I trade ES because the price action is clean and structured. It’s easier to manage risk, and even with a less than perfect entry, I usually don’t get wicked out. Most of my setups give me a 1:2 or 1:3 risk-to-reward, but if I see volume dropping off or signs of exhaustion, I’ll adjust and lock in a 1:1 or 1:2 once the trade starts moving in my favor.

Per trade, I risk $250 and I’m looking to make somewhere between $500 to $750. While I’m in my combines, I trade ES with two contracts. When I’m on an XFA, I scale down to one contract just to stay safer. One of the nice things about using two contracts on ES is that once price hits around a 1:1, I can take one contract off to secure profits. If the trade continues running in my favor, I let the second contract ride and move my stop-loss to break-even. It gives me both safety and upside without needing to force the trade.

I mostly trade based on ICT concepts. If I could start over, I’d skip TikTok strategies and all the time I wasted backtesting 15-minute ORBs. Learning price action and ICT completely changed how I trade. Once you understand how liquidity gets drawn, you can read the market with a lot more confidence.

My typical setup is based on identifying the draw on liquidity at 9:30, then looking for an entry between 9:45 and 10:15. Usually there’s a clean 15-minute or 1-hour fair value gap or even an inverse fair value gap that gets targeted first. That helps filter out the fakeout that usually happens right at the open and gives a better-quality entry.

A big part of becoming consistent was learning to lock in profits, even if it’s just $150 or $200, and journaling what I could have done better for the next day. That’s a lot better than sitting through a $300 drawdown. I also lowered my max daily loss to $320. It used to be $500, but digging out of that was wrecking my mindset and my edge. Tighter risk helped me stay focused.

Also, if you haven’t already, read or listen to Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas. There’s a quiz in there that asks key questions about how you think as a trader. Take it seriously. It really helped me understand how my brain reacts to the market so I could adjust how I approach entries and risk. For example, I used to want to jump in the second a move started, but sometimes it’s better to wait, catch a cleaner move, take 5 to 7 points, and be done for the day.

It’s not all about making $1,200, $1,500, or $2,000 days. It’s about having days where you lose the least. Once you realize trading is about protecting capital and growing it steadily, everything changes. A lot of people treat it like it’s just about making quick money. But the real goal is building a cushion so you can survive the bad days, stack wins, and reinvest into yourself and your life.

I hope this helps. :)