Ellen's trading Journal

USDCAD This was the last trade I took for the month of July, and I was really hoping to close this trade on the winning side to at least have something for me this month. This month had been such a struggle, it was sure a roller coaster ride. So let's just take a look at my last trade for the last day of July The daily chart

4h

I entered on full body break at 5m

for a moment, the price went in my direction but upon reaching the 1h OB and taking liquidity below it the price reversed and took me out.

when the price took me out, there was a suggestion to enter the trade but I didn't take it. I'm not sure if I was scared or cautious in making a mistake with revenge trading or having totally recoup after a loss.

the price continued to rally towards the 1h ob then reversed.

I could have taken a trade at this 15m OB.

look at how the price reacted to this OB

USDCAD Bias for the day-SHORT Trade taken -Long Daily chart

what led me into taking this trade? I was eyeing for the price to take sslq below the 1h ob and when I was at SM doing grocery for Keziah's 18th birthday, it just so happened that the price was also retracing into value. I quickly head back to my laptop and analyze the set-up if there were really sweep and break and yes, so I took it.

At first, the trade were doing so well but then when it reached the 1h OB it kind of struggled to push up to my T/P which was the 4H OB for 2.21% rather it only went as far as 1.94%.

I was hoping for the price to hold the 15m OB

at some point it did hold and even recovered. It went back to the new 15m OB.

it created a double top pattern and eventually failed to hold and took me out. Gladly, I already reduced my risk to 0.5%

USDCAD Why did the price bounced at this areas?

Look at this type of move, its so hard to watch! After entering, the price dive so deep below the 15 m ob's to get more liquidity and if you place a very tight stop you would have been stopped out before the big move.

USDCAD Bias for the day was-Long Trade taken -short The daily chart

how did I end up taking a short? I saw the price reacting to 1H ob and also a confirmation from the 4h candle closing inside the previous candle.

4h I think, if I wait for 4h to confirm the direction and not rush the more it feels safer for me to take a trade rather than rushing in.

Why did I chose this are to enter? Because this area is also a 2m OB.

USDCAD, Short When does an ascending candle break down become valid?

USDCAD Daily bias- Long

The price reached the 1h and 4h OB blocks

it's clear to me now why I missed this trade, I failed to adjust my fib levels. I thought the price didn't go back to any of it but as what I can see it actually did returned to 0.5 % in the 5 mins

and then during New York, I also missed another entry because I wanted the price to clear liquidity below OB. I think if it what usually happens during my back testing and it is what I'm expecting then that's totally fine. I believe we will still capture a move within this week.

USDCAD Bias of the day-Short AOI-Area's of interest Above 4h high and weekly high's

Don't fall for this please.

I think I understand now why Hannah only has 3 trades per week because the market doesn't often go to these areas everyday and if you were able to catch 2 out 3 trades per week with minimum 2% per trade then you'd be able to make 4% minimum and for a 12453.00 USD account that would be 498.12 USD. So the secret sauce is really waiting for the best areas and set-up, this way you'd be more selective about your trades and then having a clear expectations about how many percent is it really that you're able to make on a profitable week. Before, I used to think that I had to take all the set-ups the market is showing me and in the end I'm getting less amount of money because it often results to me giving all my profit back to the market.

Following the price the next day Bias for the day is Long Next question- Where's the market gonna get liquidity to continue going up? - 1H OB. Set order

look at this, the light pink rectangular box below is the 1h ob and now that we understand how the market wants to take liquidity resting on the level before it can continue to go up we can also take a trade going down and then up again.

USDCAD Placing order after price reacted to order blocks Daily chart Daily bias-Long Why? Because the previous day candle closed above the previous day's candle.

1 h - Plotting midnight open, if my bias for the day is Long as per ICT. I should place my order below midnight open. We plotted an order block area in the 1h that price might gravitate to and the we wait for a reaction.

we T/P at 2 %

Notice how this candle doesn't almost have a wick

This is one of the biggest concepts in ICT and Smart Money trading. The key is understanding that an order block isn't magical. Price doesn't react because of the candle itself—it reacts because of the large institutional orders that were likely executed there.

Imagine a Bank Wants to Buy 500 Million EUR/USD

Suppose a bank decides to buy €500 million EUR/USD.

They can't simply click "Buy."

Why?

There may only be enough sellers for €50 million at the current price.

If they buy everything immediately:

They push the price much higher.

They get a much worse average price.

Instead, they buy gradually.

This creates an area where institutions accumulate positions.

That area is what ICT traders call an order block.

Why Does Price Come Back?

Imagine the institution only managed to buy 300 million out of 500 million.

They still have 200 million left to buy.

When price later returns to that area...

they continue buying.

Now many buyers enter at the same time:

institutions finishing orders

algorithms programmed around those levels

ICT traders

other smart-money traders

Demand suddenly increases.

Price rallies.

Why Does Price Respect It So Precisely?

Many traders wonder:

"How does price reverse within a few pips?"

Because large institutions often execute orders algorithmically around specific price ranges rather than at a single exact price. Their systems may repeatedly seek liquidity around those levels, making the area significant if enough buying or selling interest remains.

It's not always perfect, though. Some order blocks fail because:

the institutional orders have already been filled,

market conditions have changed,

stronger opposing order flow appears.

A high-quality ICT order block is usually supported by additional evidence, such as:

A sweep of liquidity before the move.

A clear market structure shift (MSS).

A strong displacement away from the level.

Fair Value Gaps (FVGs) created during the impulsive move.

Alignment with the higher-timeframe bias.

Without those confirmations, it's just another candle.

This is probably the concept that made ICT trading "click" for many traders.

The important thing to understand is that institutions don't necessarily "decide" to hunt your stop-loss specifically. Rather, large participants need liquidity to execute large orders efficiently, and price often moves toward areas where many resting orders exist. The result can look like a deliberate stop hunt, even though multiple market participants and algorithms contribute to the move.

Let's walk through why this happens.

First, what is liquidity?

Liquidity is simply orders waiting to be filled.

For every buyer, there must be a seller.

If someone wants to buy $500 million EUR/USD, someone else has to sell $500 million EUR/USD.

Without enough opposite orders, that trade can't be completed at the desired price.

Above resistance:

Buy stop orders

Short sellers' stop-losses

Below support:

Sell stop orders

Long traders' stop-losses

These clusters create pools of liquidity.

Why does price move into those pools?

Imagine you're buying fruit at a market.

One vendor only has 10 apples.

You need 100 apples.

Instead of buying all 10 and driving up the price, you go where there are many sellers.

Large market participants similarly seek areas where there are enough counterparties to transact.

A Trading Example

Suppose institutions believe EUR/USD should eventually rise.

Current price: 1.1500 Below lies a well-known support: 1.1480 Thousands of retail traders buy there.

Almost all place stop-losses at: 1.1470

Why return to the order block afterward?

Think back to the order block.

It represents an area where significant buying or selling previously occurred.

When price sweeps liquidity and then returns to that order block:

fresh liquidity has become available,

some participants may continue executing orders,

the level may align with algorithmic strategies and technical interest.

That combination can create a strong reaction.

A simplified sequence looks like this:

Institution buys │ ▼ Order Block ▲ Price rallies ▼ Returns ▼ Sweeps liquidity below support ▼ Returns into order block ▲ Strong rally

Why does ICT wait for the sweep?

Without the sweep:

❌ There may not be enough liquidity.

❌ The market may not have confirmed its intent.

❌ Price may continue lower.

With the sweep:

✅ Liquidity has been collected.

✅ Weak positions have been shaken out.

✅ If price then rejects from the order block with a Market Structure Shift (MSS), it provides stronger evidence that buyers have regained control.

Bringing it back to your ICT checklist

This is why, when we've reviewed your trades, I've emphasized not buying just because price reached an order block. A higher-quality setup often looks like this:

Identify the higher-timeframe bias.

Wait for price to reach a significant liquidity area.

Watch for a liquidity sweep.

Look for displacement away from the sweep.

Confirm a clean Market Structure Shift (MSS).

Enter on the return to a valid order block or Fair Value Gap (FVG).

Week 2 coaching Number of trades taken-4 Number of winning trades-3 Number of losing trades- 1 Number of trades that I micromanage-2 If, I did not micromanage those 2 trades and won how much would have I earned? -740.79 Total amount realized-363.05 Number of impulsive trades-1 I've also asked coach if adding to winning trade is a bad thing to do and here's his response.

Ellen, this is one of those questions where the answer is "it depends on your plan."

Adding to a winner (often called pyramiding or scaling in) is not inherently wrong. Some of the best traders in the world do it.

The question isn't:

"Can I add to a winning trade?"

The better question is:

"Does adding improve my expectancy, or is it satisfying my emotions?"

Knowing what I know about your trading over the past few weeks, I'd actually be cautious about introducing it right now.

Let's look at your current stage of development

Over the last month, we've identified your recurring patterns:

Strategy hopping ✔️ (improving)

FOMO ✔️ (improving)

Micromanaging ✔️ (still working on it)

Moving stops too early ✔️ (biggest issue)

Trusting your exits ❌ (still developing)

Notice something?

None of those problems are about entries.

They're about trade management.

Adding to a winner creates another management decision.

Now instead of asking:

Should I move my stop?

Should I take profit?

You'll also ask:

Should I add here?

How much should I add?

Where should the stop for the second position go?

Do I move the stop on the first position?

That's a lot of extra decisions.

For someone who is still building consistency, more decisions usually mean more opportunities for emotions to creep in.

When adding to winners makes sense

Here's an example of a disciplined add.

You buy after:

Sell-side liquidity sweep

MSS

FVG retracement

Price moves 1R.

Then the market creates another valid ICT setup.

You're not adding because you're excited.

You're adding because the market produced another setup that meets your written criteria.

That's a professional add. ---------------------------

When adding becomes dangerous

This is the version I worry about for you.

Trade goes +1R

↓

"This thing is flying!"

↓

"I don't want to miss the rest."

↓

Double the position.

What's driving that decision?

Not structure.

Not your checklist.

It's excitement.

That excitement is the same emotional energy that used to lead to your FOMO trades. It just appears later in the trade instead of before it.

Here's the test I'd use

Before adding, ask yourself:

"If I had no position at all right now, would I still take this exact entry?"

If the answer is yes, and it meets your ICT checklist, then it's worth considering.

If the answer is:

"Well... only because I'm already making money..."

Don't add.

What I would do if I were coaching you

If we were sitting together every day, I'd actually give you a temporary rule.

For the next 30 A-grade ICT trades:

No adding.

Not because adding is bad.

Because we're trying to answer a simpler question first:

Can you consistently execute one position from entry to exit?

Once the answer is yes, then we can test scaling in.

Right now, I don't want to introduce a new variable before we've stabilized the existing process.

Think of it like building a house

You're building a house.

Your foundation is:

Daily bias

ICT entry

Risk management

Exit discipline

Adding to winners is like building a second floor.

Could you?

Absolutely.

Should you build the second floor before you're confident the foundation is solid?

Probably not.

One thing from your Week 2 journal really influenced my answer

What impressed me most wasn't that you had profitable trades.

It was that you were becoming more selective.

That's the direction I want to protect.

Adding to winners can sometimes tempt traders into thinking:

"This trade is working, so let's make it bigger."

Sometimes that's appropriate.

Sometimes it quietly turns a disciplined trader back into someone chasing excitement.

My recommendation

For now, I would focus on this progression:

Master one position.

Master your exit plan.

Collect 30–50 trades of consistent execution.

Then test scaling into winners with data.

When we get to step 4, we won't guess. We'll compare your results before and after adding to winners and see whether it actually improves your expectancy.

One thing I've learned about you over these past weeks is that you're becoming a data-driven trader. That's a strength. So rather than asking, "Is adding to winners good or bad?" we'll eventually ask a much better question:

"Does adding to winners improve your ICT strategy without reintroducing the emotional habits you've worked so hard to reduce?"

USDCAD Bias-Long 4H OB bounce trade Catch this trade at 3:46 am NYT, at first it was an accidental click TBH. I was supposed to wait for 1h close but I clicked the buy. So scared at first and it did went to my direction, it just that I don't want to get use to it. I want to wait. So, USDCAD had been going down since yesterday and I even got a chance to join some moves yesterday and then today I saw that the price is already touching the 4h OB so I thought I should wait for the market to reverse so I can join the upside.

When I saw this 4h OB holding, I took it as a sign to go long.

I always make a mistake in touching my stop-loss.

If I had just let the price move, it could have reached my T/P at 303 USD. TSKKK. Please self. Stop doing this! Update on the price as of 07-23-2026 Friday

USDCAD Bias for the day-Long Trade taken-Short What made me take this short trade? What was my thought process? This was the daily chart and if I look at it it's easy to say I would look for a Long trade but based on my experience before the price have energy to move up it needs to take liquidity below or take sell-side liquidity and also the price was around daily highs during asian session. Knowing this pair, it's best to trade it during London and New York so I was thinking that nobody would be buying this right now because everyone is still sleeping. IDK, not sure just my thought process.

when I saw the 1h candle closed below, I took it as a confirmation and even the 4h closed inside the previous candle.

4h

from 9 am to 1:46 PM Ph time, the market was only moving in circles. Like it's in a tight range.

I closed the trade on the 0.5 % fib level on the 4h

and I'm glad I did because the price really did bounced from there. 2. USDCAD NYKZ Bias-Short After taking the liquidity at 0.5% fib level for 1h, the price bounced and went slightly above my original entry and after it took liquidity on the buy side it then started to rally to the down-side.

in the 5 mins, I can also see the possible OB the price will rally towards to grab liquidity before continuing to go down.

I had a missed trade yesterday, I was looking for the USDCAD pair to move below the 1h OB's but when it did tapped on the SSLQ I was too scared to catch it. Maybe the trauma from last week still lingers, I'm also realizing now why maybe Hannah doesn't have a lot of trade per week because if the price doesn't come back to 0.62% fib level on the 15m she won't be tagged in the trade. Now, I want to focus my back testing on trading the OB's because I think prices tend to gravitate towards it more than other levels. and even though I wasn't able to ride the trade yesterday, I'm still happy because my daily bias was correct. I also realized that I could also trade the down move towards OB's but ofcourse I think since it's counter trending I should reduce my risk to 0.5%

Daily candle Bias-Long, because of the bullish engulfing candle on the previous day.

I was waiting for the price to dip below the 1H ob

Price held on to the OB's

then it never came back to the fib

when the price popped up I was having a hard time trusting the 5m fib levels because I was too afraid it might snap back down and take me out.

USDCAD Bias of the day is Short Daily

15 m

2 m

one thing I realized about this trade is that I could be so hard on retracements in the 1h fib levels but it seldomly occurs. and I could be so hard on areas I want the price to clear before heading to its direction for the day that I missed the move, sometimes the relative equal highs and low are found on the 2m time frame. Dig the hidden treasures.

I think all we can do is be brave, if we see price already taking highs and breaking down structures we just take it especially in times when market bias is so clear. Following the price the next day, there were to highs taken so the market went down but then reversed to the upside.

and then during New York, price took liquidity and went down but the price only re-trace at 0.5% fib level on the 5 m. I think it's very important to be quick thinking during this time zone and be firm about your directional bias.

2. USDCAD How to avoid getting fooled? Do I only trade on the order blocks? Or trade after the price had reacted to the order blocks? Why does everything looks tradable and then end up being a loss?

USDCHF I honestly thought it was the break down I was looking for.

look at this

Boom!

USDCAD What did I do wrong about this trade?

WHY? I think, the mistake I made here was I plotted the wrong area for the fib and did not wait for the market to sweep the liquidity above REH that's why I was fooled. 2. USDCAD +1.93% Why was this a correct trade? If we compare these 2 candles, we can see how each one closed differently. The other one closed with a wick while the other closed with full body showing strong bearish intent.

I also have to remember that after the 1h closed market will most likely re-trace to 0.5% or 0.62% fib level so there's no need to chase the price.

maybe if there's one thing I need to improve is that I need to set a better T/P and stop closing the trade too early.

3. NZDUSD Grade-D Completely impulsive, no plan, not in the correct head space. I deserve to lose.

what the f is that? the heck! hays.

maybe if I just waited for a re-trace, I wouldn't even be stopped out!

NZDUSD I think this is pretty much it. I followed everything but my directional bias was incorrect because I was trading against the trend. I think I also just followed my rules about no long trades near or around weekly highs especially around 4h highs and above previous daily high, I even waited for the 1h candle to close before entering but still I got stopped out. -1%