Nasdaq Futures NQ Trading Diary

1 lot , 1 entry based on a classic retest. Though I was late to the trade which put the risk:reward off a bit.

23 wins (74.19%)
2 no trade (6.45%)
6 loss (19.35%) = this loss is only because it didn't hit the TP exactly, it was still a great trade if you trailed a stop right at the end. If you didn't have to close out at the end of the session it was also a full win.

31/100

24 wins (75.00%)
2 no trade (6.25%)
6 loss (18.75%)

32/100

Glad not to have stepped on a landmine today

24 wins (72.72)
2 no trade (6.06%)
7 loss (21.21)

33/100

30-Year Auction Today, going to make the trading day slow for me

it works

25 wins (73.53)
2 no trade (5.88%)
7 loss (20.59%)

34/100

Morning Prep - Waiting for US CPI

Aggressive Breakout


The London Open and Algo Line both looked like a potential roadblock to the TP.
The price action had been skewed to the upside compared to how London had traded so I figure if the breakout had been to the upside there would have been a cleaner trade.

25 wins (73.53)
2 no trade (5.88%)
7 loss (20.59%)

34/100

A 3rd of the way through the fwd test and the TP is being hit consistently >70% of the time. So there is an edge to targeting that. Today's tp was >$1k nominal so I would have to get comfy risking $500+ per trade if I were to risk 1:2 RRR

Avoiding landmines is now becoming the priority as the directional bias is sorted, the TP is sorted and the risk is getting there.

I wasn't going to trade today as Mondays and Tuesdays I have a lot going on.
However, I saw this and figured I would give it ago. Due to commitments, I had to close the trade early, another 10 mins and I would have made decent profits.
There was a US T-Bill auction but not sure that it did anything to disrupt the initial trade setup.
If anything the market may have been listening to the NY Fed survey that came out at 4pm?

26 wins (74.28)
2 no trade (5.71%)
7 loss (20.00%)

35/10

..would you have taken the break of the 15:35 close, if you were trading then?

The answer was Yes, yesterday. I wouldn't always and hopefully this mornings video explains a little more about what I look for on the chart after I have looked at the economic calendar etc.

Strategy Recap There is so much more to my trading plan than just a mechanical process. If I could make it purely technical in nature I would automate the trading. Taking emotions out of the trade plan would be ideal and very profitable. On a purely technical theme, having some rules on what you are looking for a trade trigger does help. In this video, I describe the 4 possible entry setups that I consider. 1. Aggressive Breakout of the Initial Balance 2. 2nd Attempt at the Aggressive Breakout of the Initial Balance 3. Classic Retest of the Initial Breakout 4. Half way back of the Initial Balance If I can limit myself to 2 trade entries per day I can 1. reduce risk, 2. reduce mental capacity and stay focused 3. Feel in control of my emotions and bank balance. That then gives me space to look around the markets for possible mines that can trip me up, like the US 10-year and 30-year treasury auctions. Or FOMC, or Fed talk, the list is small but sometimes they fill up a calendar.



In this 20 trading day back test all the things that I look for technically occurred, so there is no reason not to suppose the same types of trading days wouldn't keep occurring. On a couple of days, there was nothing technically I could do to prevent losses. So mitigating risk by only trading 2 setups is my only saving grace. When I start over trading, I am doomed.

Another thing to consider on a daily basis is whether or not the majority of the components to the Nasdaq in weighted terms, is up or down at the time of a trade.

no point going against this

The next fact to consider each day is that I am here to make money, not to trade.
Trading can be fun and boring. You choose. But the aim of the day is to make money and if the market is messing me about, not to lose too much money.

I don't care if the trade doesn't hit the target when there is clearly money to be made.


I am not greedy, just take what you need and get out.

The stats say that the TP gets hit more often than not, but I wouldn't recommend being a dick for tic





27 wins (75.00%)
2 no trade (5.55%)
7 loss (19.44%)

36/10

Great post! Thank you.

no worries, the more questions you ask the more I can think of answering my own

..have you ever looked into the UK 08:00-09:00 b/o? ..i used to trade a volatility expansion b/o on FX years ago but haven't tested on NQ yet.

I think any range is valid. With my focus on the opening print of the London session, I am aware of the potential for a breakout. What I am also aware of is the lack of volume. I have done quite well in the past few months trading in the London session as the markets have been quite respectful of the London open and Algo line. But I have not defined a strategy as such or back tested the one you are considering. If it works during a consolidation phase, it will work better during a trending move. The good news is that it isn't necessarily waiting for a news event, it is probably more technical.

FOMC choppy


not sure if the retest of the BO will work as FOMC is about to give us their conclusions.

The aggressive breakout worked though.

28 wins (75.68%)
2 no trade (5.41%)
7 loss (18.92%)

37/10

it is not always going to be this easy, so sometimes you have to make some bank to cover the horrible days.


Target from the IB was the 150 range extension as always.
However, there was other things prior to that which got me in on some good trades. The break of market structure around 16,300 (which was a level I mentioned yesterdays as being significant) was the first clue of a down day. The 1 minute chart offered up a decent classic retest of the old support now resistance.


The single prints from yesterday in my opinion were ripe for filling in too and that is what happened.
The London close held for 16,050 from where the remaining US traders pushed for my target and could now be gunning for the liquidity

29 wins (76.32%)
2 no trade (5.26%)
7 loss (18.42%)

38/10

took a trade based on some other reasoning but only because I am on the micro's



Will look to enter a normal breakout later after the IB completes