace into the 1h EQ, filled the 15min FVG, CISD + SMT confirmed and I longed. Clean 1R. One more green day and the combine is passed.

No clean setup in the NY killzone. No 1h FVG in play, price was mid-range and choppy. No setup, no trade. Logged off. Protecting the combine.

Friday. Manipulation above PDH into the 1h FVG, CISD lower, took the short. Banked 1R and logged off before lunch. Clean end to week one — up nicely on the combine.

Good setup, took price into profit then it stalled at MTF. I moved to BE like my rules say and it clipped me. Came back to my BE zone 20 min later. No loss taken, no rule broken. Respecting BE is the skill.

I was already up 2R and green on the combine and I took a second trade I did not need. No CISD, no SMT, just a FVG and greed. I should have hopped off after the first trade. Gave a chunk back. Lesson I keep re-learning: one A+ is the day.

A+ in every way. 4h FVG sitting below, swept the Asian low, CISD on the 5min and I got everything — 15min FVG filled, 5min iFVG, high SMT. Held it for the 4h target instead of taking 1R early. 2R and it went gorgeously my way. Best trade of the week.

Redemption after the London stop. NY killzone, price manipulated below PDL to grab sell-side, then CISD to the upside and I longed the 5min iFVG. This is why I wait for MY session. Full 1R.

Tried the London session again. The FVG was there but no CISD, no real SMT, and the setup was thin. Stopped clean. London is just not my session — I keep proving this to myself. NY only.

Clean start to the combine. Price swept PDH into the 1h FVG, I waited for the 5min iFVG + CISD on the retrace and shorted. SMT vs ES confirmed it. Textbook TTC entry, took my 1R at Session low. This is the model.