MES1! Long — 2026-01-28

📆 Trade Review — January 28, 2026 Today was a mixed bag—started with promise, but platform issues, shifting volatility, and some bad timing threw the rhythm off. Still salvaged a green day on the board and more importantly, I’m walking away with clarity on what needs to change moving forward. 🕘 Morning Setup: Long Bias on MES (ES March 2026) Coming into the open, my bias was to the upside. Premarket had already taken out the all-time high, and I was expecting continuation. Here's the reasoning:

• ▸The 9:30 AM candle printed a bullish fair value gap.
• ▸VIX had gapped down from 16.46 to 16.37, supporting bullish continuation on ES.
• ▸Below that VIX gap, I noted liquidity levels sitting at 16.18, 16.05, and 15.94—which I figured we'd go after next. So I entered long at 7023.50 on MES with the expectation we’d push higher off that gap fill. We got the move—I was up nearly 10 points as price tapped 7031.25—but that’s where things flipped. On the 15-minute, a bearish FVG between 7031.75 and 7028.50 acted as resistance, and price rejected hard from that zone. Simultaneously, VIX reversed, moving up from the gap fill and pushing above its weekly open. That was the clue—momentum was dying out. ⚠️ Platform Issues & Missed Short Opportunity As the reversal started to set up, I had every intention of flipping short. The setup was clean—VIX pushing up, ES rejecting from the bearish FVG—but Tradeovate froze. Apparently, they had platform-wide issues, and I couldn’t execute anything. Even worse, the orders I tried to place earlier were caught in limbo and triggered hours later as market execution orders—then closed immediately. Got confirmation from their team that they’re going to reimburse or resolve it, but needless to say, it threw off the whole morning flow. Because of that, I didn’t get into the short that followed. 🕚 Late Morning: Quick Short Recovery Once the platform came back online, I did manage to catch a short setup later in the session when VIX pulled back a bit from its highs. I jumped into a short on ES, got about 5 points out of it, and closed for [amount redacted]profit per account on my six [broker] Wealth Chart accounts. Not a big win, but it helped salvage the day and gave me some breathing room after the earlier nonsense. I didn’t take anything else after that. 🕑 FOMC & Afternoon Price Action The FOMC released rates (no change), but the market didn’t give us any real clean direction off the news. Just more chop and indecision. Given the messy behavior from earlier, I didn’t bother forcing anything. I ended the day:
• ▸✅ Flat on my PA account
• ▸✅ Flat on my [broker] Tradeovate account (waiting for resolution on that broker error)
• ▸✅ +[amount redacted]per account across 6 [broker] Wealth Chart accounts 📊 Combine Progress & Weekly Outlook I'm still up solid on the week overall, even with the -[amount redacted]loss on Friday across the Wealth Chart accounts.
• ▸My two lead accounts are still up over [amount redacted]each.
• ▸They only need about [amount redacted]–[amount redacted]more to complete the combine.
• ▸The other 4 accounts are hovering between [amount redacted] and [amount redacted] in profit. Today reminded me that I don’t need to swing for the fences right now. I need to finish these accounts and get to payout. ✅ New Approach: “See [amount redacted]Take [amount redacted]” I’ve made the decision. From here on out, I’m shifting my mindset to “see [amount redacted]take [amount redacted].” Why?
• ▸Most trades I’ve taken lately have been up ~[amount redacted]at some point.
• ▸Instead of holding for runners or getting greedy, I need to lock in the gains and finish these accounts.
• ▸I’ve only got 4.5 trades left in the top two accounts if I take that approach. The goal now isn’t to hit every TP. The goal is to graduate these combines, get to PA status, and then re-evaluate. Once I’m in payout mode, then I can afford to be more selective, more aggressive, or patient. But for now, it’s about consistency, execution, and cashing in when the opportunity presents itself. 🧠 Final Thoughts Today could’ve easily spiraled. But despite platform issues, the VIX reversal, and the frustration from the early morning trade, I came out positive on the day—and mentally clearer than before. This is the playbook now:
• ▸Stay disciplined.
• ▸Adapt quickly.
• ▸Finish the mission. 👊 Let’s wrap this week up strong.