How Month 1 works
- Practice first, theory second. You place your first trade on Day 2. Every concept comes right when you need it.
- 15 to 30 minutes of mission a day, plus your trading session on market days. Nothing more.
- Start on a Monday if you follow it on paper; in Sweep, the plan starts the day you begin it. Fridays end with your weekly recap. Weekends are for replay and prep; Sunday is a light day, and resting doesn’t break your streak.
- One market, one window, one setup. MES or MNQ, the same trading window every day, and the starter setup below.
- Every mission has a “Done when”. You know exactly when it’s finished.
Pick your track
| Track A · Simulation | You haven’t bought an evaluation. Do everything in sim. Buying one is a separate decision, and the gameplan only opens it in Month 3. |
|---|---|
| Track B · Already in an evaluation | Same missions, on your account: 1 micro, the same guardrails. No new evaluation or reset this month. |
Your guardrails
Set them on Day 1. They don’t move for 30 days.
- 1 micro contract. No size increase this month.
- Stop and target placed at entry. The stop never moves further away.
- Maximum 3 trades per session. Zero trades is a valid session.
- Done for the day after 2 losses or −2R, whichever comes first. 1R = your planned risk on one trade.
- Never add to a loser, never size up to win it back.
- No trades in your excluded news windows.
- Only the starter setup, only in your trading window.
- Slipped up? Stop, log it, understand it. A slip is information, not failure.
Write down your numbers: your market (MES or MNQ), your trading window, your max risk per trade and your daily stop in dollars, and your firm and account type.
The Sweep Setup
One simple setup, so you can focus on execution. Price sweeps an obvious level, then takes it back.
| Levels | Before your session, mark the previous day’s high (PDH) and low (PDL). Nothing else. |
|---|---|
| Sweep | During your window, price trades beyond PDH or PDL. |
| Reclaim | A 5-minute candle closes back inside the level. Sweep of PDL + reclaim = long. Sweep of PDH + reclaim = short. |
| Entry | At the close of the reclaim candle. |
| Stop | A few ticks beyond the extreme of the sweep. |
| Target | Fixed 2R. No early exit, no moving the target. |
| Skip it if | You’re in a news window · the stop is bigger than your max risk with 1 micro · price closes and holds beyond the level (that’s a breakout, not a sweep) · you already hit your daily stop. |
In depth, with diagrams: the liquidity sweep setup.
Cheat sheet
| MES · S&P 500 | Tick 0.25 = $1.25 · 1 point = $5 |
|---|---|
| MNQ · Nasdaq-100 | Tick 0.25 = $0.50 · 1 point = $2 |
Micros are 1/10 of ES and NQ. Example: a 10-point stop on MNQ = 10 × $2 = $20 of risk, before fees and slippage. Check current specs on our contract specs or at cmegroup.com. Still choosing? See MES or MNQ.
Your session routine
The same routine every market day, until it’s automatic.
Before · 5 min
- I’m rested and available.
- News windows checked.
- Right contract, right account.
- PDH and PDL marked.
- Max risk and daily stop written.
During
- Only the Sweep Setup, all criteria met.
- Risk calculated before I click.
- Stop and target placed at entry.
- A screenshot of every trade.
After · 5 min
- Flat, no open orders.
- Day closed in your journal, even with no trades, even when it’s red.
- Process score (1 to 5), one thing done well, one fix for tomorrow.
Prop firm vocabulary
| Daily loss limit | The most you can lose in one day. Hit it and your day, or your account, is over. |
|---|---|
| Max drawdown | The line below which the account is lost. Static, or trailing: it moves up with your gains. |
| Consistency rule | A cap on how much of your total profit one day can represent. |
| Payout | A withdrawal from a funded account, on the firm’s schedule and conditions. |
Week 1 · Protect
Guardrails on, first trade placed, firm rules understood.
Day 1 · Set your guardrails
Choose your track. Add your firm and account in Sweep. Fill in your guardrails and numbers.
Done when Guardrails and account saved in Sweep. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 2 · Your first trade
In sim (or 1 micro on Track B): place one trade with stop and target, any direction. The goal is the mechanics, not the result. Then flatten and journal it.
Done when 1 trade journaled with stop and target. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 3 · Your firm’s kill switches
Read your firm’s official rules: daily loss limit, drawdown type, consistency, news, payouts.
Done when Rules noted, with links and the date you checked.
Day 4 · Order drill
Market, limit and stop orders. Modify, cancel, flatten: 10 times without a mistake.
Done when 10 clean actions, session journaled.
Day 5 · Watch, then recap
Watch the first 15 minutes of the U.S. open (9:30 a.m. New York) without trading. Then your first weekly recap.
Done when Weekly recap done. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 6 · Meet the levels
In replay, mark PDH and PDL on 5 past days. Note what price did when it got there.
Done when 5 days annotated.
Day 7 · Prep your week
Check next week’s economic calendar and write your excluded windows. Set your prop firm spending budget for the month.
Done when Excluded windows and monthly budget written down.
Week 2 · Learn the setup
Know the Sweep Setup well enough to spot it, and to skip it.
Day 8 · Read the setup
Study the Sweep Setup. Watch your window live, no trades.
Done when You can explain the setup in 3 sentences.
Day 9 · Risk math
Ticks to dollars, R, fees, slippage. Calculate 5 trades on your contract.
Done when 5 correct risk calculations.
Day 10 · First setup session
Trade only the Sweep Setup, full routine. Log every “almost” you passed on.
Done when Session journaled, passes included.
Day 11 · Setup session
Same routine. Calculate risk before every click.
Done when Session journaled with the risk of each trade.
Day 12 · Session + weekly recap
Last session of the week, then your recap: how many trades followed the setup exactly?
Done when Weekly recap done. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 13 · 10 historical examples
In replay, find 10 Sweep Setups, including ones that failed.
Done when 10 annotated screenshots.
Day 14 · 5 lookalikes to skip
Find 5 situations that look like the setup but break a rule. Prep next week’s news windows.
Done when Your personal skip list.
Week 3 · Execute
One behavior per day. Same setup, same routine.
Day 15 · Focus: patience
Wait for the full setup. Zero trades is a win if nothing qualified.
Done when Every trade and every pass justified.
Day 16 · Focus: risk
No trade without its risk written first.
Done when No trade over planned risk.
Day 17 · Focus: exits
Stop and target untouched until hit.
Done when Every exit matches the plan.
Day 18 · Focus: after a loss
If you lose, follow your stop procedure: step away, review, decide calmly. If you don’t lose, rehearse it in replay.
Done when A note on what you felt and did.
Day 19 · Session + weekly recap
Find your most frequent slip this week.
Done when One specific fix for next week.
Day 20 · Blind replay
Replay one full session bar by bar without looking ahead. Take or pass every setup.
Done when Every opportunity logged.
Day 21 · Light day
Review your screenshots of the week. Prep your news windows.
Done when Windows written down for next week.
Week 4 · Repeat
The same process, on your own. Nothing new, nothing bigger.
Day 22 · Solo session
Full routine, no reminders.
Done when Session journaled. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 23 · Same process
Exactly the same as yesterday.
Done when Zero slips. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 24 · Same process
Exactly the same as yesterday.
Done when Zero slips. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 25 · Same process
Exactly the same as yesterday.
Done when Zero slips. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 26 · Session + weekly recap
Compare this week’s compliance to Week 3.
Done when Weekly recap done. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 27 · Your month in numbers
Results in R, checklist compliance, average process score, spending against budget.
Done when Month reviewed.
Day 28 · 3 + 3
Pick 3 well-executed decisions and 3 slips or passes. Explain each one, regardless of the outcome.
Done when 6 decisions explained.
Day 29 · Final session
Same process, one last time this month.
Done when Session journaled. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 30 · Month 1 gate
Check the gate criteria and decide: unlock Month 2, or repeat Weeks 3 and 4.
Done when Gate completed.
Your session journal
After every session, no-trade days included, write down:
- Date, market, window, daily stop and today’s news windows.
- For each trade: the level swept (PDH or PDL), planned risk, net result, result in R, setup exact (yes or no) and a screenshot.
- The setups you passed, and why.
- Your dominant emotion.
- A process score from 1 to 5, one thing done well, one fix for tomorrow.
The process score rates how well you followed your plan, not your P&L. A red day executed perfectly is a 5. Prefer paper? Print the free daily journal template.
Month 1 gate
Your ticket to Month 2. Every criterion is about process.
- 100% of sessions journaled, red days included.
- At least 20 setups studied in session or replay, passes included.
- 90% of executed trades matched the Sweep Setup exactly.
- No trade over planned risk, no stop moved further away.
- Last 5 sessions without a major slip (risk, stop, daily stop, off-plan trade).
- Stayed within your monthly spending budget.
- You can explain your firm’s rules and calculate a trade’s risk without help.
- Gate passed: Month 2 unlocks.
- Not yet: repeat Weeks 3 and 4, focused on your most frequent slip. That’s the right call, not a setback.
Thirty days and a small sample of trades don’t prove profitability. Month 1 proves something else: that you can follow a plan.