Background:
I’ve been trading for 4 years and have tried a wide range of approaches. I started with swing trading based on macro narratives, then shifted to trading around risk events. After that, I focused on market structure, price action, and volatility.
Despite the effort, my long-term results have been breakeven. I’ve tried tweaking various parameters in my setups, but none of those changes made a meaningful difference.

Goal:
Change the way I perceive trading. Document and evaluate a new approach, and track my learning process along the way.

⸻

Trading Concept:
Participate in trades during imbalance, and exit when the market returns to balance.
• Balance: A zone where buying and selling activity is roughly equal, and price rotates around a fair value area.
• Imbalance: A condition where one side (buyers or sellers) dominates, causing the market to move directionally to search for new value.

⸻

Current Approach:
• Use TPO to identify areas of balance and imbalance.
• If price is inside balance → sit out.
• If price breaks out of balance → zoom in and look for opportunity.
• When zooming in, use footprint charts to assess:
• Did aggressive buying or selling overwhelm the other side?
• Was there absorption followed by a flush?
• Did price break through a micro-balance or an LVN?
• Questions to ask for trade exit:
• Is volume starting to taper off?
• Has effort (delta, volume) stopped moving price?
• Has delta flipped against my position?

⸻

Daily Preparation Checklist:
• Review prior session’s news and major events
• Check upcoming economic/calendar events
• Evaluate open location in relation to prior value area
• Review overnight range and its context

Asset Day template:
# {{date}} - {{asset}}

## 📊 Context

- **IB Range**:
- **IB vs Average**: ⬆️ Above / ⬇️ Below / 🔄 Equal
- **IB Classification**: Wide / Narrow
- **Opening Type**: Open Drive / Open Test Drive / Open Rejection Reverse / Open Auction In Range
- **Opening Location**: Inside Value / Outside Value / Above VAH / Below VAL
- **Day Type (Projection)**: Normal / Trend / Double Distribution / Neutral / Unknown
- **Shape Type (TPO)**: P / b / D / Trend / None yet
- **Overnight Range**:
- **Balance Zone (if any)**:
- **Bias**: 🟢 Bullish / 🔴 Bearish / ⚪ Neutral
- **Narrative**: What am I expecting today?


## 📝 Notes / Outcome Reflection
- Did the day follow the expected bias?
- Any big surprises?
- Did you hesitate or miss something?

Trade template

# {{date}} - {{asset}} Trade {{number}}

## 📌 Setup & Context

- **Location in Profile**: Single Prints / LVN / HVN / Edge / Breakout / Inside Balance

- **Screenshot at 30m**:
- **Screenshot at 3m**:

## ⚙️ Execution

- **Trigger Type**: Delta Shift / Absorption / Sweep / Footprint Imbalance / Tape
- **Entry Reason**:
- **Exit Reason**: Signal / Discomfort / Other

## 📈 Outcome
- **Win/loss**
- **Would I take this trade again?**
- **Emotion check**: Calm / Rushed / Doubtful / Confident

## 🔁 Review Flags
- [ ] Hesitation
- [ ] Poor read
- [ ] Good execution
- [ ] Misjudged context
- [ ] Impulse

# 21.07.2025 - MCL

## 📊 Context

- **IB vs Average**: 🔄 Equal
- **IB Classification**: Narrow
- **Opening Location**: Below VAL
- **Shape Type (TPO)**: P
- **Balance Zone (if any)**:
- **Bias**: 🔴 Bearish
- **Narrative**: Continues down move



@MCL - Context - Jul-21 1452 PM (30 min)


# MES - 21.07.2025

## 📊 Context

- **IB vs Average**: ⬇️ Below
- **IB Classification**: Narrow
- **Opening Location**: Inside Value
- **Day Type (Projection)**: Normal
- **Shape Type (TPO)**: Trend (double distribution)
- **Bias**: 🟢 Bullish
- **Narrative**: Breakout of previous day value.


@MES - Context - Jul-21 1453 PM (30 min)


# {{date}} - {{asset}}

## 📊 Context

- **IB vs Average**: ⬆️ Above / ⬇️ Below / 🔄 Equal
- **IB Classification**: Narrow
- **Opening Type**: Open Drive /
- **Opening Location**: Inside Value
- **Day Type (Projection)**: Trend
- **Shape Type (TPO)**: Trend::
- **Bias**: 🟢 Bullish
- **Narrative**: While expectation is Bullish, I'll try to play reversal due to very quick price discovery. Will observe footprint for any sign of exhaustion.

@MGC - Context - Jul-21 1451 PM (30 min)

# 21.07.2025 - MGC Trade 1 & 2

## 📌 Setup & Context

- **Location in Profile**: Single Prints / LVN

- **Screenshot at 30m**:
@MGC - Context - Jul-21 1636 PM (30 min)


- **Screenshot at 3m**:
@MGC - Footprint - Jul-21 1637 PM (3 min)


@MGC - Footprint - Jul-21 1639 PM (3 min)




## ⚙️ Execution

- **Trigger Type**: No trigger type, footprint didn't show signal for reversal.
- **Entry Reason**: Impulse
- **Exit Reason**: SL

## 📈 Outcome
- **loss**
- **Would I take this trade again?** : NO
- **Emotion check**: Rushed / Doubtful
## 🔁 Review Flags
- [ ] Hesitation
- [x] Poor read
- [ ] Good execution
- [ ] Misjudged context
- [x] Impulse

Bad entry, was trying to pickup high, no actual signal on already low probability setup (reversal).
I already confirm for myself that reversal is harder to trade and probability of win is low. It's not a make sense to trade it with even lower chance on success (impulse entry).

Today trades summary:
I told myself to only trade when price leaves a previous balance zone and is in the process of discovering a new one — or until the new value area starts getting rejected.

But instead, I took a trade while price was already deep into a long discovery phase, hoping it would return to the previous balance zone — which goes against my original plan.

Currently it's hard to see if IB could be useful for me to gather context. I most active on London and Asia session, does this IB important? Need to observe it more.

Asset Day template:
# 22.07.2025 - MGC

## 📊 Context

- **Opening Type**: Open Drive / Open Test Drive / Open Rejection Reverse / Open Auction In Range
- **Opening Location**: Inside Value
- **Day Type (Projection)**: Normal
- **Shape Type (TPO)**: b
- **Overnight Range**: Wide
- **Balance Zone (if any)**: 3400
- **Bias**:Neutral for today, but Bullish for the week
- **Narrative**: Pullback from last big move
@MGC - Context - Jul-22 0932 AM (30 min)



Asset Day template:
# 22.07.2025 - MCL

## 📊 Context

- **Opening Type**: Open Drive
- **Opening Location**:Below VAL
- **Day Type (Projection)**: Trend / Double Distribution
- **Shape Type (TPO)**: None yet
- **Overnight Range**: Narrow
- **Balance Zone (if any)**: 65,80 ; 65.40
- **Bias**: 🔴 Bearish
- **Narrative**: Continuation of down move

@MCL - Context - Jul-22 0933 AM (30 min)


Asset Day template:
# 22.07.2025 - MES

## 📊 Context

- **Opening Type**: Open Auction In Range
- **Opening Location**: Inside Value
- **Day Type (Projection)**: Normal
- **Shape Type (TPO)**: None yet
- **Overnight Range**: Narrow
- **Balance Zone (if any)**:
- **Bias**: Neutral
- **Narrative**: Rotate in previous day range

@MES - Context - Jul-22 0936 AM (30 min)

# 22.07.2025 - MGC Trade1

## 📌 Setup & Context

- **Location in Profile**: LVN

- **Screenshot at 30m**:

@MGC - Context - Jul-22 1000 AM (30 min)


- **Screenshot at 3m**:

@MGC - Footprint - Jul-22 1000 AM (3 min)


## ⚙️ Execution

- **Trigger Type**: Delta Shift Footprint Imbalance Tape
- **Entry Reason**: Price reach new LVN today which also previous day LVN from where price was rejected, strong trend day tomorrow, current move possible pullback.
- **Exit Reason**: Signal / Discomfort / Other

## 📈 Outcome
- **Win**
- **Would I take this trade again?** : Yes
- **Emotion check**: Confident on entry, doubtful on exit

Very early exit, I exit due to discomfort and not still not confident with my footprint reading, but there was no sign for exit, pullback formed and prices only started to go in direction with trend.

## 🔁 Review Flags
- [ ] Hesitation
- [ ] Poor read
- [ ] Good execution
- [ ] Misjudged context
- [ ] Impulse

# 22.07.2025 - MCL Trade 2

## 📌 Setup & Context

- **Location in Profile**: HVN

- **Screenshot at 30m**:
@MCL - Context - Jul-22 1100 AM (30 min)


- **Screenshot at 3m**:
@MCL - Footprint - Jul-22 1101 AM (3 min)


## ⚙️ Execution

- **Trigger Type**: No proper trigger, was thinking its a pullback
- **Entry Reason**: Price start to breakdown from POC, considered it as trend continuations, but didn't use actual footprint for entry
- **Exit Reason**: Signal (wick candle is formed, closed because no proper entry was made)

## 📈 Outcome
- **Win
- **Would I take this trade again?**: No
- **Emotion check**: Rushed

## 🔁 Review Flags
- [ ] Hesitation
- [ ] Poor read
- [ ] Good execution
- [ ] Misjudged context
- [x] Impulse