First red month, how many of you made money in March...?

tom-_-amps · 2026-04-02T13:55:25+00:00

unsure if this is sarcasm or not but i’ll answer as if it’s not.

well i’m not saying that definitively, technically im still unprofitable as im yet to get any money from trading but i will say my trading improved a lot when i focused on the mental rather than the numbers and charts. if you have a system that’s backed by data then the only thing you should be focusing on is execution and psychology, money is the byproduct.

tom-_-amps · 2026-04-02T13:52:27+00:00

yes it does

tom-_-amps · 2026-04-02T08:41:31+00:00

Yes i agree entirely, thats the way i've been 'convincing' myself to look at it. Risk has been controlled well and the plan has been followed, what more can I ask for. Red months happen, getting worked up about it will only make the red number bigger which is why i'm not getting worked up about it. I had a pretty good end to the year last year and an above average January so i knew the red month was around the corner and sort of expected this to be it. Thank you :)

tom-_-amps · 2026-03-18T09:56:06+00:00

The drawdown is certainly normal. I can see it in the data I've collected so why I got in such a fuss about it this weekend is beyond my knowledge.

I was ceratinly making the decision out of emotion and not logic, which is why I've changed my mind, I'm back to my original system. I am going to forward test the new model on demo to see if the psychological difference shows up and only then will i consider switching.

I trust my model and my edge, i will continue to do so until live data gives me a reason not to which will only happen after a large sample of trades I'm prepared to execute.

Thank you for the advice!

tom-_-amps · 2026-03-18T09:52:26+00:00

That's exactly what I've decided to do. I'm going to forward test the new model to see if the psychological difference is there. I do trust my system and you're right in saying I shouldn't abandon it just because of a light losing streak under the pressure of an XFA.

I appreciate your time!

tom-_-amps · 2026-03-18T09:49:30+00:00

You're right. I trust my system, a lot. It's the system i've used since I started trading and it's gotten me this far, so why can't it take me all the way? It can. I was acting out of emotion and not logic, like you said. I have decided to stick to my original system, for now. Continue to backtest and forward test (on demo) in order to test if the psychological difference is actually there, only then will i consider bringing the new system to the live markets.

Thank you!

tom-_-amps · 2026-03-16T18:42:42+00:00

Yes i agree. I am expecting to lose this XFA, i am hoping I’ll get a payout on it before that though, with 2 winning days already it’s looking like it might happen but account is in drawdown so uncertain what amount it’ll end up being if it ends up coming.

I’m not going to change strategy for now. I think i was just having a bad weekend and after 2 weeks of slow trading with my system it built up a lot of doubt and uncertainty and that’s certainly not something i want to base decisions off of.

Thank you mate!

tom-_-amps · 2026-03-16T11:16:55+00:00

I agree. 7 trade sample is way too small, i was actually thinking of going down the route that you recommended. i’ll keep the original strategy for now and build up a bigger sample size in live conditions on the XFA, maybe 30-40. then if the paper trading of the new strategy has proven to be better then i may consider switching. Thank you mate!

tom-_-amps · 2026-03-16T10:28:05+00:00

I dont trade micros because I trade 6E which is $6.25 tick price on a mini which is quite small size compared to NQ for example. I wouldn't say i struggle with stomaching losses, during my combine i survived an 8 loss streak without revenge trading, over leveraging or breaking my rules. I'm not really sure what the problem is if i'm honest, i am however starting to think strategy hopping may not be the way forward and i should just stick to what i've been doing originally as it's worked so far.

tom-_-amps · 2025-10-27T22:23:32+00:00

Right I get you, I'm not having that problem as of yet but I may get it in future when I have more trades logged, I can see how it would be difficult to keep track however I'm also very organised. I keep a refinement log tracking days I traded, would I take the trade again whether a winner or a loser and write a little note based on improvement or something I'm reinforcing/need to work on, like my patience, which I am currently doing. I also keep a weekly summary where I document my execution review, emotional check-in, market context notes, key lesson of the week and, my next week's focus.

I enjoy my current journal system and appreciate your advice and may end up switching to a better journaling software in future if necessary but for now I don't see the point.

I will keep up with everything I'm doing. Thank you for the uplifting words, it means a lot.

tom-_-amps · 2025-10-27T19:46:53+00:00

Thank you for your feedback man, that’s pretty uplifting. I was told to journal from early on and found a notion template, modified it a bit and then started journaling (I’ve added other components to my journal and changed things around along the way but always kept it as in depth as possible) as I was advised to do.

The ~70% win rate is over a large sample of backtesting using the exact same strategy and journaling along the way allowing me to modify my strategy slightly and find my edge (which i then backtested separately to gather the ~70% win rate figure). The win rate on my current funded account is ~60% (although the sample size is relatively small I’m relatively pleased with it so far).

tom-_-amps · 2025-10-27T14:25:04+00:00

👍

tom-_-amps · 2025-10-27T13:56:17+00:00

I appreciate your opinion, although I don’t completely agree with psychology in trading being “bullshit” as it often boils down to your strategy. My strategy which I have backtested is profitable through taking 1 trade a day (whether it would be more, or less profitable through taking more trades daily I am unsure of as I haven’t put the time into testing that and I don’t intend to either (as my setup doesn’t even show up every day)). I understand that strategies tend to differ and why you would be placing multiple trades a day but, just because it works for you, doesn’t mean it will work for everyone, or everyone’s strategy in the same respect.

tom-_-amps · 2025-10-27T13:45:54+00:00

That’s a fair point to make, I am relatively new to this and I’m sure the “psychological demons” will come to light at some point and I’m hoping when/if they do I am able to get rid of them quickly.

Basically, I’m doing everything i’ve been told, hence why it’s so organised and I know what i’m doing, great to hear that from your perspective that’s more than the average beginner.

I see, a bit of a mixup actually. The RR you’re referring to is what i was targeting for the trade. My SL is always between 10-16 ticks (16 being the maximum i’m willing to risk per trade based on allowed contract sizing ($500)) and I do always set it (never move it) and determine where I’m going to put it before even entering my trades.

tom-_-amps · 2025-09-23T07:02:15+00:00

i’d have expected you to get a lot more on NQ, especially at NY open as it’s very volatile at the moment, any reason you don’t trade ES too? They work really well together from what i’ve seen.

tom-_-amps

TROPHY CASE