Last night, I finally bought the Apteros TEP challenge. I had thought about it long enough. Time to put some money behind the decision and get started.
The goal is their Live Desk. I want a seat there, and now I have to put together the trading that earns it.
Today was Day 1. Naturally, I managed to give myself something to write about immediately.
The first trade
I normally do not trade CPI. My bias today favored shorts. I knew both of those things before I touched the buy button.
Then the new account started doing the talking.
I had paid for the challenge. I wanted to use it. Somewhere in that little conversation with myself, wanting to trade became needing to trade. My brain offered its brilliant contribution: just go long.
So I did. One ES long on Tradrr. A whopping $25.
There it is. The first entry in the journal. I also posted the first-trade recap on X.
What the $25 doesn’t excuse
I can laugh at the number. I still have to own the decision. I traded a day I usually sit out and went against my own stated bias because I was eager to get the new account moving.
The market owes me absolutely nothing for opening an account. It certainly does not owe me a setup because I’m excited about a challenge.
That $25 does not give the decision a free pass. When I review this trade, the question is whether I would take it again under my normal process. I already know what needs attention: the urge to manufacture a reason to get involved.
I’m calling it a day here. One trade. Tomorrow, I get back to the days I normally trade and follow my own damn rules.
The journal: setups, mistakes, and process
I’ve said publicly that I’m working toward the Apteros Live Desk. I’m comfortable putting that ambition out there. I also want the journal to show what I actually do with it.
Over this journey, I plan to do plenty of livestreams. You’ll see the sessions as they happen, then the journal notes and trade recaps afterward. There will be successes worth studying and mistakes worth owning. Today already supplied one of the latter.
I’ll share what I was looking at, why I entered, how I managed the position, and what the review tells me. If I follow my process and take a loss, that goes in. If I ignore my process and make money, that goes in too. The journal needs enough detail that I can’t quietly rewrite the story afterward.
I’ve been trading for years. You can read my story for the background on my trading and how AMT Balance developed. Building out YouTube and Instagram is the new part. Creating content for those channels was never much of a focus for me before.
I’m changing that now. Over time, I want to build a useful collection of educational content that helps people understand the setups, the decisions, the mistakes, the losses, and the process behind the trades. A winning clip only tells you so much. The review is where I can explain what I saw, what I missed, and what I would do differently.
YouTube will have livestreams and trade shorts. Instagram will have clips and updates. X is where I’ll post along the way, and amtbalance.com will bring the written journal and recaps together. This challenge gives me a place to start documenting it consistently.
AMT Balance is coming to Tradrr
I’m also working on bringing AMT Balance studies to Tradrr. I’m already trading on the platform, as you can see in the clip. The AMT integration is coming soon, and I’ll share progress as it develops.
At launch, AMT Balance on Tradrr will be included for Gold and Lifetime members, with no second AMT membership purchase. Your Tradrr platform subscription and applicable data fees are separate.
See the AMT on Tradrr preview, or sign up for Tradrr through AMT. Use that signup link to register through AMT. Launch timing, supported studies, and account-linking instructions will be shared when ready.
Paid link: the Tradrr signup link above is my affiliate link.
Follow the journey
Follow along on YouTube, Instagram, X, and amtbalance.com.
Let’s see how it goes, what I learn, and how long it takes to earn a place at their desk. I’ll keep the progress and the setbacks in the record.
I bought the challenge last night. Today, I started the journal. Tomorrow, I get back to work.
If you know a trader who would find this journal useful, share it with them. The setups, the mistakes, and the review all belong in the conversation.