Month 2 at a glance
Month 1 proved you can follow a plan. Month 2 shows you what your plan actually does.
What’s new
- Every trade gets tagged: level, time block, A or B grade.
- Two new guardrails against tilt and overconfidence.
- Replay counts toward your sample, to see more setups faster.
- One refinement, allowed only if your data supports it.
- Prop firm mode in Week 8: your firm’s real limits, tracked every session.
What doesn’t change
- 1 micro contract. Size is a Month 3 conversation, earned at the gate.
- The Sweep Setup and your trading window.
- Your session routine and your daily journal.
- Friday recap, light Sundays, streaks that count red days.
- Your track. A stays in sim. B stays on its account, with no new evaluation.
Your guardrails, version 2
The 8 rules of Month 1 stay. Two are added, aimed at the two moments that cost accounts the most: right after a loss, and right after a good run.
- 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 Sweep Setup (with your refinement, once chosen), only in your window.
- Slipped up? Stop, log it, understand it. A slip is information, not failure.
- New · 10-minute pause after every loss. Away from the chart. Then reread your setup before the next trade.
- New · Up +2R on the day? A setups only. Or call it a day. A good day is protected, not pushed.
Month 2 targets: at least 25 executed trades, at least 60 setups logged (live and replay), an average process score of 4 or more, and your monthly spending budget.
Tag every trade
Tags turn your journal into data: five seconds per trade. In Sweep, they go on the trade itself.
| Level | PDH (short) · PDL (long) |
|---|---|
| Time block | Split your window in three: early · middle · late. Write your exact times. |
| Grade | A: every criterion clean (clear sweep, decisive reclaim, stop within your max risk). B: valid, but something was messy (small reclaim, choppy approach, borderline stop). |
| Plan followed | Yes · No. If no, which rule. |
| State before entry | Calm · Rushed · Revenge · Bored · Overconfident |
| Taken or passed | Log passed setups too, with their hypothetical outcome in R. |
What counts as a pattern
- At least 10 examples in a segment before drawing any conclusion. Under 10, it’s a hunch, not a pattern.
- Look at process before results. Where do you break rules most? That’s usually the first pattern worth fixing.
- Count passed setups. If passes would have done better than trades taken, the problem is selection, not the setup.
Your one change
After three weeks of data (Day 42), you may change one thing. Or nothing: that’s a valid answer too.
The rules of refining
- One change only. Two changes at once and you’ll never know which one worked.
- Filters only. A refinement removes trades. It never loosens your stop, moves your target or adds size.
- Backed by 10+ examples from your own tagged trades and replay setups.
- Locked for two weeks. No tweaking it mid-test.
Examples of valid refinements
- Skip B setups: trade A grades only.
- Skip the early block, where most of your rule breaks happen.
- Trade only PDL longs, or only PDH shorts, if one side clearly underperforms.
- No trade after your first loss of the day.
Pattern review (Day 41)
Compare these segments by number of trades, win rate, average R and plan followed: PDH shorts, PDL longs, the early, middle and late blocks, A grades, B grades, and trades taken after a loss.
Week 5 · Measure
Set your baseline and start tagging everything.
Day 31 · Your baseline
Review your Month 1 numbers: compliance, average process score, results in R. Set your Month 2 targets.
Done when Baseline and targets written down.
Day 32 · First tagged session
Same setup, same routine, now with tags on every trade and every pass.
Done when All trades and passes tagged.
Day 33 · Session + weekly recap
Your first recap with tags. Which tag shows up most on your B grades?
Done when Weekly recap done. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 34 · Replay sample
Log 10 setups in replay, tagged, taken or passed, with their outcome in R.
Done when 10 replay setups logged.
Day 35 · Light day
Prep your news windows. Update your skip list.
Done when Windows written down for next week.
Day 36 · Focus: attention
Phone away, one chart, one window. Before each entry, read your setup out loud.
Done when Session journaled, tags complete.
Day 37 · Focus: the first loss
If you take a loss, the 10-minute pause is mandatory. Note how you felt coming back.
Done when Pause logged after every loss.
Week 6 · Find your patterns
Enough data to see where you shine and where you slip.
Day 38 · Tagged session
Same routine. Grade honestly: A or B.
Done when Session journaled, tags complete.
Day 39 · Focus: +2R days
If you reach +2R, A setups only, or stop. Note what you wanted to do.
Done when Rule 10 respected.
Day 40 · Session + weekly recap
Which time block has the most rule breaks?
Done when Weekly recap done. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 41 · Pattern review
Compare your segments (see below). Write 3 observations, each with a number.
Done when 3 data-backed observations.
Day 42 · Choose your one change
Pick one refinement backed by 10+ examples, or decide “no change”.
Done when Refinement written down.
Day 43 · First refined session
Apply your refinement. Log the setups it filtered out.
Done when Filtered setups logged.
Day 44 · Refined session
Same process. No extra tweaks.
Done when Session journaled. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Week 7 · Test one change
Two weeks with your refinement locked. Nothing else moves.
Day 45 · Refined session
Same process, refinement on.
Done when Session journaled. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 46 · Refined session
Same process, refinement on.
Done when Zero slips. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 47 · Session + weekly recap
Compare compliance and average R before and after the change, keeping the small sample in mind.
Done when Weekly recap done. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 48 · Blind replay
15 setups in replay with your refinement, bar by bar, without looking ahead.
Done when 15 replay setups logged.
Day 49 · Money reality check
Spending against budget. Keep evaluation, funded and sim results apart: an evaluation P&L is not income.
Done when Spending and P&L reviewed.
Day 50 · Refined session
Same process.
Done when Session journaled. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 51 · Refined session
Same process.
Done when Session journaled. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Week 8 · Under pressure
Your firm’s real limits, tracked every session. Then the gate.
Day 52 · Prop firm mode on
Enter your firm’s real limits on your account in Sweep: daily loss, drawdown type, consistency. Track A: use the evaluation you’d buy.
Done when Account limits saved. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 53 · Distance to the line
Before and after the session, note your distance to the daily limit and to the drawdown.
Done when Both distances logged.
Day 54 · Session + weekly recap
Did the limits change how you traded? Where did you feel pressure?
Done when Weekly recap done. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 55 · Bad-day drill
Replay a fast trending day where the setup fails twice. Stop exactly at your daily stop.
Done when Drill done, stop respected.
Day 56 · Consistency math
Your best day as a % of your month. Compare it to your firm’s consistency rule.
Done when Consistency % noted.
Day 57 · Prop firm session
Full routine, limits tracked.
Done when Session journaled. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 58 · Prop firm session
Full routine, limits tracked.
Done when Session journaled. Sweep · auto : Sweep ticks it on its own in the app
Day 59 · Month 2 in numbers
Compare everything to your Day 31 baseline.
Done when Month reviewed.
Day 60 · Month 2 gate
Check the gate criteria and decide.
Done when Gate completed.
Your session journal, version 2
The same journal, now with tags. Passed setups count.
- Date, market, window and your distance to the daily limit.
- For each setup, taken or passed: taken (yes or no), level (PDH or PDL), block (early, middle, late), grade (A or B), state before entry, result in R, plan followed.
- Pause after a loss respected (yes or no).
- A process score from 1 to 5, one thing done well, one fix for tomorrow.
For passed setups, note the result the trade would have had in R. It tells you whether your filter is helping.
Month 2 gate
Your ticket to Month 3. Still about process, now backed by data.
- 100% of sessions journaled and every trade tagged.
- At least 25 executed trades and 60 setups logged, live and replay.
- 90% of executed trades matched the setup, refinement included.
- Zero trades over planned risk all month. No stop moved further away.
- 10-minute pause respected after every loss.
- Last 10 sessions without a major slip.
- Refinement decision documented with numbers (or “no change” justified).
- Average process score of 4 or more.
- Stayed within your monthly spending budget.
- Gate passed, Track A: Month 3 unlocks. Starting an evaluation becomes an option, as a separate decision.
- Gate passed, Track B: Month 3 unlocks on your current account.
- Not yet: repeat Weeks 7 and 8, focused on your most frequent slip.
Sixty days of data is a better picture, not a proof of edge. What you’ve built is a process you can measure, and everything after this depends on it.