u/Weary_Stage_7100

sharing my pnl for the last 3 months ($2.24m profit, 138%). just wanted to break down how i actually trade.

people see these returns and assume i'm catching crazy 100% runners. i'm not. i just compound smaller 10% swings. i only take about 9 or 10 setups a month.

the setup is basic smc, zero indicators. i basically just look for a long wick on the 4H chart. when price pulls back into that wick, i drop down to the 15m. i don't jump in right away—i wait for price to sweep a recent low to take out retail stops. once it snaps back up and breaks structure, it leaves a gap (fvg). i just set a limit order right at that gap, place my stop, and literally walk away.

why do most guys still lose money doing this? mainly two things. first, zero patience. they take a normal loss, panic, and switch to a new strategy right away. second, bad risk math. i only take setups with a strict 3:1 risk/reward. if i target 15% profit, my stop loss is 5%. at a 3:1 ratio, u can be wrong 60% of the time and still be green. those little dips on my chart are just clean 5% losses before the next win.

keep it simple. wait for the sweep, bid the gap, respect the stop

Dropping a screenshot of my current PnL, and I figured I'd share a bit about my day-to-day process.

A lot of people see these returns and assume I'm out here catching 100% baggers. Honestly, I fell into that trap when I first started out too—waiting around for massive home runs, but the opportunity cost is just too high.

I eventually realized that catching a 10% move is way easier than catching a 100% move. Compounding eight 10% wins gets you 114%. My entire profit this year is basically just built on stacking these small, unsexy swing trades. I only take about 9 or 10 setups a month.

My trading logic is super simple. It's strictly SMC and ICT concepts, and I can explain it to you without even needing a chart.

First, find a clear directional candle on the 4-hour timeframe and focus on its long wick area. When the price pulls back into that wick, drop down to the 15-minute chart. Don't rush in just yet—wait for the price to pierce below a previous short-term low. That's essentially institutions sweeping liquidity and taking out retail stop losses.

After that stop hunt, the price needs to snap back immediately and break above the previous short-term high. This rapid push up will leave a gap on the chart (a Fair Value Gap, or FVG). All you have to do is set a limit order right at that 15-minute gap and wait for the retest to get filled.

So with logic this simple, why do most people still lose money using it?

First, it's psychology. A lot of people understand the system, think "I got this," and jump straight into live trading without backtesting or paper trading. As soon as they hit a normal drawdown or get stopped out, they panic, decide the strategy is trash, and move on to the next one. They're constantly hunting for a flawless, 100% win-rate system, which simply doesn't exist. If you haven't spent hundreds of hours backtesting and watching how the system moves, you'll never be able to execute under pressure.

Second, they don't understand risk-to-reward (R/R). I have a hard rule: if a setup isn't at least a 3:1 r/R, I sit on my hands. If I'm aiming for a 15% move, my stop loss is strictly set at 5%. Do the math—at that ratio, you can literally be wrong 60% of the time and your account will still be green. Those little dips on my equity curve? That's just me taking a clean 5% L and moving on to the next opportunity.

Stay out of the chop, patiently wait for retail liquidity to get swept, wait for a market structure shift, and then buy the FVG retest. When your entry is precise, your stop loss can naturally be tight, making that 3:1 ratio effortless. Trading is just a game of managing risk and letting probabilities play out. Don't overcomplicate it