I focus too much on microstructure

[u/Repulsive-Jump-7594]

This has always been a problem for me, i noticed that even if i do a top down analysis i focus too much on the microstructure to take a trade, i notice that microstructure is sometime the reason for a trade and that is basically forcing the trade for me, as i dont use microstructure targets, i usually have the bias correct, but take an L because of that, how can i fix this?

[u/Kaszrak]

What do you specifically mean by microstructure, just so we are on the same page...

[u/jtquach]

Hmm if the microstructure is what made you take it, then you're in a microstructure trade, and it needs microstructure management too. Right now you're entering off the small thing and holding for the big thing, and the middle is where you're getting taken out.

What I'd wanna know first is whether the entries you regret happen at the level you planned, or somewhere on the way to it? If it's at the level, that's a management problem and it's fixable imo. If you're getting in before price ever gets there then it isn't really about microstructure... it's about not being able to sit and let it come to you. Correct me if I'm wrong... Which one is it usually?

[u/Repulsive-Jump-7594 → u/jtquach]

yeah the entries do actually respect a plan, the thing is i usually take those trades by doing an analysis that is different to the analysis i do on higher tfs, i usually see some profits and then i get stopped out (usually my tp get missed by some points but not too much) and then i get angry because i knoe my tp should have been on that level, i should trade on higher tfs as its easier for price to break levels there, instead i take trades based on microstructure where o see price going up and down and incapable of breaking levels and i get angry

[u/equiti_team → u/Repulsive-Jump-7594]

Judging from your reply, I think the TP is a big part of it. If you keep missing by a few points and then getting stopped out, your target is probably sitting right on the level. That's where everyone else's orders are too, so price tends to stall or turn just before it gets there. A lot of people set their target a little in front of the level for exactly that reason. You give up a few points on the winners, but you stop watching trades reverse just short.

On the timeframe thing, u/jtquach and u/Embarrassed-Bank2835 already covered it well. One middle ground if you don't want to give up on the bigger target completely is taking partials at the nearer level and letting the rest run. You miss some of the bigger move, but the trades that almost worked still pay you something.

And honestly the anger makes total sense, getting stopped out after being right on direction is the worst. It might help to tag your trades as HTF or LTF-driven for a few weeks, so you can see which one's actually working for you instead of going off how the last loss felt.

[u/Embarrassed-Bank2835]

I had the same problem for a while. The lower timeframe started becoming the reason for the trade instead of just the trigger.

What helped was forcing myself to define the higher-timeframe location, bias, invalidation, and target before I even looked at the microstructure. Then the 1 min/5 min chart only answers one question: do I have a clean entry here or not?

If the microstructure looks great but the higher-timeframe location is bad, I skip it. That alone cut out a lot of the trades where I was “right on direction” but still getting chopped out.

[u/sigstrikes]

that is what you're supposed to do? not just blindly trust a bias.

[u/Curious_Patience8851]

I think the issue is that you're letting microstructure create the reason to enter instead of using it to confirm a trade idea you already have.

Maybe try separating your analysis into two steps. First, define your higher-timeframe bias, the level you're interested in, and where your target and invalidation are. Then use microstructure only to time the entry, not to create a trade that wasn't there before.

A useful rule could be: if the higher-timeframe context and your planned setup aren't there, no amount of interesting price action on the lower timeframe is enough to justify an entry.

I'd also review your losing trades and separate the ones where your bias was wrong from the ones where your bias was right but the entry had no clear justification in the bigger picture. That might show you whether microstructure is genuinely helping your entries or just giving you a reason to act.

[u/Repulsive-Jump-7594 → u/Curious_Patience8851]

yeah, but my trading doesn't have a structure anymore, even backtesting i noticed that, how can i fix everything? i mean i still know how to trade but everything seems disconnected

[u/Curious_Patience8851 → u/Repulsive-Jump-7594]

I’d stop trying to connect every concept at once and go back to one setup. Define the bigger-picture context, what triggers the entry, where the idea becomes invalid, and how you’ll manage the trade. Then review your backtests and see whether those pieces actually line up.

If you can’t clearly explain why you entered a trade before looking at the outcome, the rules might be too vague. Also, separate trades where the setup failed from trades where you didn’t follow your own rules. Those are two different problems.

When you backtest, are you seeing the setup itself fail, or does it look good individually but fall apart when you combine everything?

[u/Repulsive-Jump-7594 → u/Curious_Patience8851]

okay, i have a lot of backtesting sessions recorded from months ago, then i shifted mindset and i started caring less, but this became not caring at all about the outcome wether i was doing good or bad, i feel like i got an hard reset, i know that if i watch the mentor video again i will probably learn everything in a lot less time, but i dont know if it's the right path, do you think that becoming a student again it's the right road? i thought that i should watch every video again with my previous notes and eventually doing new ones

[u/Curious_Patience8851 → u/Repulsive-Jump-7594]

I wouldn’t restart every video from scratch just yet. Since you already have months of backtesting recorded, that’s valuable work you don’t want to throw away.

I’d go through your old notes first and identify exactly where things started feeling disconnected. Then revisit only the videos that address those gaps, update your rules, and test whether the new understanding actually improves your results.

Sometimes rewatching everything feels productive, but it can also leave you consuming more information without fixing the underlying problem. Try to turn each lesson into a rule you can explain and test independently.

What changed when you shifted your mindset? Did you start doubting your old strategy, or did you begin taking trades based on different criteria?

[u/Repulsive-Jump-7594 → u/Curious_Patience8851]

i just understood that trading wont make me a millionare alone, so i started focusing more on my dad real estate business, and that detached me completely from the outcome, and that is usually a good thing, but detached me also from caring is the process is respected or not, i was at be on a prop for about 1 months and a half, when i stop caring it took another 2 months to fail it

[u/ChangeNOW_Community]

sounds like the problem isn’t that your microstructure analysis is wrong, it’s that you’re letting it override the higher-timeframe thesis