📘 Daily Trade Journal – Thursday, July 17
1. Trade Overview
- Asset:-SPX - Direction:** Long
- Entry Time:** After 10:00 p.m. (Vietnam Time)
- Timeframes Used:** 1H, 30m
- Bias Origin:** Bullish market structure continuation with recent change of character
---
2. Trade Idea (Before Entry)
I came to the charts shortly after 10:00 p.m. PopCat had just wicked into the 0.618 Fibonacci level. I considered it a chase, so I passed on it—didn’t get the retracement I wanted.
ETH and Solana were not retracing into the OTE zones either.
Pengu appeared more bearish—potentially forming a daily lower high, indicating slowing upside momentum. I ruled that one out too.
I ended up selecting **SPX**, trading it for the first time. Despite that, I stayed focused on structure and levels:
1H timeframe had a bullish **external break of structure.
30m timeframe showed a temporary bearish retracement, but then a bullish change of character followed.
This change of character swept the previous day’s high, which was a concern since that level was also my target, and it had already been touched—possibly by London.
Despite this, I decided to take the trade based on:
* Anchored Fibonacci from today's early session low to the current high
* Overall structure still being bullish
* Expecting a possible sweep of today’s **intraday high** and maybe even another test above **yesterday’s high**
---
### 3. **Entry Details**
* **Entry Price:** \[At the Fibonacci retracement level, anchored from today’s low to high]
* **Risk Taken:** \[To be filled – e.g., 1R or 1%]
* **Stop Loss Placement:** Below the retracement swing low / point of invalidation
* **Confluences Used:**
* ✅ Fibonacci retracement
* ✅ Change of Character
* ❌ No AVWAP, trendlines, or order blocks used
---
### 4. **Exit Details**
*(To be completed when the trade closes)*
* **Exit Time:** \[–:–– a.m.]
* **Exit Price:** \[To be added]
* **Reason for Exit:** \[Target / Stop / Manual exit]
---
### 5. **Outcome**
*(To be completed when the trade closes)*
* **P\&L:** \[e.g. +1.2% / -0.7R]
* **Partial or Full Exit:** \[Yes/No]
* **Session of Exit:** \[e.g. Tokyo / London continuation]
---
### 6. **Self-Assessment**
* ✅ **What went right?**
* Didn’t force a trade on assets that didn’t return to key levels.
* Stayed open to switching assets when familiar names didn’t provide ideal setups.
* Executed a setup based on structure, not emotional attachment.
* ❌ **What could be improved?**
* SPX target had already been swept—may need to reevaluate entering **after** key liquidity has already been taken.
* More clarity needed when trading unfamiliar assets for the first time (like SPX).
* 📋 **Did I follow my trading plan?**
* Yes. I stayed within my timeframe, followed structure, used Fibonacci, respected the process.
* 📈 **Would I take this trade again, exactly the same way?**
* Yes, with caution. Would want stronger confirmation if the target liquidity has already been touched. Otherwise, setup fits criteria.
* 🔎 **How would I rate this trade out of 10?**
* \[To be filled post-exit]
---
🧠 Notes for Improvement
---
💤 Closing Note
This is Day 3 of live journaling and publishing. One clean setup executed. No overtrading. I’ll let the market decide the outcome and stick to my commitment: one session, one plan, one trade idea. Back tomorrow—same window.
1. Trade Overview
- Asset:-SPX - Direction:** Long
- Entry Time:** After 10:00 p.m. (Vietnam Time)
- Timeframes Used:** 1H, 30m
- Bias Origin:** Bullish market structure continuation with recent change of character
---
2. Trade Idea (Before Entry)
I came to the charts shortly after 10:00 p.m. PopCat had just wicked into the 0.618 Fibonacci level. I considered it a chase, so I passed on it—didn’t get the retracement I wanted.
ETH and Solana were not retracing into the OTE zones either.
Pengu appeared more bearish—potentially forming a daily lower high, indicating slowing upside momentum. I ruled that one out too.
I ended up selecting **SPX**, trading it for the first time. Despite that, I stayed focused on structure and levels:
1H timeframe had a bullish **external break of structure.
30m timeframe showed a temporary bearish retracement, but then a bullish change of character followed.
This change of character swept the previous day’s high, which was a concern since that level was also my target, and it had already been touched—possibly by London.
Despite this, I decided to take the trade based on:
* Anchored Fibonacci from today's early session low to the current high
* Overall structure still being bullish
* Expecting a possible sweep of today’s **intraday high** and maybe even another test above **yesterday’s high**
---
### 3. **Entry Details**
* **Entry Price:** \[At the Fibonacci retracement level, anchored from today’s low to high]
* **Risk Taken:** \[To be filled – e.g., 1R or 1%]
* **Stop Loss Placement:** Below the retracement swing low / point of invalidation
* **Confluences Used:**
* ✅ Fibonacci retracement
* ✅ Change of Character
* ❌ No AVWAP, trendlines, or order blocks used
---
### 4. **Exit Details**
*(To be completed when the trade closes)*
* **Exit Time:** \[–:–– a.m.]
* **Exit Price:** \[To be added]
* **Reason for Exit:** \[Target / Stop / Manual exit]
---
### 5. **Outcome**
*(To be completed when the trade closes)*
* **P\&L:** \[e.g. +1.2% / -0.7R]
* **Partial or Full Exit:** \[Yes/No]
* **Session of Exit:** \[e.g. Tokyo / London continuation]
---
### 6. **Self-Assessment**
* ✅ **What went right?**
* Didn’t force a trade on assets that didn’t return to key levels.
* Stayed open to switching assets when familiar names didn’t provide ideal setups.
* Executed a setup based on structure, not emotional attachment.
* ❌ **What could be improved?**
* SPX target had already been swept—may need to reevaluate entering **after** key liquidity has already been taken.
* More clarity needed when trading unfamiliar assets for the first time (like SPX).
* 📋 **Did I follow my trading plan?**
* Yes. I stayed within my timeframe, followed structure, used Fibonacci, respected the process.
* 📈 **Would I take this trade again, exactly the same way?**
* Yes, with caution. Would want stronger confirmation if the target liquidity has already been touched. Otherwise, setup fits criteria.
* 🔎 **How would I rate this trade out of 10?**
* \[To be filled post-exit]
---
🧠 Notes for Improvement
---
💤 Closing Note
This is Day 3 of live journaling and publishing. One clean setup executed. No overtrading. I’ll let the market decide the outcome and stick to my commitment: one session, one plan, one trade idea. Back tomorrow—same window.
Trade closed: target reached
📘 Trade Journal – Day 3 (Final Trade of the Week)🕒 Trading Window: 10:00 PM–Midnight (Vietnam Time)
📈 Asset Traded: SPX (first time trading it)
🎯 Direction: Long
🟢 Result: ✅ Win
📉 Risk: 3.5% stop loss
📈 Reward: 7.23% take profit
📊 R:R Ratio: 2.05:1
⚖️ Position Size: Significantly reduced (25% of previous day’s size)
🧠 Trade Thesis
Tonight, I avoided PopCat and ETH due to poor entry locations. PopCat had already wicked into the 0.618 Fib and felt too late. ETH and SOL weren’t retracing into the OTE. Pengu looked like it was forming a daily lower swing high—a loss of upside momentum—so I skipped that too.
I settled on SPX:
1H Market Structure: Bullish with external BOS
30M: Bearish retrace, followed by a bullish CHoCH (change of character)
Liquidity: Previous day’s high had been swept by London, but I still believed the market had reason to go higher
Bias: Bullish. Despite the sweep, I didn’t countertrend short. I anchored my Fibonacci from the session low (Asia) to the day’s high, using body-to-body, not wick-to-wick.
TP: Set conservatively at the -0.236 standard deviation (first shallow target), avoiding greed since major liquidity had already been taken
📉 Trade Timeline
⏳ Time in Drawdown: 1h 40m
🚀 Time from Takeoff to TP: 4h 40m
⌛ Total Trade Duration: 6h 20m
🧘 Psychology: Calm, committed, and trusting the process—even while in prolonged drawdown.
💡 Lessons & Reflections
✔️ Followed the Process: Traded during the set window, used clear market structure logic, respected fib and liquidity principles, and avoided emotional revenge trades.
⚖️ Sized Down Wisely: After a -1.5% loss on Wednesday, I reduced size by 75% to limit total drawdown risk to 2% across both trades. Crucial for account survival.
🧠 Trusted the Bias: I didn't let the London sweep of previous day's high throw me off. NY has two sessions, and I knew a bullish continuation was still possible.
💤 Closing Thoughts
This is my first win out of three trades this week. But the victory isn’t just the green PnL—it's that I stuck to my trading model, adjusted my risk, and journaled every step. I’ll skip trading Friday to protect my confidence and review the full week over the weekend.
See you Tuesday.
Disclaimer
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.
Disclaimer
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.