January 28, 2026 ($26.25) | Harder Than It Had To Be

January 28, 2026 (3 Trades) (+$26.25)

Overall Grade: C

Day Summary: Today being FOMC day, I expected price action to be bad, however I still got baited in to taking some trades. I did miss the only good move of the day and ended up taking some subpar trades after that. Thankfully, due to the fact that I was trading in the direction of the trend, I was able to get myself to a small green day. It wasn't the best PA, but if you are going to trade, trade with price action. My last trade of the day made up for my loser and some, which is good, but I didn't hold to full target and it hit. I guess maybe PTSD from yesterday (https://www.tradejournal.co/post/january-27-2026/) caused me to bitch out, but also because I was trading from the red which never helps.

DAILY - ES

5 MIN - ES

TRADES

Trade 1 - Short 2 MES @ 21 Ema Trap + FOMO Entry

Grade: C+

1. trading in the direction of the trend - good
2. playbook set up - good
3. FOMO entry killed this trade - entry should have been at the 21 EMA + Yesterday's HOD (green dashed) - would have made this hold way more comfortable and potentially have given me the room to take a scalp
4. smart to go BE on this trade once I was in the green because if it popped up I knew I could probably get a better entry, which I did on Trade 2

Trade 2 - Short 2 MES @ 21 EMA Trap + Key Level

Grade: B-

1. better entry than Trade 1, however, now coming off of a first HL - not ideal - qualify this trade lower than other 21 EMA Set Ups
2. playbook set up - yes
3. trading in direction of the trend - good - other than first HL ^^
4. considering the first 30mins of trading, I was nervous we might rotate back into the range, especially on FOMC day - scared myself out of this trade
5. closed early before preset STOP but considering the PA and the above statement, it was probably a wise spot to get out

Trade 3 - Short 2 MES @ 21 Ema Trap + Fakeout + Closed Early

Grad: B+

1. playbook set up - yes
2. fakeout entry at 21 EMA & Key Levels - good
3. trading with price action - good
4. tough mental hold but now looking at the 5min and 15 min downtrend I should have been more confident in this trade
5. preset target (7010.00) but still a decent hold - had I not been trading from the red I think I would have held this to TP