My Trading Quest - Profitability in 90 days!

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum and would like to journal my journey for a new trading quest I have been thinking about for a long time.

I have been trading on and off for over 20 years and I have many scars to prove it. Recently, I became a funded trader with Topstep Trader using my own scalping system on US 30 Year Bonds. In the past I have traded Futures and Forex manually and with my own coded systems.

I have completed many trading courses and seminars. Most of the time I could not replicate their results! They often promise the world but most do not deliver.

Like most of us, I have been burned by these trading companies.

It is time to test these trading companies and see who can deliver.

My journal will track my progression:

• I will explain why I chose the courses on the short list and why I chose the first one to test.

• Right through to setup, back-testing, live trading and hopefully to profitability

• I will explain what works and what doesn't

• I will not be sharing anything that is proprietary to the company

My goal is to see if I can become profitable in 90 days.

If I fail, then I will start again with another 90-day challenge ... until I find a profitable course.

I would love it if people have questions or can suggest things along the way.

If anyone would like to suggest a trading course to add to my list, I would appreciate it.

I am NOT associated with any Trading Company.

I am excited to share my journey and my results with you.

Come along with me on My Trading Quest!

Cheers
Garry

DAY 2 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp Lessons…

It has been time to put the work in setting up, watching videos and taking notes.

Actions I took:

• Watched introductory and setup videos

• Setup my NT7 with the Apex Toolkit and templates

• Watched the Chart Overview videos to understand the differences with Apex

• Logged into the trading room and watched the two facilitators call trades and educate for 2 hours from the US market open

• Commence studying the first setup

Apex Toolkit:

Once you have NT7 installed then you are required to download and install the Apex Toolkit. This easy and if you have problems then the help desk will help.

I had a problem with installing on one of my computers and was helped within an hour of my request. It was a windows problem.

This toolkit gives you access to all the Sniper indicators and templates. It is regularly updated and is essential for trading the systems.

I also downloaded some OP Data (order print historical data). Normally you don’t need to do this as the OP Data is developed as the market data moves. It is important to know that if your computer or trading platform is not connected to the data server then you will miss out on OP Data. This is easily solved by asking someone in the room to send the missing data to you. Then simply copy it to your computer and restart NT7. All instructions are on the Bootcamp page.

So why do we need OP Data?

First I will show you a Sniper Chart:




This is a simple Sniper Chart and initially, I didn’t understand the lines and the boxes. In the videos they show the motor behind this charts




So, as you can see the visible charts that are used in the Sniper Bootcamp are based on the Order Flow charts and using algorithms to simplify it for the user.

The OP Data is the data that is generated and used on the trading chart.

The Benefit of this approach is that It simplifies the setups to make it easier to identify

Video Training

Most of the videos use NQ as the trading instrument. Due to the increase in volatility they have moved their focus to ES. The setups apparently work on most markets. To learn the strategy they prefer that students learn on one market initially.

Trading Room Experience

The room was an interesting experience where trades were called and some education was shared.

At this time I don’t think I will spend much time in the Market Open period as it can become confusing when the information shared is more advanced then a beginner. I can see it being very helpful but not just yet.

I also noticed that Darrell, the founder of Apex, was trading, calling trades and sharing his knowledge in the room in the US evening time.

The room is open 24 x 7 days and people are commenting and/or asking questions on and off during that time.

So what is next?

I will focus on the first setup and being able to identify it.

I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

DAY 3 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp Lessons and Setup 2 …

Today, I will share more on the chart setup and the first trade setup

Actions I took:

• Watched more videos

• Explored the daily process of chart setup

• Continued to learn about the first setup and what it looked like on the chart

Pre-trading Chart Setup:

Before trading each day starting to trade I go to the 10, 60 and 240 minute charts and share the levels from these charts with my trading chart. It takes less than 5 minutes to do this.

Instruments Traded and charts

Up until the high volatility the sniper bootcamp was designed for the NQ and MNQ.

Trade setups could be found on either chart and traded on the other. (Micro <>Mini).

With the increase in volatility the ES and MES became the choice of instrument.

Sniper Charts use an inhouse designed bar, similar to a renko bar but apparently more accurate to increase the accuracy of the algorithms for the Order Prints.

Bar size for NQ is 10 ticks and ES is 8 Ticks.

Experienced traders, trade the setups on all the usual instruments.

The Sniper Bootcamp

The basic philosophy of the Bootcamp is to give you the information, tools and support to help you to be profitable trading 1 contract for 3 months then increasing the contracts after you have been profitable and consistent. They want the students to have 3 net profitable trades and then stop.

They recommend that you start trading only in one market and one setup (Setup #2). They say that Setup #2 is over 85% of the trades they take.

They do give you access to all the other setups.

Trade Setup #2

Trade Setup # 2 is actually 5 setups based on a basic setup.

• Multi-directional

• Trend

• Range

• Divergence

• Continuation (New)

The idea is to start with the first and master it then move to the next.

The basic setup revolves around a Reversal Bar, Exhaustion and Trapped Orders in the market. This is displayed on the chart so it is easy to see.


The Exhaustion is a Box on the bar and the Trapped Orders are a blue solid box. And they must appear on a Reversal Bar.

See below to see what I mean:




This is the easy part. There are some rules with each setup and I will explain the first one, tomorrow.

From what I can see so far, the hardest part is knowing when Not to enter a trade.


I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn​

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

DAY 4 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp Setup 2 and Testing …

Today, I will share more on the chart setup called the Enhanced Trapped X Box and identify all the setup’s on a static chart, just for one day.

I need to be able to identify the setup, see that the trade occurs a reasonable amount of times and see if it shows any signs of being profitable

Actions I took:

• Watched more videos

• Identified the rules for the first setup including Initial Stop and Profit Target

• Reviewed one day of trading on a static chart, to see the availability and results of the setup

• Continued to learn about the first setup and what it looked like on the chart

Videos:

It is important to take good notes and watch the videos in sequence as it makes it easier to understand.

Enhanced Trapped X Box

Yesterday, I introduced the basic requirements for Setup #2. Now I am going to explain the first setup which I called Multi-directional.

This trade is called the Enhanced Trade or the Enhanced Trapped X Box. The multi-directional refers that it can be taken in both directions – with the trend or against the trend.

Rules:

The first 2 rules are as explained yesterday.

• Setup must be a Reversal bar

• An exhaustion box with a trapped order must appear on the end of the bar

The additional rules are:

• A new print of either a MM or a Paw must occur on the setup bar.

• An existing level (OP Level) must be within 2 ticks of the new MM or Paw on the setup bar.

I won’t go into a lot of detail about what these lines and levels are.

OP Levels are either:

• MM is a beige line which represents lines where price has strong rejection or attraction

• Paw is an orange line formed at weak price levels

• ZOI is a Zone of Interest where the market has a lot of participation in this area

• I-Blocks – are where large orders are placed

The next important rules are based on Reasons Not to Enter:

• Not within 5 minutes of Market Open, Close or Government News

• Not directly into a stack of 3 or more OP Levels

• Not enter when 2 clusters appear within 3 bars of the and including the entry bar

• Not against a strong trend

Stop and Target

• The initial Stop is 1 tick above/below the setup bar (17 ticks)

• The Target is 9 ticks

The following image will give you an idea of how simple it is to identify the trade.




So, now I have a basic understanding of this setup I need to see if the setup is easy to identify on first a static chart and then on a moving chart. On the static chart, I also want to see that the setup happens regularly and looks like it can be profitable.

I was talking to one trader and he said that recently the number of Enhanced Trades have reduced recently.

Because of the Risk: Reward of the rules it is important to have a minimum of approximately 72% wins.

Please note this test is not suggesting anything more than that this setup has or has not sufficient potential to keep investigating. This is a TEST nothing more!

For the test I will use the following criteria:

• The test is on a static ES chart (I will go bar by bar to test the day)

• The day will be the Friday 17th April session which starts at the open on the 16th April at 18:05 and Ends at 15:50 on the 17th.

• No commission is included

• I will follow the rules the best I can

• I may miss trades

• The test is for the 24 hours and this would not be possible

The following image shows my results:

Comments on Results:

The results look positive and justify’s further backtesting.




I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

DAY 5 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp Setup 2 more Backtesting …

Today, I backtested more and check that my observations are correct.

I need to be able to identify the setup, see that the trade occurs a reasonable amount of times and see if it shows any signs of being profitable

Actions I took:

• Watched more videos – 2 new webinars from this week

• Backtested 2 more days

• Another Apex trader checked to see if my trades were valid

Videos:

Apex Investing held two more webinars on how to make the most of the Bootcamp. I found them very helpful.

Backtested:

I continued to backtest on a static chart, bar by bar to help me identify the setup.

The results are below.

I used the same criteria as yesterday.

Please note this test is not suggesting anything more than that this setup has or has not sufficient potential to keep investigating. This is a TEST nothing more!

Comments on Results:

The results still look positive.




Traders helping Traders

I find that if you ask a question or post a chart on the Facebook page or in the trading room, traders are willing to help.

One of the traders was willing to check my trades as I backtested each day.

On the day that I reviewed yesterday, I had recorded one winning trade that was not valid.

It helps when someone reviews your charts and results.



I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn​


Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

First Live Sim Trade - 1 contract +$95 Net

The following image shows my first live sim trade.

As you can see It was A ETX (Red Box and Blue inside) and had a new MM on an Existing ZOI.

So it was a valid short.

The negatives of the trade were that the market was in a range but it just had sufficient room for target to be hit before the 2nd MM.

I had left my target at 8 ticks and the target was hit.

Second Live Sim Trade - 1 contract +$95 Net

The following image shows my 2nd live sim trade.

As you can see It was A ETX (Red Box and Blue inside) and had a new Paw on an Existing Paw (within 2 ticks).

So it was a valid Long.

I had left my target at 8 ticks and the target was hit.

Third Live Sim Trade - 1 contract +$95 Net

The following image shows my 3rd live sim trade.

As you can see It was A ETX (Red Box and Blue inside) and had a new Paw on an MM (within 2 ticks).

So it was a valid Short.

I had left my target at 8 ticks and the target was hit.

DAY 7 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Plan, Do, Review, Improve …

Today, is a review today to ensure that I am on my path to profitability within 90 days.

I believe, I have started well, but after reviewing a few things I need to make a couple of changes.

Actions I took:

• Yesterday, I tested sim trading by entering 3 trades

• Reviewed another traders record of trades

• Reviewed the effectiveness of the ETX trade to meet my goal

• Studied some extra setups

• Reviewed the valid trades for the day

Sim Trading:

It is one thing to identify a trade, but it is important to ensure that the trade flows from entry to exit. The three trades performed as expected.

Valid Trades Review

I was testing outside of the US open and the trades were few and far between them. I know each day is different, so I asked another trade if I could look at his record of valid trades for the last few weeks.

The results identified that the ETX trades currently have reduced in frequency. So it supported my decision to include a couple of other setups from the TX series. The results showed that the TX trend and Divergence setups achieved great results and occurred frequently.

Naked TX Trend Trade

This is a very simple trade to identify.

The first 2 rules are as per all TX trades

• Setup must be a Reversal bar

• An exhaustion box with a trapped order must appear on the end of the bar

The additional rules are:

• That the current bar DR (trend indicator) and the prior bar DR must be the same color

The next important rules are based on Reasons Not to Enter:

• Not within 5 minutes of Market Open, Close or Government News

• Not directly into a stack of 3 or more OP Levels

• Not enter when 2 clusters appear within 3 bars of the and including the entry bar

• Not against a strong trend or into strong levels

• Not into chop

Stop and Target

• The initial Stop is 1 tick above/below the setup bar (17 ticks)

• The Target is 7 ticks

• The following image will give you an idea of how simple it is to identify the trade.

Naked TX OD Divergence Trade

This is a very simple trade to identify.

The first 2 rules are as per all TX trades

Setup must be a Reversal bar

• An exhaustion box with a trapped order must appear on the end of the bar

The additional rules are:

Long Example – When Price makes a HH with the OD Divergence number making a substantially reduced number then we have OD Divergence



The image below, shows my results identifying all 3 setups for the Sun- – Mon ES trading session :

Comments on Results:

The results look positive and justify’s further backtesting.

It is interesting that for the day:

ETX – 13 trades, 1 maybe 2 lost, Total Gross $537.50
NTX (trend) – 3 trades, Nil Lost, Total Gross $262.50
NTX – OD -2 trades, Nil Lost, Total Gross $175.00

This did not match the frequency ratio of the trades from the sample I looked at.

I need to do more daily recording and analyze the trades to see how they fit my requirements.






Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

DAY 7 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Testing and Learning …

Today, I continued to review the trades for the last 24 hours and learn more about the new setups.

Actions I took:

• Clarified the rules for entering and not entering with the new setups

• Reviewed the valid trades for the day on a static chart

• Daily Valid Trade Review

The following, shows all the trades I identified for the Tuesday ES trading session. The session starts at 18:05 Monday and ends for me at 15:50 Tuesday.

Please note, this is a deliberate learning process for me to learn to identify the trade setups, when to enter and when not to enter. I have a trader review my spreadsheet and we discuss the validity of both the entries I took and didn’t take.

The process takes a fair amount of time but helps me learn much quicker.

The following is the legend for the trades sheet:



Comments on Results:

The results look positive.




I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn


Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

Bro you did a great job! I'm honestly amazed at your efforts and patience. I analyzed your screenshots, it's really cool. I have been trading since the beginning of autumn ( somewhere in the middle of September ) And so far, I only fill the cones and do not trade. Of course, I can sometimes go into the plus, but I'm still new to big deals. People I met on the stock exchange showed me the macd histogram and I learned about it from them, as I learn a lot of new and useful things for myself . How did you learn to trade ? I don't understand how you can start trading yourself without any help ,I've seen a couple of such people, but I've always been amazed by them.