But good news is I m currently sticking to one strategy and my discipline is much better too compared to my previous months. I had really bad discipline and executions. 90% of the reasons for my losses are me deviating away from my own rules. Hoping to see better days ahead. I trade in btw my job and after. My current job is the safety cushion I have to afford my mistakes. But my job is starting to give me backpain and all. Hoping to have a passive income from trading before my body gives out eventually. Thats the goal. Not millions. Just enough to be comfortable.

Relatively new trader, been trading for roughly 2 years, 1 year seriously

I've been having such a hard time this last few months since the Iran conflict started.

On days where it's choppy I get chopped out, and on the days where its not choppy I either manage to still somehow get chopped out in the only choppy part of the day, or I dont trade because Im afraid its going to chop out.

Has the market genuinely been harder to trade or am I just terrible at this? I can't tell

I recently made a stupid decision of taking out loans to pay for trading and now my money coming in for my job just barely covers the loan payments. I'm frustrated bec I had actually paid one of the loans off and had a lose then immediately took another loan out to trade again in which I lost. I'm not okay right now . I had a day that I was up 41k and I think since that day I've been chasing that number again which has just caused me to lose over and over again . I've been trading for 2 ish years and its only costed me that time and all the money I ever make . I'm considering that trading just isn't for me .

I have to spend the next couple months paying the loans off. I'm in probation at a job so im stressed out bec they can let me go at any point and I wouldn't be able to pay the money back. I've decided trading isn't for me . Maybe in the future when I'm more stable then ill do better but as of today I'm not touching another market again

One more profitable day until I'm eligible for my first ever second payout within the same account! Feels really great, any observations from my calendar? lmk

There is obviously a huge conglomerate of influencer course sellers preaching about day trading and flashing a glamorous lifestyle. This, in my opinion at least, delegitimizes the viability of day trading while simultaneously peaking my curiosity.

To be more specific - a lot of the industries that these types push courses on are legitimate and (potentially) profitable, for the right people.

Dropshipping - need sufficient capital. Amazon FBA - need sufficient capital. Real estate wholesaling - need to buy leads, hell this one might not even be legitimate (looks like some people find success, haven't researched enough. Airbnb arbitrage. Etc. etc. you get the drift.

These industries aren't for people living paycheck to paycheck, which happens to be the target demographic. I learned this years ago, and have pretty much written of any business model I see being pushed by some guy in Miami flexing a Lambo and penthouse that are both rented.

So, is trading any different? Who is it for? People who are already financially stable? Is it truly something that can be broken down into a science and made predictable? Are the ridiculous results being bolstered on social media common, anomalies, or flat out scams? What's the deal with this industry?

Found out about vwap through rough a post on here around 6 months ago when I had only been learning to trade for 3 months. Back tested researched into it further and it was like something clicked. It was crazy to me at first how good this indicator was compared to anything I’d seen previous.

To this day for the last 6 months I’ve been trading with it from demo to now a small live account. Trying to critique a strategy around the VWAP indicator.

I was curious to see how other people use this indicator. what time frame, different entry models that you use with it etc ……

Im 19, started studying trading back in August 2025 and started live late January.

Went into July after the best stretch ive ever had on June, about +$15,000 in profits. and as of today, im back to being an unprofitable trader. Down a little over $14K this month, it sucks, not gonna pretend it doesn’t, but at the same time what am I gonna do? cry? quit? blame the market? (I have cried on many occasions actually)
Looking back most of it was self inflicted, holding past invalidation, holding winners too long and giving it back, expecting June style trends although the enviornment was changing, I failed to adapt and still am.
So now its back to studying, gym, work, sleep over and over again. mind you I live in the pacific so I gotta be up and ready by 3:20am. Just gotta show up again tommorow.
Im heavily disappointed in my ability, my ego, and my impulsiveness trying to “get it back”. But I am not defeated yet, if this is the “tuition” i had to pay then so be it.

its just, the constant loop of repeating mistakes is costing not only my hard earned money, but the integrity of my confidence in my playbook, every day that goes by, it breaks it a little more, and whether I want to admit it or not, the losses this month loom over me and influence what trades I take.

Anyone else getting rocked by July or is it just me? 😭

I’m specifically asking this question because today Nvidia randomly shot up and I wasn’t sure what caused it mid trading day. My focus went to PN though and made a killing lol

This morning I was dead certain that SPY would go down. Now keep in mind, this is the first full month I had been following my strategy precisely without spiraling out of control.

Today could've been one of those days.

I've been making a lot of money recently on puts this month compared to calls. Mainly because I have a bearish mindset to the Iran war and some sell off of the semi conductor industry. I also haven't been elusive to the buyer support that is obviously present and the positive backing behind the tech industry with Google to report their earnings in the next few hours here. It's a part of my strategy to set tight stop losses and follow them through no matter what. I tell myself there's another day to trade and there's also another time to trade if I take the L on one trade it's not the end of the world.

In my head and on paper I follow it. But today my emotional state took over. To a point to where I lost over $400 (which is a lot for me right now). I've been slowly and gradually growing my portfolio. I kept moving the stop-loss up and up and what's worse is when I noticed 100,000 volume instant buy on the 1 minute, I still held, despite my instinct telling me to sell now!

At this point I was betting on hope and not logic and I knew this too. So what did I do at the 749? Doubled down (which was incredibly stupid). Because I was going off the basis of the heavy sell orders sitting and resting at 750. So, eventually, it went in the direction I thought it was going to go. A little while later it hit the 20 EMA downward. And then I sold it with a $20 profit on the day. I wasn't tempted to stick around and find out I was just happy to at least make everything back and a little extra.

The advice I give here though follow your stop losses. Because if I followed my stop loss today I would have been probably walking away with +$200 to +$300 by the end of today even with a $140 loss that I was planning to take but I did not.

The Repair Rally Paused. Buyers Still Hold the Initiative.

Wednesday, Buyers initially extended the advance, carrying the DJIA to an intraday high above 52,500, but the breakout attempt failed to attract sustained follow-through. Selling gradually increased through the afternoon, trimming nearly all of the morning gains before the DJIA finished essentially unchanged at 52,219.35.

The most important development was where the DJIA closed. Despite surrendering the morning breakout, buyers successfully defended the reclaimed 52,200 area. Rather than reversing Tuesday's recovery, Wednesday evolved into a consolidation session beneath overhead resistance.

Forecast Statistics

• Bucket: Repair Consolidation / Controlled Expansion
• Volatility Score: ≈ 1.22 (moderately elevated, continuing to contract)
• Probabilities: SU: 36% | LU: 20% | SD: 30% | LD: 14%
• Expected Return: ≈ +0.07%
• Projected Close: 52,150 – 52,650
• Directional Bias: 56% Up / 44% Down

Previous Close: 52,219.35

RECAP: Fearless correctly anticipated that the critical issue would be whether buyers could push into the 52,450–52,600 resistance zone while maintaining support near 52,300. That is largely what occurred. The DJIA rallied strongly during the morning, briefly exceeded the projected repair zone, and then encountered persistent selling pressure. Rather than collapsing after the failed breakout, however, buyers continued to absorb weakness throughout the afternoon, allowing the DJIA to finish almost unchanged. Fearless was somewhat too optimistic regarding immediate upside continuation, but correctly identified the session as a test of the repair process rather than the beginning of another broad decline.

Fearless Opines: Wednesday about character. Morning enthusiasm faded once prices approached the upper portion of the recent trading range, yet selling never developed into a decisive reversal.

Recent rallies repeatedly failed because sellers overwhelmed buyers after the initial advance. Wednesday produced a measured pullback followed by stabilization near the day's lower range. The next step is straightforward: sustained trading above Wednesday's morning high would suggest the repair is progressing. Continued rejection near 52,500 would imply that additional consolidation is still required before a more durable advance can develop.

Key Levels

• Bull Continuation Trigger: 52,350 – 52,450
• Breakout Zone: 52,500 – 52,650
• Structural Recovery: Above 52,750
• Primary Support: 52,150 – 52,250
• Failure Trigger: Below 52,050
• Breakdown Trigger: Below 51,900
• Major Support: 51,700 – 51,850

GO / REDUCE / EXIT Status: GO (Cautious Upgrade)

Wednesday did not invalidate Tuesday's recovery. Instead, it successfully tested it. For traders Thursday this means:

• Existing long positions can generally continue to be held.
• New long exposure is best initiated on orderly pullbacks rather than chasing strength near resistance.
• Normal position sizing is becoming reasonable.
• Aggressive leverage should still wait for a decisive close above 52,500–52,650.

The environment has shifted from rebuilding confidence toward cautiously participating in a developing recovery, although confirmation is still required.

Trader Takeaway: Tuesday rebuilt confidence. Wednesday tested that confidence. Thursday now determines whether buyers can convert two constructive sessions into a genuine breakout above resistance. A sustained move above 52,500 would strengthen the case that the July correction is transitioning into a broader recovery. A break below 52,150 would suggest the repair remains incomplete and that another test of support may still be ahead.

I know this has been beaten to death many times over I'm sure. I know because I spent a few days trying to research how to manage it myself and I honestly cant find a solid answer.

So my setup is ThinkorSwim in my Schwab account. Obviously I can see the halt after it happens on the Level 2 or the Tape. I'm currently using the NYSE or the NSDAQ Halt website to monitor the status. My issue is... I keep getting caught in the Halt and missing opportunities to get in or get out before or after the halt is released. Depending on my position, I find myself sitting and staring at the tape. Or I'll click a stock that I dont have a position in and its already halted, but I dont know how long it has to go before it gets released.

I understand the halt can be 5mins or so, and in todays case some of them were 20 mins or more. I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that there is no way to determine how LONG the halt will be, or an alert of some sore when a halt is lifted. In todays case, I was trying to get out of a position to goto an appointment and the halt hit. I waited over 10 mins before it was released.

I just want to get your thoughts on how you manage these situations... Again, I'm using TOS..

TIA...

Would you have taken this trade on the 1st test of the midpoint of a IFVG or the retest of the 9EMA after the high was broken if you were going for a trend trade?

Gold sat in this tight little box the whole London session - like a 7 or 8 dollar range it just would not leave. Finally broke the top on the US cash open, ran ~20 handles into the next resistance shelf, and now half the feeds I follow are calling it the moment gold "flipped" back to a war/safe-haven trade.

I don't buy it, and I keep second-guessing myself on it, so I figured I'd write it out and see if anyone talks me out of it.

My problem with the haven story: for two straight weeks gold went DOWN through actual escalation. Sirens, tankers, strikes, the lot. It just did not care. What's actually been moving it is rates and the dollar. And oil - everyone points at crude ripping as the bullish gold catalyst, but in this regime higher oil reads as inflationary, which keeps the Fed hawkish, which is a headwind for gold, not a tailwind. Gold has literally sold off on the big oil-up days this month. I had that backwards myself for a while and had to flip my own read on it.

So what actually carried the break today? Stocks were red at the open and gold ticked up while they fell. That's the one genuinely haven-ish thing on the board. But the dollar didn't move - flat on the day. And I've learned the expensive way this month that if the dollar isn't confirming, I don't get to call a regime change off one soft session in equities.

So my honest take: momentum bounce running into supply, not a war-haven flip. I traded the level break, I'm not buying the macro story behind it. If I'm wrong the tell will be the dollar rolling over - and I'll happily eat it.

Anyone else fading the "it's a haven trade now" narrative, or am I overthinking a clean breakout?

Hi

Brand new noob to day trading. I installed Ninjatrader after watching a few videos that seemed to recommend NT as the platform of choice.

But because I have Onedrive installed, it is not behaving correctly. Instructions were to remove onedrive completely. This is not possible as onedrive connects all my PCs, tablets, and phones to one central storage point. Without onedrive, I can't access my notes on Onenote, or my photos on my phone, or my latest copy of my resume.

So, I need an alternative to Ninjatrader that is just as feature rich if not better.

Anyone else here use CRT and have had success with itcare to spare some tips? Any of your best tips and tricks will help...

Things like what instruments you trade? What timeframes do you use? What other confluences do you use to help identity high quality CRT setups? Or did you find a strategy more successful after trying out CRT? Things of that nature etc etc

Much appreciation in advance to anyone who cares to answer

This was my biggest issue, before I started becoming consistent. Most struggle because we have retail mindsets. Any ah ha moments anyone wants to share???

I'm looking for a buy opportunity above 218.400, only if we get a solid 4hr close

Can anyone tell me how to lock the current price to the center of my chart in trading view? Every time the price skyrockets, I have to take my hands off of my hotkeys to readjust my chart. I end up missing the move because the current bar is off the chart. I realize I could just stay zoomed out, but I like to have the chart zoomed in so I can see the smallest movement on the 10 second chart. How do I do that? Thank you!!

Yesterday was probably the first time in months where I completely lost control.

Took a loss, convinced myself the next trade would make it back, then did it again. Before I knew it I'd completely abandoned the plan I'd been following all month.

The frustrating part is if you'd asked me yesterday morning whether I'd ever do that again, I would've said no without even thinking.

Now I'm just annoyed at myself because one bad session has taken attention away from what had actually been a pretty solid month.

How do you guys deal with days like this?

Do you just accept it, review it and move on, or do you take a few days off before trading again?

Finally Switched from NQ to MNQ... and Everything Changed

For the longest time I knew where the market wanted to go, but I kept getting shaken out because I was trading full NQ. The size was just too much for me psychologically. Every pullback felt massive, and I'd either cut winners early or panic out.

A couple of red days finally forced me to be honest with myself.

So I switched to 3 MNQ contracts instead.

Since making that change, my entries have been so much cleaner. I'm actually letting my setup play out instead of reacting emotionally to every candle.

The calendar I'm posting is after those two red days. Instead of trying to "win it back," I focused on executing my plan with smaller size. The result was a string of green days and a lot more confidence.

Nothing about my strategy changed.

My psychology did.

If you're consistently right about direction but can't seem to stay in trades, maybe the issue isn't your strategy. Maybe you're simply trading too big.

Sometimes making less per trade is exactly what allows you to make more over time.

Hello,

I've checked the course and was wondering what actual subscribers think about it. Would you recommend it? What is the most useful in the course? Is the tape reading section worth it?

Thank you!

I work full time and have recently been looking into trading. I already know there is so much research to he done before I even think about playing with real money, but before I officially start. I'm wondering if I should day trade or swing trade. My goal is to make at least a 2-3k extra a month.

But I wouldn't even start the actual trading for 6-12 months from now because I want to learn as much as I can so I hopefully don't lose as much.

Edit: I am debunking my comment on me wanting to make a certain amount of money and plan on treating this as something I want to keep getting better at.

My next question is, is it beneficial to learn both day trading and swing? Or should I pick one and go with that because of how different the strategies are? I am thinking of going swing since I work full time during the main hours of day trading, but don't know if it's beneficial to learn both or just focus on one.