1D 5M (Month VWAP), 1D VWAP Confluence, 50BPS, FOMC Day, LIS (Bullish), LIS M1 Demand Hold, Lowerband to Upperband Long, M5 Bearish to Bullish Variation, M5 Entry, Rate Cut, Take Profit Hit, VWAP (MONTH) Lowerband to Upperband, VWAP Lowerband To Upperband, Wk Bearish Orderblock Target,

Key Takeaways from Today's Trading Notes:

1. Improved Mindset and Process:

   • You felt that your trading approach has leveled up, emphasizing the value of journaling and preparation. This shift from impulsive execution to a data-driven strategy, along with the influence of Lance’s quote about work outside of trading, has led to more focused and patient trading.
   • Focusing on Expected Value Dynamics and waiting for full reactions off key levels has sharpened your decision-making, boosting your confidence.

2. Strong Execution During FOMC:

   • You executed with a bullish bias based on solid technical reasons, including a weekly trend shift and untapped liquidity. This analysis led to your best trading day on the evaluation, earning over $600 with just 2 micros, indicating improved performance and risk management.

3. Adaptability and Use of VWAP:

   • You adjusted your strategy by utilizing a longer-term VWAP on the 5-minute chart to confirm entries. This led to a better, more accurate entry from the lower band, reinforcing the importance of using higher timeframe VWAPs in volatile markets.
   • Although you fought for price on the 1-minute chart and faced two stopouts, you recognized that sticking to the 5-minute VWAP would have provided a more optimal, no-drawdown entry.

4. Awareness of Weekly Bearish Orderblock:

   • Despite the bullish bias, you noted the importance of the weekly bearish orderblock that triggered towards the session's end. You plan to monitor closely how the weekly trend interacts with this key resistance level in the next trading session.

5. Contract Rollover Anomaly:

   • You observed an interesting discrepancy between /MNQU24 and /NQ regarding the quarterly draw on liquidity, suggesting that different contracts are giving you different reads on price action. You plan to track this during future rollovers to better understand which contracts hold more weight.

6. Patience and Decision-Making:

   • You demonstrated patience in waiting for your bullish setup to develop, but you also reflected on the importance of simplifying your entry approach by relying more on the higher timeframe charts, which would have prevented multiple stopouts.

Key Learnings and Adjustments:

• Journaling and Preparation: Continue to prioritize reviewing and refining your system outside of market hours, as this has significantly improved your trading approach.
• Stay Focused on Higher Timeframes: Rely more on the 5-minute chart for entry confirmation instead of fighting for price on the 1-minute, which can lead to unnecessary stopouts.
• Monitor Weekly Bearish Orderblock: Pay close attention to how the weekly bearish orderblock and the new trend shift interact in the next session, as this could signal an important turning point for future trades.
• Track Contract Rollover Discrepancies: Stay vigilant regarding discrepancies in liquidity levels between contracts during rollovers to avoid confusion or misreading price action.

This session highlights your growth as a trader and how detailed analysis, patience, and preparation have led to improved results.

 

 

 

Woke up a bit late, around 10:00AM because my alarm clock didnt go off.

Noticed price action was basically untradable on the open, and luckily I fell asleep yesterday while monitoring price action, because the overnight long theory didnt play out, It played out during todays trading session. 

I traded this FOMC like a true elite trader, and I really feel like im stepping into the next level up in my trading career, and I definitely believe that journaling is part of the reason why. As soon as I decided to take a data backed approach to trading, rather than an executional and high pressure decision based trading, it feels like that has put me into the next level. And a quote from Lance hit me hard, and that is, his workday actually starts when the trading day ends. Its all about what you do when the markets not trading, and how you are fine tuning your trading system, and identifying what works well and what doesnt. He compared his quote to a basketball game, where if a professional, only got hours in when they were in game, but never practiced or fine tuned the small things off of the court, then they would fall short during the game, and thats exactly how trading is. Your simply waiting for your setup.

Those quotes, coupled with the concepts of 'Expected Value Dynamics' and trading the "Right Side of The V" has dramatically changed my trading, Because now, I am waiting for full reactions off of the levels im interested in, and my risk is defined, and my edge is high. 

 

With that being said, I came into this trading session (FOMC interest rate decision) with a bullish outlook, specifically because, we shifted trend on the weekly timeframe, and had untapped liquidity and an unfinished auction to the upside, and also, broke the 4 day bearish orderblock weekly trend. So i seen this setup quietly approaching under the radar, while everyone was bearish for the most part. 

I like how consistent I have been as well for this evaluation, it has taken alot of pressure off of me not having to worry about trailing drawdown, breakeven trades, and letting them just work. I also had my biggest trading day so far on this evaluation, with only 2 micros. Making over $600 on the day. 

When I was in my trade, it was for sure the trade of the day setup at that time, but one thing I have to take note of is how the market closed today, and it closed with a trade of the day setup, favoring bears with a short from the weekly bearish orderblock. This is something that im going to have to monitor closely going into tomorrow. And that is, how I should approach the trading day with the right bias, when the weekly bullish trend shift has occured, at the same time that the weekly bearish orderblock bas been triggered, withoutn tapping into the weekly buyside liquidity to the upside. 

So we have a new weekly high, weekly trend shift, weekly orderblock all around the same vicinity. with the draw on liquidity, shifting way to the upside on the next deviation timeframe, (Monthly) at 20262.25.

Im noticing something extremely interesting, and that is, on the new contract roll over for the nasdaq, its displaying that the quarterly draw on liquidity has been breached, which is the first time im seeing this, because on all of the other contracts, it doesnt display that. Im looking at /NQ now, and it is giving me a completely different read of price action, so this is something we are going to have to get to the bottom of. /MNQU24 (prior contract) is also displaying the same thing, that the quarterly draw on liquidity hasent been breached. So we will have to track this closely by the time the next contract rollover comes around. and see is the newer contracts/or older contracts hold more weight. 

 

Now, when I was analyzing an entry for the day, I noticed that, the 1 day VWAP might not have been the best choice, because I felt that price would go higher, but there were so many support levels below in which price could have bounced off of, that I couldnt gauge what would be the best one, so I simply decided to throw on a longer term VWAP on my 5 minute chart, for double the confirmation, and I am very glad I did, because it gave me a great entry from the lowerband, with a bearish to bullish variation for an upside trade. 

I decided to start fighting for price on the 1 minute chart, as it was trend below the 1 Day VWAP lowerband, because I was anticipating a squeeze, and it was also trading my demand area of interest which was yesterdays manipulation stop hunt area, and bullish line in the sand, 1 minute demand. So I figured that if I fought for price on the 1 minute, I could get a great price for the turn of the 5 minute variation.

Due to this, I was stopped out 2 times, and had I just traded off of the 5 minute chart instead, I could have got a no drawdown entry. Which likely would have been favorable. 

I just have such a hard time not executing on the 1 minute because it provides a very deep edge and risk to reward. Had i traded specifically off of the 5 minute chart, I would have gotten a no drawdown entry, but I also would have gotten filled at 19610, and because I fought for price, I had an average price of 19602 with 2 contracts. 

1 Day Moving Average Long, 4D Bearish Orderblock Target, Bullish LIS, Consumer Sentiment , Import and Export Prices, Lowerband to Upperband Long, VWAP Lowerband To Upperband,

Key Takeaways from Today's Trading Notes:

1. Consistency in Strategy: You continued with the setup that's been working well all week—a deep long entry around the pre-market low area—and ended the day green, which reaffirms that your strategy is effective.

2. Premature Profit Taking: Your emotions influenced your decision to cover profits earlier than desired. Although your directional bias was correct, fear of losing out led to smaller gains, when holding longer could have doubled your profit.

3. Resilience in Directional Bias: Despite multiple retests and breakeven exits, you stuck to your directional bias, entering with more conviction each time while staying within your daily loss limit.

4. Adjusting Stop Loss Strategy: After price rallied to the upper band, you moved your stop to breakeven to protect profits. While this was a cautious move, it prevented you from holding the trade to your intended profit target.

5. Sizing Up as a Recovery Mechanism: You incrementally increased position size after losses, staying within your risk management framework. This helped you recover and end the day positive, but it's important to avoid revenge trading impulses.

6. Impact of News Data: The 10 AM consumer sentiment data had a stronger-than-expected market impact. You noted that certain green folder news events can act like red folder news, so it's crucial to account for this in future sessions.

7. Order Management Oversight: You discovered an open position due to not canceling remaining orders after exiting a trade. This oversight could have led to significant unintended losses.

8. Trend and Order Block Alignment: You recognized that order blocks in trend with the timeframe have a higher probability of success, and you'll want to implement this as a rule moving forward.

 

 

Ended todays trading day green. Took the same setup that has been consistent all week, which is a deep long entry around the pre market low area for a move higher as the journal has been suggesting. 

It was definitely a difficult trading day overall, as my first position was taken out at breakeven, as well as my second. And it tricked me to think it would also do the same a 3rd time, which prompted me to cover profits earlier than my desired profit target, and what do you know... it ran to my profit target, and I likely would have made double on todays trading session. 

I just began to start feeling unsure whether or not price would get the rip higher than I was continuosly anticipating over and over again. 

Each trade I entered, I entered with 1 more contract than the trade earlier, because it was still in the path of my directional bias, and i also was staying with in my max loss limit for the trading day. 

It was definitely a tricky trading session because price came back to my demand area entry 2 times before finally rallying higher, and I fought for price pretty aggressively right at market open, and the first retest took me out at breakeven, because price had rallied to the upperband, but I didnt want to cover profit because I had a higher upside target, but I also didnt want to lose on a trade that went that far in the money, so thats when I decided to place my stoploss at breakeven.

My second entry, took me out for a loss, with another price action reaction response at my prior demand area, so yet again for the 3rd time, I re entered long, because I was only down $80 dollars at that time, with a $200 daily loss limit. So i decided to size up with 1 more contract to compensate my pain and suffering in this trade haha. 

It faked a flush down below the VWAP upperband, and I had enough with the trading day, I decided to take the 300 dollar winner which is 10% towards the profit target goal for this evaluation. Just trading the account slow and steady.

I also just took a mental trade short in my head and not on the account, and Im noticing it would have been a loss. And that was a 1 minute and 5 minute reaction at the 4d bearish orderblock. And I think I should implement a rule that if that timeframes trend is going against the orderblock, it is not as strong of a setup, if the orderblock is in trend with the timeframe, it is a stronger setup, and will likely end up with a higher probability of success. 

and also, when my first trade was taken out at breakeven, it was based on a data drop at 10:00AM, which was counted as green folder news, when it really reacted like red folder news. I thought it was quite comical that price moved aggressively as it did, but I will have to remember that consumer sentiment data moves heavier than it may appear. 

 

ALSO, DO NOT FORGET, to hit CANCEL ALL button after you exit a position. During this journaling session, I wasnt even aware that a 2 contract limit order was filled and that I was actively in a position. My account would be taking damage right now if I didnt just notice that. I also missed out on locking in a massive trade as well. 

9:30 Open Short, CPI, Lowerband to Upperband Long, Trade Of The Day , Trend Above Upperband, Trend Below Lowerband, Upperband to Lowerband Short,

Key Takeaways from Today's Trading Notes:

1. Best Trading Day: Achieved the best trading day since starting the Topstep evaluation, with the main trade being a "Trade of the Day" setup.

2. Missed Alarm: Overslept and woke up at 9:30 AM, just as the market opened, missing the premarket routine.

3. Price Action Focus: Chose to observe pure price action for the first 1-2 hours before entering a trade.

4. Chase Trade: Felt FOMO due to the initial drop at the open and took a chase short trade when the price traded below the VWAP lower band, targeting the prior day low. Covered the position early out of fear of a squeeze, missing the full move.

5. Familiar Reversal Setup: Recognized a reversal setup when the 1-minute bar closed above the VWAP lower band, supported by a 5-minute bearish-to-bullish variation. This led to the "Trade of the Day" long position.

6. Massive Rally: Entered long with a target at the VWAP upper band (320 points away). Trailed the stop after the third failed attempt to break the 2-minute trend to the downside. The market rallied 600 points from the entry, passing several significant levels, including the premarket high and a 4-day fair value gap.

7. Position Management: Closed the entire position due to having only 1 contract, missing out on holding for the massive move. Would have held longer if more contracts were traded.

 

 

Had my best trading day today since starting my Topstep evaluation account. And the main trade I took, was actually a trade of the day setup.

I woke up basically at 9:30 AM on the dot, due to oversleeping past my alarm clock. And from the moment the market opened, it was a drop from the opening bell. My thought process at this time was that I was just going to read pure price action for at least an hour or 2 until I saw a reasonable setup. And the market dropped heavily, inducing a bit of fomo (fear of missing out) for the downside move. I wound up taking a chase trade short, as I saw that price was trading and trending below the VWAP lowerband. because of this, I anticipated more downside to my anticipated price target at that time, which was the prior day low. I sold just a minute short, covering profit from fear of a squeeze to the upside, to watch it immediately drop and hit my target. 

As I was monitoring price, I saw a setup occur that I have became familiar with, and that a reversal from a trend below or above a VWAP. And actually, just to note, the short setup for the session on the morning came from a trend above the upperband, which also led to a reversal to the downside. So todays candle was heavily influenced by the prior day candles range. 

I was able to lock up the short trade, and I soon as I saw the 1 minute bar close back above the lowerband for a reversal IN CONFLUENCE, with a 5 minute bearish to bullish variation, I decided to take the market long, for the trade of the day setup. 

At this time I had a price target back to the VWAP upperband, but it was 320 points away, so I decided to trailstop the positon after the thired attempt to break the 2 minute trend to the downside, and because I was only in with 1 contract, I had to cover the entire position. Had I had 2 or more contracts, I would have held for a massive move, because the market rallied from my entry a staggering 600 points to the upside, as a straight shot up, straight through the pre market high, and through what that time I had marked as an unclosed 3rd candle, 4 day fair value gap rip to the upside, into the 2 day bearish orderblock I had marked from the week prior.