I have had a nice break and am returning to start a new $100,000 Continuous Combine tomorrow. This journal is to track my trades, progress and provide accountability. Why the name "New Beginnings" because it is a fresh start to my journey in seeking to obtain a funded account with TopStep Trader and I have a renewed mindset. My problem was not my trade plan but my pride, lack of discipline and overall mindset.
During this Combine I will be trading the following setups:
I passed earlier this morning on what turned out to be the best signal so far. Here I took a 2LF for only 1 target of +11 because of congestion and anticipation of one more push up before failing (if the sellers are going to regain control). Unfortunately, price did exactly what I was thinking but I missed the next trade because of typing this journal entry. I may think about showing my trades at the end of day only. However, for now here is my picture of my first trade:
Crude (CL)
The following user says Thank You to BoltTrader for this post:
I have decided to move T2 to +20 ticks instead of +22 on trades where I will be using a second target. In addition, I have slightly modified my stop strategy to the following:
17 Tick Stop Strategy
If T2 is filled I will net over $400 per trade with 3 contracts. Whereas, if price hits +20, doesn't fill, and stops me out I will net over $350 either way will work towards achieving my Combine goal and I am content with both.
The following user says Thank You to BoltTrader for this post:
I missed the first setup and got in late on my trade because I was away from the computer. The end result is that the trade worked out and would have been a success at +11 ticks with 3 contracts but because the open was in 1 minute and CL hadn't reached the target yet I moved the stop to +1 where I was stopped out at on all 3 contracts.
After doing so well this morning on NOT trading foolishly with all the markets I watch being so dead I got aggressive on the 6E with 2 contracts. I tried for a 2LF a few ticks early to get an edge on the stop run and basically got caught at the bottom of the range. Thankfully, I moved my stop to -12 vs. -17 when I realized that my gamble didn't pay off and semi-limited my losses. Trying to force a trade never pays off!
