From $0 to $100k (whilst working full time)

[tr1ps_master]

16 - 20 March 2026 = +2.50R (6 trades) - Balance $100,287

• +0.18R (BE-ish) - opened trade on 13th closed on 18th March
• -1.04R
• +1.22R
• -1.02R
• +1.50R
• +1.67R

This is the week corresponding to the above results, where I got my Account 1 Phase 2 back into profitville, and passed Account 2 Phase 1.

 

[tr1ps_master]

23 - 27 March 2026 = -2.05R (3 trades) - Balance $99,261

• -1.00R
• -0.98R
• -0.07R (BE)

 

[tr1ps_master]

30 March - 3 April 2026 = -2.49R (5 trades) - Balance $98,015

• -1.03R
• +1.62R
• -0.52R and -0.69R - Executed on the wrong pair to the one I done my analysis on - albeit highly correlated. Rookie error. Then entered on the correct pair, but both positions started going quickly against me, I had normal risk on both, decided to just manage risk and closed out with a combined -1.20R. This really epitomised my mental state right now.
• -1.01R
• -0.86R

I definitely feel this week I am starting to want to Overtrade again. Need to reign it in.
Again, probably because of work situation, I am probably subconsciously trying to look for an escape when I have extremely busy periods at work.

Although saying that, 5 trades, is within my permitted number of weekly trades. However, I say I am starting to want to overtrade because mentally I am starting to scour the charts to opportunities, instead of just look, wait and execute.

 

[tr1ps_master]

What I have noticed in myself

After a positive run, like two weeks in a row, like the one I had a few weeks back, where I smashed 9 trades (6W, 1BE, 2L) netting me +7.57R, I inevitably start a losing streak.

Since that week I had 8 trades (1W, 1BE, 6L) netting me -4.54R.

It looks like this, each subsection is a week long.

This is my current Mental Battle - just stick to waiting around and not keep hunting for opportunities, especially after a positive run.

It's a weird thing this, I will equate to when I was playing tennis at a pretty decent level.
Some days, on my groundstrokes, I would turn up on the court and smash my cross courts and then up then down the line shots effortlessly, follow it in, and put away the volley like it was child's play.
I was completely In The Zone, like almost in a Flow State. No thinking involved.
Then on days when I start to think about how I was making those high risk shots easily, the brain would inevitably overthink and that would cause you to hit the net.
I guess this is very true of any sports, Golf especially, where you only have a finite amount of shots to play and each shot counts.

 

[tr1ps_master]

*Just a quick shout out / request for anyone still reading this journal*

If anybody is reading this still, firstly thank you, hope your journey is going well!

Secondly, do you mind dropping a line here or dm me - just a Hello, or what you found useful in this journal/journey, where you're at in your journey.

Like I said at the outset, this whole journey is mainly for my own documentation, but out of curiosity, it would be interesting to see if anyone else finds it useful.

Hopefully by me showing a true account of someone genuinely trying to become a professional trader and not some instagram Demo trader with a yellow lambo, it may help others on their journey too.

PS - yellow lambo...seriously, if you have that kind of money, just buy a Lexus, you will be far happier!
I had to exchange my Lexus for a Toyota because of interior space for a child, yes its the same engine, but man oh man, Lexus just drives differently!
Once I pay off the mortgage from trading profits, I am buying that car again in the future😁😛!

If nobody is reading this, absolutely fine - I will carry on documenting my journey regardless.

 

[tr1ps_master]

It's been a while.

I'm still here!

Still grinding it out.

Higher timeframe charts have been mentally really draining, I took a bit of a mini break and had a re-think of my approach.

Will spare you the boring details, but right now I am trading only:
- S&P500
- Gold
- EUR/USD and GBP/USD

I get at least 1 setup a day.

Objective at the moment - very simple, take trades at good HTF levels.

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Account 1 - $100k FTMO, stage 2.

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Account 2 - $100k FTMO, stage 2.

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It's a slog people!

I'll keep you updated, but for now, nothing more to say that I previously haven't.

If you're struggling, you're not alone.
If you are working full time, have family and feel like you are operating in zombie mode, you're not alone.

Keep going!

 

[tr1ps_master]

An update.

I was day trading for a couple of months.
Had some good periods and then the bad periods followed.

With my work, day trading is just too mentally taxing.

The last few months I employed an adaptation to my previous day trading endevours, where I was previously only using price action, now I added Heiken Ashi charts and some oscillating indicators. This had allowed to me stay objective.

I noticed something with the oscillators and my previous swing trading which was really helpful for pullbacks.

I have transitioned back to Daily/H4/H1 charts with a very clear entry signal as of last week.

Still only trading S&P and Gold. I cut out EURUSD and GBPUSD, as they have really high swaps and commissions compared to the other two.

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Something I noted about myself:

When I trade 0.50% risk, my brain takes trading seriously but is liable to go "that looks like its a great setup" when on reflection I realise in my reviews, that was a really poor setup and I did not get my signal, I was premature to the entry when I thought the signal was about to be given.

When I trade 1%-2% risk, I can exercise more patience and really let the price action come to where I want the price to be. This feels like I hit a sweet spot where I take it seriously enough because its meaningful to me (I suppose). Plus I also realise with that level of risk I only get 10 or 5 shots before I fail a challenge, and there is no need to waste a single bullet unnecessarily.

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FTMO - Acc 1 - Phase 2 - Balance $95,106
FTMO - Acc 2 - Phase 2 - Balance $93,695