My Study Journal and TopStep Combine Journey

This is intended to be a true trading journal. So let me get this out of the way at the onset: I DO NOT PREDICT WHERE PRICE IS GOING. I'M NOT PARTIUCALY GOOD AT IT, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT IS NOT NECCASSARY.

I intend to make detailed entries about trades taken, trades not taken, method concepts used, and psychology. Hopefully this journal will evolve as I do.

I have many personal issues with ICT, but I do not believe his method doesn't work. It just did not work for me.

I believe in Volume Spread Analysis (VSA), and I shouldn't let my dislike of the way certain traders trade with VSA cause me to want abandon it.

The real Journal starts on page 3 where the method is VSA and the Prop Firm funding account will be through APEX Trader Funding.

GETTING FUNDED:

I do not want to get into the pluses and minuses of getting funded through the various prop firms around today. I believe APEX Trader Funding is the best way to go.

1. It's Futures and not Forex or CFDs.
2. Trade 23 hours a day (including holidays and news events).
3. I can use Sierra Charts
4. Only one level to pass for funding.

I will detail the rules of the Account "Tryout" later, but the main numbers are:

1. $100,000.00 Account
2. Make $6,0000
3. Trailing Drawdown $3,000
5. Trade up to 14 contracts (28 micros)

THE METHOD

The method employed Volume Spread Analysis (VSA).

More to come.

Wednesday's Results:

I opened the account on Monday after hours and did not take a trade on Tuesday. I could not take a trade on Tuesday, because there was no Power of 3. ICT made a video Tuesday Night about getting into the Market when the PO3 isn't present. There was a seconday entry on Tuesday afternoon that used the other main concept: Liquidity grab in one direction to fuel a move in the opposite direction. However, I did not take that.

Wednesday is officially day 1.

Wednesday Thoughts and Analysis:

Thoughts.

A. As this was my first trade, I only entered with 1 contract. I plan to trade with 2.

B. You should have used the swing high on the H1 chart as your target.

C. I felt good entering this trade. I may have been a bit overzealous to get started, but I did trade the plan. The trade window is from 8:30 AM NY Time until 12:00 PM NY Time. Some trades will be entered at or before the NYSE open at 9:30. This means be prepared for volatility.

D. You've got to believe.

Analysis.



*Strength, when it appears, appears on DOWN Bars. A Down Bar followed by and UP Bar means some sort of DEMAND (Buying) has entered the Market.

And only 1 trade needed to cover professional data subscription $116

Are you sure they provide Swing Account Combine ? If I look website I don't see that kind of option. I can find it only via googling. I recommend to double check with them. It might be discontinued like forex option ( closed from 12.04.2022 ).

LOL. Yes, I'm sure. I don't know why it's so hard to find. They've never really "pushed" it, maybe because it's the cheapest option.

Thursday's Results

* Today was a learning day. I tried somethings with the order mechanics and it resulted in 2 losing trades. Although I should not have tried to enter at that time, the order placement caused a quick loss. I tried again and another quick loss.

* Wait for confirmation (more on that later)

* You can't use a trailing stop if you want to close your platform during a trade. This should not be a problem. I closed the platform with a bracket order (take profit and stop loss) and they were executed.

Thursday's Thoughts and Analysis

 

1. I felt good today. I had belief. I need to let go of my ego.

1. The thing I most did "right" was getting into the fourth trade. I had not reached my personal daily limit and was nowhere near the combine's daily loss limit of $500. It would have been easy, and wrong, to curse the Market, the Method, and myself. Instead, I waited for a true set up and I pulled the trigger.

1. Most of the time confirmation should be used with VSA. Waiting for confirmation will not stop all loss, but it would have stopped these.

Analysis

Trade #1 & 2

A entry signal is only valid if at least on tick of the entry candle is touching the FVG Zone. I was too quick on the draw (how many times have I heard that) and then I had order placement issues.

Trade #3

Trade #4

Attached Image (click to enlarge)

The MODEL:

Looking forward to following your journal.

Good luck!

THE MODEL:

What you're looking for is a run on liquidity (aka Stop Hunt) to fuel the Market in the opposite direction.

Friday's Results:

 

1. Today was a good day: I had the opportunity to put what I learned the day before into action. A loss is only a loss if you don't learn something from from it.

1. There will be winning trades and losing trades; there will be winning days and losing days.

Friday's Thoughts and Analysis

1. Had a losing day, of which there will be many. Trading is a loser's game: he who loses best - wins.

2. I waited for confirmation on my entry. Lesson learned.

3. Although I would not take this trade going forward, it was a good set-up and actually did offer a chance to profit.

4. The core four: (1) TRADE (2) WORKOUT (3) EAT (4) SLEEP. Think you can or think you can't. Either way you will be right.

5. The Ideal scenario might be to trade 2 contracts. Take profit at the opposing liquidity pool, then move stop to break even an see if you can catch a runner.

The Analysis:

Hi mate
Good luck !

Nice journal !
Watch > your entry was correct, but it was early (sell traders use LQ you know it, it means priority was sell, yellow line is line stop orders - i pointed this, which stop price) and then entry.

I've decided to do a reset. Technically, a reset means to pay an additional fee to start over in one's current combine. What I am doing is closing this combine-that is in profit and has no rules broken-in order to open a new $50,000 combine instead.

The main reasons for this are:

(1) Under the $50,000 account, one can trade any futures contract. Not just the micro indexes. Although I will likely only trade the micro indexes anyway. But this does give me the option of trading currency futures, gold, and oil. And,

(2) The loss limit is $1000. So I can lose twice as much as before.

I initially chose the micro account because I was worried about being in a position past the close. I'm not so worried about that anymore. Not attempting to capture the entire day's range, should help with target placement. Which should help insure I'm out by the close. Plus I believe the Rithmic software has a way to get you out by the close even when your platform is closed.

My other concern was trading during news events. The start time is 0830 hrs. New York time. Most news comes out at 0830 hrs., so I should miss most news events by definition. As for Fed days (1400 hrs.), it's hard not to know they're coming. Besides, a good part of the trading routine should be to check FF calendar every day (or at the beginning of the week at least). As the saying goes, "Ignore the news, but be aware of it.".

THE MODEL :

Trading TIME and PRICE, not price and time.

I think the correct entry would have been an entry short (no FVG entry actually setup), since the direction of the Market was down. This trade was taken without any bias- whatever came first - SellSide Liquidity hit or BuySide Liquidity hit- I would go long or short respectively. I think having a bias is better. The bias could have been to look to get long, in that case the trade, absent of result, was a correct one.

BTW nice to see you, man !!

Actually you can lose less. On step 2 daily loss = weekly loss = $ 1000. In bad scenario you can trade 1 day a week.
From day 1 I recommend to trade with step 2 rules.

Good luck and iron discipline.

Actually, in the micro account it's : Daily loss = weekly loss = $500 (in both steps 1 and 2). So it's still twice as much in the $50,000 account.