Key Takeaways from Today's Trading Notes:

1. Overtrading: Took more trades than desired due to tight range trading between VWAP upper and lower bands, with wide candles contributing to difficulty in stop loss management.

2. Forced into Lower Timeframes: Despite a focus on higher timeframes in recent journal entries, had to trade the 1-minute chart due to wide stop losses on the 5-minute chart (60 points).

3. Choppy Price Action: Traded 1-minute fair value gaps, but frequent direction changes led to multiple "papercut" losses. Entry points were invalidated quickly by opposing squeezes.

4. Frustration and FOMO: Felt frustration from perceived stop runs and re-entered trades with increased size, even holding through large drawdowns. Almost fell below the $50K threshold on the evaluation account.

5. High-Risk Decision: Took on more size and risk than intended, holding trades with a mental stop at the high of day. Luckily, the market dropped in favor of the trade before hitting the stop.

6. Trade of the Day Setup: Identified the trade of the day as a high-of-day reversal (bullish-to-bearish 1-minute variation), with a break and retest of an order block, though execution felt risky due to potential for a squeeze higher.

7. Dislike for High Volume of Trades: Prefers taking a maximum of two trades but was forced to cut and re-enter due to wide stop losses. The overall market thesis remained intact despite the challenges.

8. Hard Stop Losses Necessary: Realized the importance of using hard stop losses when trading fair value gaps around key 50% marks, as these areas attract squeezes.

9. Market Conditions: Observed that the market isn't trending cleanly, making quick take-profits more suitable in the current environment. Awaiting a more trending market to execute bigger trades and pass the evaluation.

10. Excitement for Evaluation: Eager to pass the evaluation and optimistic about doing so on the first try, despite the day's challenges.

I took way more trades today than I would have liked, and its likely because I was trading a decently tight range from a upper and lowerband vwap deviation perspective, and the candles were fairly wide. On the 5 minute chart specifically, I would have had to take a 60 point stoploss from the bullish to bearish variation, and I didnt want to take that big of a loss. So although alot of my journaling sessions lately have suggested that I should focus on the higher timeframes, it seems I had no choice other than to trade the 1 minute chart today. 

I was focusing mostly on 1 minute chart fair value gaps today, and figured that the displacement through the daily 50% fair value gap, would suffice a low drawdown entry move to the downside, but there was alot of chop, and inability to stay in my postion because of the tighter stoplosses, wider price swing moves, and consistent change in direction bias from the fair value gaps on the 1 minute chart. One second i would have displacement through a level, and then the next minute would squeeze back in the opposite direction and invalidate my position. So in the morning session, I was taking quite a bit of papercut losses. And I wouldnt exactly say that I traded well today at all, regardless of the fact that I ended the day green. 

I also was getting annoyed by what I felt was manipulation stop runs on my positions, so the moment price would go in my favor again, I would re enter, and with more size. and there was even a point where my drawdown on this evaluation account was below the 50K threshold which means I could have lost last weeks gains. And honestly, when it was squeezing against me, I likely should have stopped out, but I decided to hold, with alot more size than I should have been involved in the trade with, and had a mental stoploss at the high of day. 

Luckily, it was a manipulation, and immediately dropped, coming very close to my stopout point, before ultimately going in my favor. 

As it currently stands, the trade of day setup is a high of day reversal, bullish to bearish 1 minute variation, with a break and retest of the orderblock. So many extremity points testing the will of traders in todays session. 

I happened to get a little lower than higher of an entry compared to that 1 minute supply zone created off of the open, but it seemed it was at such high risk for a squeeze higher to try to play that extremity, especially because that level was above the 50% mark for the daily fair value gap, so i figured it would be more confirmation for my short side entry. 

I really dislike taking this high volume of trades during the day, and generally like to keep it at 2 trades max, but the overall thesis was never invalidated, it was simply that the stoplosses were a bit wide for my liking, so it was better to just cut the trade and re enter.

I also noticed that when im trading fair value gaps, I simply cannot wait for candle closure stoplosses, especially when Im trading around the 50% marks. These areas are magnets for squeezes and can result in big losses, so unfortunately, these need to be traded with hard stop losses, and i think the best spot would be the high or low at the variation & displacement candle contrary to the directional bias. 

On todays trading day specifically, it doesnt seem there was any clear 'no drawdown' on entry, type signal. And you really just had to trade the choppy price action manually. 

The market isnt really trending clean, and seems we are in a take profit quicker enviornment at the moment. I am excited for when the market starts trending again, so that I can lock up some nice trades and pass this evaluation. 

it would be really awesome if I also passed this evaluation on my first try.