Day 4 of the 100u challenge, total profit: 78.34🔪

XAU/USD trading review quick checklist

Date: 2026-07-20

1. Market environment

☑ Last week’s close was 4018, and today opened with a gap down to 4002.
☑ After the open, the gap wasn’t filled, and the market kept drifting lower.
☑ Continually making new intraday lows, the downtrend is clear.

2. Trade direction

* Direction: Sell (Short)
* Reason: Follow the bearish trend after the open, don’t fight the trend by bottom-fishing.

3. Entry plan

* Entry: Sell short at 3995
* Stop loss: Above 4001
* Reason: Above the integer level, while allowing room for normal price fluctuations.

4. Take-profit plan

* Take profit: 3985
* Basis: The SMC + FVG liquidity gap is near 3983—take profit early to lock in gains.

5. Trade result

* ☑ Take profit successfully hit
* ☑ Strictly followed the trading plan
* ☑ Did not change the take-profit target due to greed

6. Strengths of this trade

✅ Traded with the trend, not guessing the bottom against it.
✅ Correctly judged the post-open environment.
✅ Clear logic for entry, stop loss, and take profit.
✅ Risk-to-reward ratio is about 1 : 1.67.
✅ Executed the plan throughout with good discipline.

7. Further optimization

* Wait for a pullback before entering to avoid chasing shorts.
* Combine with volume to confirm bearish continuation.
* Try to align the stop loss with the 15-minute structure high to improve stop-loss quality.

8. Trade score for this session

Overall score: 9.3 / 10

9. Trade summary for this session

The market gave a bearish signal, so I only sell short; I entered according to the plan, exited according to the plan—no prediction, no hesitation, no greed—sticking to the trading system.

XAU trade review (2026-07-20 early session)

Trade direction: Go long

Trade logic:

* Price quickly surged from 3982 to 4020, filling the weekend gap and confirming the upward trend.
* Wait for a pullback to the 38.2% Fibonacci level (4010) and go long in line with the trend.
* Stop loss set below 61.8% at 3995; take profit originally planned to reference the FVG area at 4040.

Position performance:

* Price pulled back to around the 61.8% level at one point, close to the stop loss, but I stuck to the trading plan and didn’t move the stop loss.
* Considering the pullback was deeper and the upward momentum weakened, I adjusted the take profit to near the prior high at 4020, and ultimately successfully took profit.

Pros:

* ✅ Trade with the trend, don’t chase.
* ✅ Entry and stop loss both match the trading system.
* ✅ Kept discipline near the stop loss—no emotional actions.
* ✅ Flexibly adjusted take profit based on price action changes, successfully realized profits.

Cons:

* Early take profit had some psychological influence; going forward, you can try partial take profits or move the stop loss to improve trend profit capture.

Summary:
This trade was executed with good discipline, the trading logic was complete, and it’s a high-quality trend-following trade. In the future, just keep following the principles: “trend-following + enter on pullbacks + structural stop loss + discipline execution.”

$XAUUSD