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:
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
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 9 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Studying the Setups …
Today, I continued to study the setups and review the trades for the last 24 hours.
Actions I took:
New Webinars
This week Apex held a number of excellent webinars to help with my understanding of the setups. Learning when not to take a setup has been the most difficult part of learning to be successful.
Live Trade Room and Commentary
I found the moderators very helpful in clarifying the market during the US Open.
For a new person, the learnings were excellent but I still would recommend, first having a reasonable understanding of the rules before attending the sessions.
Live calls were made with explanations when possible. Some of these calls matched the Sniper Bootcamp setups and others were based on the experience of the moderators. Most of the calls would have allowed a trader to enter in time for the trade.
Wednesdays Potential Trades
Wednesday was an interesting day. I saw more chop in the market around setup bars. Chop is one of the reasons not to enter. The market chop kept me out of a lot of trades and if I had not have studied the Reasons Not to Trade, I am sure I would have had a number of losses.
Instead, I only identified winners, from the small number of trades.
Please consider this is on a static chart where I am moving it bar by bar to make my decision. So when in Sim or Live where the decision is needed quicker, I may have a completely different result.
That is why doing this Deliberate Practice is critical to my success.
The other important process is having someone else check your practice of identifying valid trades. Feedback is critical to my growth.
The following is the trades sheet for Wednesday
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Today, I continued to study the setups and review the trades for the last 24 hours.
Actions I took:
- Listened to 2 new webinars on how to be successful on the Sniper Bootcamp
- Clarified the setups in my trading plan
- Watched the live market and the commentary during the first 90 mins of the market open
- Reviewed the potential trades for Wednesday
New Webinars
This week Apex held a number of excellent webinars to help with my understanding of the setups. Learning when not to take a setup has been the most difficult part of learning to be successful.
Live Trade Room and Commentary
I found the moderators very helpful in clarifying the market during the US Open.
For a new person, the learnings were excellent but I still would recommend, first having a reasonable understanding of the rules before attending the sessions.
Live calls were made with explanations when possible. Some of these calls matched the Sniper Bootcamp setups and others were based on the experience of the moderators. Most of the calls would have allowed a trader to enter in time for the trade.
Wednesdays Potential Trades
Wednesday was an interesting day. I saw more chop in the market around setup bars. Chop is one of the reasons not to enter. The market chop kept me out of a lot of trades and if I had not have studied the Reasons Not to Trade, I am sure I would have had a number of losses.
Instead, I only identified winners, from the small number of trades.
Please consider this is on a static chart where I am moving it bar by bar to make my decision. So when in Sim or Live where the decision is needed quicker, I may have a completely different result.
That is why doing this Deliberate Practice is critical to my success.
Practice doesn’t make Perfect, Perfect Practice makes Perfect.
The other important process is having someone else check your practice of identifying valid trades. Feedback is critical to my growth.
The following is the trades sheet for Wednesday
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
DAY 10 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – More Testing and Learning …
Another day in a market that didn’t give many valid trades. But still a good day!
Actions I took:
Live Trade Room and Commentary
I find that listening to the Live Room when the two moderators are in the room highlight and reinforce the trading nuances necessary to be successful.
Thursday Potential Trades
Thursday was another slow day but full of lessons.
After I went through the daily process of bar by bar static chart review, I looked at the trades I didn’t take and asked myself what would have happened in the live market. There was one trade I am sure I would have taken and lost. This one was not on my sheet as I had sufficient time to analyze it on the static chart. This part of deliberate practice is proving to be critical for building my skills.
The major lessons are around … When not to take a trade.
The other important process is having someone else check your practice of identifying valid trades. Feedback is critical to my growth.
I added a second setup column so I could record if there were 2 setups on the same signal
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Another day in a market that didn’t give many valid trades. But still a good day!
Actions I took:
- Listened to more training webinars and refined my notes
- Watched the live market and the commentary during the first 60 mins of the market open
- Reviewed the potential trades for Thursday
Live Trade Room and Commentary
I find that listening to the Live Room when the two moderators are in the room highlight and reinforce the trading nuances necessary to be successful.
Thursday Potential Trades
Thursday was another slow day but full of lessons.
After I went through the daily process of bar by bar static chart review, I looked at the trades I didn’t take and asked myself what would have happened in the live market. There was one trade I am sure I would have taken and lost. This one was not on my sheet as I had sufficient time to analyze it on the static chart. This part of deliberate practice is proving to be critical for building my skills.
The major lessons are around … When not to take a trade.
The other important process is having someone else check your practice of identifying valid trades. Feedback is critical to my growth.
I added a second setup column so I could record if there were 2 setups on the same signal
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
DAY 11 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – More Testing and Learning …
Another day in a market that was slow and didn’t give many setups … but still enough!
Actions I took:
Live Trade Room and Commentary
With the speed of the market being slower, more time was spent on questions, reinforcing lessons form the market and the webinars along with trade calls.
Friday Potential Trades
Friday was another slow day but full of lessons. The slow days test your discipline.
Again, on review on the day’s trades I identified some trades that I may have taken live which were not valid. This highlights that I need more practice on both a static chart and with Market Replay using a fast speed to help my decision making reflections.
Identifying the trade is easy but seeing the reasons not to enter can sometimes be harder.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Another day in a market that was slow and didn’t give many setups … but still enough!
Actions I took:
- Watched another live webinar
- Watched the live market and the commentary during the first 150 mins of the market open
- Reviewed the potential trades for Friday
Live Trade Room and Commentary
With the speed of the market being slower, more time was spent on questions, reinforcing lessons form the market and the webinars along with trade calls.
Friday Potential Trades
Friday was another slow day but full of lessons. The slow days test your discipline.
Again, on review on the day’s trades I identified some trades that I may have taken live which were not valid. This highlights that I need more practice on both a static chart and with Market Replay using a fast speed to help my decision making reflections.
Identifying the trade is easy but seeing the reasons not to enter can sometimes be harder.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
DAY 12 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Review Day …
Time to review where I am currently at, in the challenge.
Actions I took:
Current Status
I am happy with my progress, having gone through:
Apex Investing
Generally, I am very happy with the course and Apex Investing.
Best Features:
Possible Improvements:
What has held my progress up?
The biggest area that I have been slow to learn has been around when not to enter a trade especially around some types of chop. I have completed several other courses, but I find that in this course it is more important than in the others.
Am I on Track to my Goal?
At this time I see that I am on track to profitability within 90 days.
Review of the 6:3 Money Management Rule
The 6:3 ratio means that on any given day you can only lose 6 net trades and win 3 net trades before you stop trading. Apex state that is highly improbable to lose 6 net trades.
Too many people keep trading and don’t know when to stop.
Net 3 winners
This idea is based on wanting you to be profitable for 3 months before you start increasing your contracts. They also suggest that you withdraw 50% of your profit weekly.
If you trade ES with an 8 tick target the that means:
3 net winners = $12.50 x 8 = $100 x 3 trades = $300 per day minus commission.
Weekly = $300 x 5 = $1,500 – commission
Monthly = $1,500 x 4 = $6,000 – commission
Net 6 Losers
Again, If you trade ES with an 8 tick target the that means:
6 net losers= $12.50 x 8 = -$100 x 6 trades = -$600 per day plus commission.
Comment based on my Backtesting Results:
I like the idea of having the rule to stop trading. I have not seen any loss of 3 trades which resulted in 3 net losses. The only time this would occur would be if mistakes were made. So based on these results I will stop trading if 3 net trades occur on any 1 day. This will then allow me to identify and fix any problem before I lose too much financial or mental capital.
The idea of stopping when I make 3 net winners means that I will achieve my original goal and limit the risk of overtrading.
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Time to review where I am currently at, in the challenge.
Actions I took:
- Reviewed my current status with the course to see if I am on track to meeting my goals
- Reviewed the 6:3 Apex Rule
Current Status
I am happy with my progress, having gone through:
- all the online videos
- updating with the weekly webinars
- learning the setups and rules around entering and not entering
- daily review of possible trades
- peer to peer review of my daily review
- sim trading for 1 day to check that the process works
Apex Investing
Generally, I am very happy with the course and Apex Investing.
Best Features:
- The sniper setups appear to work (still to test in the live market)
- There are plenty of people in the community who will answer any questions or give you advice or how to find out the answer
- Apex team are very knowledgeable and want to help and make the information more understandable
Possible Improvements:
- The Bootcamp Sniper Training page has all the information and links for the course. It could be simplified and reordered to make it easier to follow.
- The course is evolving due to the market and Apex trying to simplify it for new people. This comes across as Apex changing things too often. They are only small changes but it can put you off. I find that they are just clarifying things to help the students
- When the moderators are in the trade room it can get confusing for the new people, as some of the trades are not sniper trades.
- If you miss the moderated room time then you will often miss great nuances to help you trade. I record the sessions so I don’t miss these gold nuggets.
What has held my progress up?
The biggest area that I have been slow to learn has been around when not to enter a trade especially around some types of chop. I have completed several other courses, but I find that in this course it is more important than in the others.
Am I on Track to my Goal?
At this time I see that I am on track to profitability within 90 days.
Review of the 6:3 Money Management Rule
The 6:3 ratio means that on any given day you can only lose 6 net trades and win 3 net trades before you stop trading. Apex state that is highly improbable to lose 6 net trades.
Too many people keep trading and don’t know when to stop.
Net 3 winners
This idea is based on wanting you to be profitable for 3 months before you start increasing your contracts. They also suggest that you withdraw 50% of your profit weekly.
If you trade ES with an 8 tick target the that means:
3 net winners = $12.50 x 8 = $100 x 3 trades = $300 per day minus commission.
Weekly = $300 x 5 = $1,500 – commission
Monthly = $1,500 x 4 = $6,000 – commission
Net 6 Losers
Again, If you trade ES with an 8 tick target the that means:
6 net losers= $12.50 x 8 = -$100 x 6 trades = -$600 per day plus commission.
Comment based on my Backtesting Results:
I like the idea of having the rule to stop trading. I have not seen any loss of 3 trades which resulted in 3 net losses. The only time this would occur would be if mistakes were made. So based on these results I will stop trading if 3 net trades occur on any 1 day. This will then allow me to identify and fix any problem before I lose too much financial or mental capital.
The idea of stopping when I make 3 net winners means that I will achieve my original goal and limit the risk of overtrading.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Very impressed with your APEX results so far. What's been the biggest challenge learning their system and how many hours outside of trading have your studied with the APEX sniper system? thanks
DAY 13 + 14 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Testing and Focus …
Time to test my skills and focus to improve.
Actions I took:
Market Replay Testing
The purpose of the Market Replay testing is to identify if I currently have the skills to trade profitably at the speed of the market.
The results identified one main area that I need improvement:
The main skill is identifying a certain type of chop. I will create an indicator to flag the chop and that should help a lot
Sunday + Monday Potential Trades
I identified 11 valid trades of which 10 were winners.
Of the three types of trades (Enhanced, Trend, and Divergence), Five trades were Divergence trades.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Time to test my skills and focus to improve.
Actions I took:
- Market Replay Testing to observe where I need to improve my skills
- Daily Practice of identifying the trades for the day
Market Replay Testing
The purpose of the Market Replay testing is to identify if I currently have the skills to trade profitably at the speed of the market.
The results identified one main area that I need improvement:
The main skill is identifying a certain type of chop. I will create an indicator to flag the chop and that should help a lot
Sunday + Monday Potential Trades
I identified 11 valid trades of which 10 were winners.
Of the three types of trades (Enhanced, Trend, and Divergence), Five trades were Divergence trades.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
DAY 15 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Daily Review …
ES had a good day and NQ starting to deliver good signals!
Actions I took:
Live Trade Room and Commentary
Darrell was late to the room and Lori shared her experience with the room.
Tuesday Potential Trades
The ES had some slow periods bit still would be a profitable day..
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
ES had a good day and NQ starting to deliver good signals!
Actions I took:
- Good learning in the live trading room at US Open
- Created and tested chop indicator – still some mods to do
- Reviewed the potential trades for Tuesday
Live Trade Room and Commentary
Darrell was late to the room and Lori shared her experience with the room.
Tuesday Potential Trades
The ES had some slow periods bit still would be a profitable day..
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
DAY 16- Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Daily Review …
ES had another good day!
Actions I took:
Live Trade Room and Commentary
The US open started slow but some good trades could be made. Avoiding News was critical.
Wednesday Potential Trades
The ES could have been a profitable day as long as you followed the rules.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
ES had another good day!
Actions I took:
- Good learning in the live trading room at US Open
- Reviewed the potential trades for Wednesday
- Continued using Market Replay to improve my live market decision making for the live market
Live Trade Room and Commentary
The US open started slow but some good trades could be made. Avoiding News was critical.
Wednesday Potential Trades
The ES could have been a profitable day as long as you followed the rules.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
DAY 17- Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Daily Review …
Not the best day for ES!
Actions I took:
Live Trade Room and Commentary
ES gave a lot of opportunities to lose money.
NQ is trading well during the US trading session. Some people are starting to trade more NQ then ES. I will continue with ES and from Monday, I will start recording the Potential Trades for NQ as well as ES.
Market Replay Lessons
Have your trading plan in front of you when you trade. This may sound common sense but I see a lot of people who are taking trades that are not valid trades. Just because it wins doesn’t mean it was a valid trade and can create bad habits.
After, listening in the live trade room it is easy to want to take other trades that I have not tested and fully trust.
This was a problem for me today when I started my Market Replay! I stopped and clarified the trade setups I was using and took ownership of that. After that, it was easier to focus on my trading and I stopped making silly mistakes if, in doubt, I referred to my setup notes for confirmation.
Thursday ES Potential Trades
This is one of the lowest ES profitable trade day lists that I have tracked.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Not the best day for ES!
Actions I took:
- Good learning in the live trading room at US Open – Lori shared some great lessons
- Continued using Market Replay to improve my live market decision making for the live market
- Reviewed the potential trades for Thursday
Live Trade Room and Commentary
ES gave a lot of opportunities to lose money.
NQ is trading well during the US trading session. Some people are starting to trade more NQ then ES. I will continue with ES and from Monday, I will start recording the Potential Trades for NQ as well as ES.
Market Replay Lessons
Have your trading plan in front of you when you trade. This may sound common sense but I see a lot of people who are taking trades that are not valid trades. Just because it wins doesn’t mean it was a valid trade and can create bad habits.
After, listening in the live trade room it is easy to want to take other trades that I have not tested and fully trust.
This was a problem for me today when I started my Market Replay! I stopped and clarified the trade setups I was using and took ownership of that. After that, it was easier to focus on my trading and I stopped making silly mistakes if, in doubt, I referred to my setup notes for confirmation.
Thursday ES Potential Trades
This is one of the lowest ES profitable trade day lists that I have tracked.
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Most traders should have scars to prove on their learning experience.
The debate on whether to use a paid or free course runs wild in most discussions.
The folks against the paid courses, as OP mentioned, turn out to be trash.
But, like someone mentioned, you will learn faster when you ride on the back of an experienced trader who will mentor you to navigate the complex path to trading success.
All the best with your 90 day challenge to profitability, i hope you keep track of every trade in the journey with a trading journal
The debate on whether to use a paid or free course runs wild in most discussions.
The folks against the paid courses, as OP mentioned, turn out to be trash.
But, like someone mentioned, you will learn faster when you ride on the back of an experienced trader who will mentor you to navigate the complex path to trading success.
All the best with your 90 day challenge to profitability, i hope you keep track of every trade in the journey with a trading journal
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.
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Copyright © 2004-2023, MyPivots. All rights reserved.