It took ages, I know 😂 But we finally made some progress — I passed Phase 1 of the evaluation! I usually trade Gold, but this time I decided to start adding Forex pairs to my trading. That turned out to be a devastating decision. I ended up going over 8% drawdown, and that's where the frustration started kicking in. So I made two changes: - Stopped trading Forex pairs - Went back to focusing only on Gold - Reduced my risk by half, from 1% to 0.5% per trade - The 0.5% risk definitely wasn't easy. When you're risking half as much, you need to make twice as much to recover the same amount you lost. But at the end of the day, protecting the account was more important than trying to recover quickly and potentially blowing it. After that, things started to flow much better. I stuck to Gold only, stayed disciplined, slowly worked my way out of that 8%+ drawdown, and eventually passed Phase 1 while risking only 0.5% per trade. 💪 Now onto Phase 2... Let's see how this one goes. 👀

Gold is looking extremely bullish right now, both technically and fundamentally. Let’s break it down. 🌎Strong Macro Support Several macro factors are currently supporting Gold: Cooling inflation: Recent PPI data came in better than expected, reinforcing the view that inflation is continuing to moderate. Softening labor market & growth: Weakness across NFP, ADP, jobless claims, GDP, services PMIs, and consumer confidence points toward a cooling US economy. Fed & USD weakness: With growth and employment weakening without a major inflation threat, the Fed has less reason to maintain an aggressive stance. This can put pressure on the USD and create another strong tailwind for Gold. 📊 Technically... Gold recently made the correction I was watching for, but I’m not expecting a deep pullback this time. cuz the fundamental strength behind Gold is simply too strong. Price has now reached the first major support area around 4315 on CFD pricing, where we also took out the equal lows. That was the first zone I was interested in for potential buys. As lower-timeframe momentum started shifting bullish, I took my initial position. Price then pushed higher toward 4350, where I closed 80% of the position. That was a heavy partial, but the reason was simple: I wasn’t completely confident that price would immediately print a new higher high from this area. There was still a possibility of another push lower into the next support zone. So I secured the majority of the position and left the remaining 20% to run. If bulls stay in control and Gold pushes into a new higher high, that remaining position could deliver some insane RR and potentially make the trade significantly bigger. Right now, bulls are clearly in control and have a strong chance of taking out the previous highs. Let me know what you guys think 👀 Anyone looking for buys? Already in a buy? Or maybe you're actually looking for sells... I hope you're not 😂

This is the entry sequence I’ve been practicing ahead of taking my first challenge: liquidity sweep → price runs into a higher timeframe FVG → wait for CISD to confirm the shift → enter with opposing liquidity as the draw. Only Asia session for me since I’m working during NY session For anyone who’s done multiple challenges, which prop firm would you recommend for a first one? Looking at FTMO but open to suggestions if others have had a better experience with rules, payouts, or support. 🤝

What’s the best trading psychology advice you’ve heard, and actually trade by? For me it’s understanding that my job isn’t to make money today, it’s to stay aligned with reality and protect the quality of my decisions. Emotional regulation has helped me a lot with this. The more regulated I am, the more present I become the less I project fear, hope or urgency when trading and the easier it is to simply trade what’s actually there and not what i hope to be there, or feeling unresolved tension in my body. For me, good trading is more about staying clear enough not to distort or project your desires into the market. What’s your thoughts on this and what did you have to overcome to become a better trader? 😁

Took one quick trade during the Asian session and locked in 6R . good start overall. Price is still in a strong bullish structure, but the recent pullback from the 4,435 area, which lines up with a Daily and 4H supply zone, played out pretty much as anticipated. I expected some rejection around that area, and we got it. The Daily candle also closed bearish with a relatively long upper wick, which makes me a bit less confident about chasing Gold longs at higher targets right now, especially with CPI coming out today. CPI could obviously trigger some short-term bearish volatility in Gold and potentially lead to a deeper pullback. Personally, I see that as a good opportunity rather than a reason to turn bearish on the overall structure. Regardless of what today's CPI shows, I still think Gold remains fundamentally bullish. The recent weakness in the US labor market gives the Fed less room to respond aggressively to higher inflation. Even if CPI comes in hot, the Fed may be more reluctant to hike rates when the labor market is already showing signs of deterioration. So for now, I'm still primarily looking for longs on a pullback, provided price gives me a clean setup and confirms the move. I don't want to chase Gold at these levels . I'd rather let the CPI volatility play out and look for a better entry if we get the opportunity.