12H BSL Sweep, 1M Bearish Displacement, 5M CISD, 5M Timeframe 2R Target, First 4M Bearish FVG, First 5M Bearish , OTE 61.8% (Swing High/Displacement Low),

THE MAIN TAKEAWAY FROM TODAYS TRADING SESSION FOR ME WAS THAT FACT THAT BECAUSE I PASSED UP THE FIRST PRESENTED FAIR VALUE GAP, AND WAITED FOR A CONFLUENCE 'DISPLACEMENT' & FAIR VALUE GAP COMBINATION ON THE 5 MINUTE AND 1 MINUTE, IS THE REASON I WAS ABLE TO CATCH THE REVERSAL ENTRY, INSTEAD OF BEING CAUGHT ON THE UPSIDE

THE REASON FOR THIS WAS BECAUSE THE FIRST PRESENTED FAIR VALUE GAP, WAS A 5 MINUTE CONTINUATION, AND IT WAS FAR AWAY FROM THE ORIGINAL DISPLACEMENT ENTRY THAT TOOK PLACE ON THE FIRST 5 MINUTE SHIFT IN THE PREMARKET.

SO, BECAUSE I WAITED FOR MORE STRENGTH IN MY ENTRY, I BELIEVE WAS THE DECIDING FACTOR FOR ME BEING ABLE TO CATCH THIS MOVE. 

We’re basing this only on today’s April 15th trading notes — not incorporating any prior journal entries or trading sessions. Below is your refined checklist and updated trading rules, built entirely from today's execution, observations, and breakthroughs.

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✅ Refined Trade Execution Checklist (April 15 Only)

📅 Pre-Trade Prep (upon waking late at 9:30 AM)

•  Monitor 1m chart for first presentation Fair Value Gap (FVG) of the day.

•  Avoid early longs unless:

  •  Clear 1m FVG appears

  •  AND trade offers minimum 2R–2.5R potential

  •  AND a 5m displacement or protected stop loss area exists

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📈 Intraday Setup Scanning (10:00 AM+)

•  Identify displacement zones between 5-minute candles

•  If a clean zone forms (between two green candles), shade it visually as a zone — not just a level

•  Wait for sharp displacement through the shaded zone (bearish or bullish)

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🎯 Entry Plan (Post-Displacement)

•  After a large displacement move:

  •  Do not chase the move

  •  Wait for a 61.8% Fibonacci pullback

  •  Look for alignment with 1m or 5m FVG (confluence zone)

•  Place entry using limit order at the confluence point

•  Define stop loss based on nearest clean invalidation zone on the 1m or 5m chart

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📊 Risk Management

•  Position size using swing high/swing low of larger timeframe (5m or above)

•  Place stop loss using tightest invalidation on lower timeframe (1m–5m)

•  Aim for 2–2.5R+ minimum on every trade

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🧠 Trade Management

•  If price reaches 50% retracement of the move in your direction and session is near end:

  •  Secure partial profits

  •  Do not let trade reverse back to entry

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📜 Updated Trading Rules (April 15 Only)

1. No trade unless minimum 2R–2.5R is clearly available
   – Skip small 1R setups even if they work

2. 5m timeframe must validate any 1m FVG entries
   – No blind 1m entries without higher-timeframe structure or stop location

3. Use zones, not just levels, for displacement areas
   – Visually shade the area between candles to anchor focus

4. Enter only after displacement + Fibonacci pullback (ideally 61.8%)

5. Confluence entries > isolated signals
   – Combine FVG, Fibonacci, and displacement

6. Tighten stops using smaller timeframe invalidations
   – Stop trying to be "right" by placing stops far away at swing highs/lows

7. If wrong, be wrong fast
   – Small loss = more chances to flip thesis or re-enter correctly

8. Risk starts low and scales up only with account momentum
   – Start eval/funded accounts at 1% risk per trade
   – Only scale to 5% max once profitable base is built

9. S.D.S.S. Rule: STOP DOING STUPID SH*T
   – No tilt, no revenge trades, no self-sabotage
   – One bad day ≠ blow up day

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Let me know if you want this formatted into a printable version, or want to build it into a playbook doc you can update daily.

 

 

 

🔑 Key Takeaways – April 15 Trading Session

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⚙️ Technical Execution & Market Read

1. Patience at Open:

   • You waited for a quality setup instead of jumping on the first 1-minute FVG long, which only offered ~1R.

   • Your R-minimum filter (2–2.5R+) kept you disciplined and out of lower probability setups.

2. Multi-Timeframe Entry Logic:

   • Avoided the 1m FVG due to lack of 5m displacement confirmation. Great call — you prioritized structural validation across timeframes for cleaner entries.

   • Preference for 5m stop loss locations over 1m due to stronger structure = solid framework.

3. Displacement Zone Recognition (10AM+):

   • Identified a clean displacement gap between 5-minute green candles.

   • Used zone shading for visual clarity — excellent practice for staying organized and spotting reactions cleanly.

4. Smart Entry via Fibonacci Pullback (10:17 AM):

   • You avoided chasing after large displacement and instead opted for a 61.8% pullback, increasing your R:R.

   • Entry aligned with a 1m bearish FVG — stacked confluence.

5. Trade Management:

   • The trade played out in your direction, but didn’t hit final target during session hours.

   • You adapted by securing partial profits at the 50% retracement — smart and in line with treating this as a funded eval.

6. Refined R/R Strategy:

   • Now planning to use higher timeframe swing highs for position sizing, but lower timeframe structure for risk placement, improving R without increasing exposure.

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🧠 Psychological & Risk Management Breakthroughs

1. Embracing Fast Losses:

   • Realized the benefit of being wrong quickly — less ego, more opportunity to reverse or re-enter with clarity.

   • You're now prioritizing smaller, faster losses over "being right" and holding longer.

2. Letting Go of the Need to Be Right:

   • You caught a big flaw in old thinking: placing stops only at swing highs/lows to feel “right” — that’s ego-driven risk, not precision.

   • You're now favoring logic over emotion — big win mentally.

3. Evaluation/Funded Account Strategy Upgrade:

   • No longer starting with 5% risk. Instead:

     • Begin small (1%), scale up risk only with positive account momentum.

     • Prevents front-loaded drawdowns and unnecessary tilt.

4. S.D.S.S. Mental Framework:

   • You’ve coined your new mental rule: STOP DOING STUPID SH*T.

   • This mindset shift is you taking full accountability. You’re recognizing sabotage patterns, and replacing them with professionalism and maturity.

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📌 Summary Statement:

Today’s session was a turning point. You stayed disciplined on trade selection, sized with precision, implemented multi-timeframe confluence, and executed a smart entry with optimal R/R. But the biggest win? You’re growing out of the need to be right, and stepping into the mindset of an elite risk manager. This is the mental maturity required to stop blowing accounts and start building real consistency.

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Would you like me to help you turn these takeaways into a refined checklist or trading rules update for your journal/playbook?

 

 

 

 

So today, I woke up at 9:30 AM on the dot. And immediately began watching price action from my phone. I was monitoring the 1 minute chart, waiting for the days first presentation fair value gap, in which it working for the early morning longs. Had a limit order been placed, they would have caught a 1R trade to the upside. Which for me isnt the most desirable trade, as im seeking 2-2.5R or higher minimum in order to get involved. 

Also, upon the first presentation fair value gap, there also werent any displacement entries that coincided with the 5 minute chart, in order to justify the trade either. So I didnt have any closely protected stoploss in the surrounding area. Other that the 1 minute stoploss in the first presentation fair value gap, which isnt as strong obviously as a 5 minute chart stoploss. I would much rather prefer a 5 minute over a 1 minute stoploss.

Around the 10AM mark, I started noticing that price action was creating a displacement gap between 2 prior 5 minute green candles. For this reason I decided to shade the area as a zone rather than a level, So that I could identify a more visual displcement entry to the downside, if it was going to be provided on the day.

10:17 AM was the first candle close from a very sharp displacement through the zone. But the move was so large, that I decided it was best to utilize an optimal trade entry at the 61.8% fibonacci in order to get involved in the trade, to maximize risk to reward. 

(11:11 AM) Thus far, I am filled on the trade, and I am patiently waiting to see, if Im going to be proved right or wrong on the trade.

I currently entered short at the 61.8% fibonacci, which is in confluence with the first presentation 1 minute bearish fair value gap.

4:56 PM. The trade wound up working, it just didnt go to my target within the trading session. So because I am currently trading and treating this account like I would a evaluation or funded account, I decided to just lock in profits at a .50% retracement to secure profits on the trade, rather than watch it bounce all the back to my entry. 

After I did the recent mathematics on weighted R multiple, I decided that the larger timeframe target would be around 2-2.5R multiple and with the smaller timeframe I was able to manage risk a bit tighter. Which is something that Im trying to implement in order to secure a higher R multiple on my trades, whilst reducing risk, as Im sizing my positions from the swing highs, and then reducing my loses with the tightest invalidation points on the lower timeframes. 

With this system, I believe that I can substancially reduce my downside while increasing my upside. And the new logic is that if im wrong on a trade, I want to be wrong as fast as possible. 

I realized my need to always want to be right when im trading is actually hindering my success. Because I would always keep my stoplosses at swing highs and swing lows (usually HOD or LOD points, in order to give myself the highest chance of being 'right' on the trade. When in reality, If I utilie smaller timeframes, and tighten my risk to reward, I can actually likely make more money, because If im wrong fast. I can reduce my losses, and still have time to take a trade in the opposite direction if I just so happened to be wrong about the draw on liquidity. 

Another thing that I want to implement on my next evaluation/funded account, is that instead of starting the account at 5% risk. Which is what I would usually do. I think I should start the account off at potentially half of that, or maybe even the smallest amount possible ( Like 1% ). And only increase the percentage im risking per trade, as I gain momentum on the account.

Because whats happened in the past, is that I would go in risking 5% right off of the bat, and If I happened to take a loss on my first trade, then I would have a large drop in my drawdown to start, whilst having the reduce position size in half to eith 2-2.5% for the next trade, and then im simply just fighting to make back the loss. 

Instead, I think it would be smart to do the opposite, and increase my percentage risked per trade, and cap it at 5% max, so that I can avoid un needed large drawdowns. This will maximize the momentum of my upside, and reduce my downside.

I simply have to stop blowing accounts and step into my elite trading phase. 

We know how to trade, we know what to do. We simply have to S.D.S.S.

STOP DOING STPUID SHIT. Especially when you know its wrong. And stop self sabotaging. Just because you have a bad day (while will always come) you have to stop yourself from going on tilt and intentionally destroying yourself over it,