Mon Dec 21 Trade Summary

20151221
Short 1 TF 1121.7, +1.0
Long 1 TF 1119.2, +1.5
Short 1 TF 1123.6, +0.7
Short 1 TF 1124.1, -0.0
Short 2 TF 1124.4, 1124.3, +0.4, +0.5
Short 1 TF 1124.7, +1.0
Total TF +5.1

Fri Dec 18 Trade & Journal

20151218
Long 2 TF 1126.6, 1126.6, +0.4, -0.7
Short 2 TF 1127.3, 1127.2, +2.0, +2.0
Short 1 TF 1127.1, -1.4
Short 1 TF 1127.7, +1.0
Short 1 TF 1128.1, +1.0
Total TF +4.3

Facing early profits but while still shy of a daily profit goal can be a quandary, especially on Friday, and especially on the Friday before Christmas with a last minute package to get in the Post. Should you take the next trade..? or close out the cash register and call it a frame. Today, I left two of the best trades of the frame on the table rather than risking those early profits that were a little harder won. At some point, the goal of consistency can actually impede the goal of larger daily goals. You get comfortable...and comfort is the enemy of trading. I'll think about this later.... on the way to the Post.

Thurs Dec 17 Trade Summary

20151217
Long 2 TF 1144.7, 1144.8, -0.2, +0.7
Short 1 TF 1144.1, -0.3
Short 2 TF 1147.3, 1147.4, +3.0, +1.5
Total TF +4.7

Wed Dec 16 Trade Summary

20151216
Long 1 TF 1135.1, +1.0
Long 1 TF 1134.4, +1.0
Long 1 TF 1133.8, -0.2
Long 1 TF 1134.2, -0.5
Long 2 YM 17524, 17521, -7, -7
Long 2 TF 1130.9, 1129.9, +1.0, +2.0
Total YM -14
Total TF +4.3

Tues Dec 15 Trade Summary

20151215
Short 6 TF 1121.7, 1122.7, 1123.4, 1124.7, 1124.8, 1124.5, -1.4, -1.4, -2.0, +1.5, +1.6, -0.7
Short 3 TF 1125.5, 1125.5, 1125.5, +2.0, +2.0, +2.0
Long 1 TF 1120.7, -1.4
Long 2 TF 1119.4, 1119.4, -0.2, -0.2
Long 2 TF 1118.9, 1118.8, -0.4, -0.5
Long 2 TF 1118.9, 1118.8, +1.5, +1.5
Total TF +3.8

Mon Dec 14 Trades and Journal

20151214
Long 1 TF 1123.2, -0.7 (Dec contract)
Long 1 TF 1117.0, -1.4
Short 1 TF 1117.7, +2.0
Long 3 TF 1110.0, 1109.0, 1109.6, -0.0, -0.1, +1.0
Long 3 TF 1108.5, 1107.3, 1107.8, -0.0, +2.0, +1.0
Total TF +3.8

My mentor always use to say, "Position yourself to be surprised." Of course, he said a lot of things and was full of market wisdom and witticism. But later on, I came to realize that what he must have meant by that was always to trade on your technical price and pattern models as they appear at hand before you, and often enough those unexpected news spikes just seems to appear. ....sometimes as if the market somehow had its own sort of prescience. Today was just such a day..., but I ignored the rule of Serial Sequent to be a buyer just before a big vertical news pop appeared as if out of nowhere. (Someone later told me it was Draghi-speak, but it makes little difference what the source.) Pay attention to the models at hand. In order to be able to act on them, you must be able to see them coming in advance, on a what-if basis. Be the Plan.

Fri Dec 11 Trade Summary

20151211
Short 1 TF 1137.1, +1.0
Long 1 TF 1133.0, -0.7
Long 2 TF 1132.0, 1132.0, +0.7, +1.8
Short 1 YM 17288, +20
Short 1 YM 17288, -0
Short 1 YM 17295, +20
Short 1 TF 1137.1, +1.0
Total YM +40
Total TF +3.8

Thur Dec 10 Trade Summary

20151210
Short 3 TF 1148.3, 1148.6, 1148.3, +2.0, +1.0, +0.7
Short 1 TF 1148.2, +1.0
Total TF +4.7

Wed Dec 9 Trade Summary

20151209
Short 1 TF 1164.4, -0.7
Short 2 TF 1165.3, 1165.3, +0.1, +0.1
Short 2 TF 1165.6, 1165.3, +2.0, +1.0
Long 1 TF 1161.1, -0.2
Short 1 TF 1161.1, -0.3
Total TF +2.0

Tues Dec 8 Trade Summary

20151208
Short 1 NQ 4658.25, -.5
Short 2 TF 1157.7, 1158.2, +2.0, +0.7
Long 1 TF 1153.7, +3.0
Total NQ -0.50
Total TF +5.7

Mon Dec 7 Trade Summary

20151207
Long 2 TF 1174.1, 1174.1, +1.0, +1.9
Long 1 TF 1174.2, +2.0
Long 1 TF 1171.9, +0.1
Long 1 TF 1168.5, +0.1
Total TF +5.1

Fri Dec 4 Trade Summary

20151204
Short 1 TF 1171.5, +2.0
Short 1 TF 1172.5, -0.6
Short 1 TF 1173.2, -0.5
Short 1 TF 1177.6, +1.1
Short 1 TF 1178.1, +1.1
Short 1 TF 1179.2, +2.0
Total TF +5.1

Thur Dec 3 Trade Summary

0151203
Long 2 TF 1192.9, 1193.0, +2.0, +0.7
Long 1 TF 1192.8, -0.1
Long 1 TF 1192.0, +1.2
Long 1 TF 1190.3, -0.7
Long 1 TF 1190.2, 1190.3, +0.4, +1.0
Long 1 TF 1184.4, -0.5
Long 1 TF 1182.9, +3.0
Total TF +7.0

Wed Dec 2 Trade Summary

20151202
Short 1 NQ 4732.50, +4.0
Long 1 TF 1201.8, +3.0
Short 1 TF 1204.8, +1.3
Total NQ +4.0
Total TF +4.3

Tues Dec 1 Trades & Journal

20151201
Long 2 NQ 4682.5, 4682.0, +5.0, +9.5
Short 1 TF 1202.7, +1.3
Short 1 TF 1202.9, +1.1
Long 4 TF 1198.6, 1197.6, 1197.1, 1197.0, -1.6, -0.0, +1.6, -0.7
Long 1 NQ 4683.5, +5.0
Short 1 TF 1198.6, +0.7
Short 1 TF 1199.3, +0.5
Short 1 NQ 4707.0, +4.0
Total NQ +23.5
Total TF +2.9

Today was a day that makes you sit up and take notice of Inflection Breakout levels. The breaks in the collapse were so clean and so profitable and it just hurt to be stop out of longs and stranded on the sidelines without the complete stop-n-reverse model executed. Problem is, such breakouts are not the norm, and after being chopped out of messy breakout action a few times, that section of a Trade Plan can get dusty, as mine certainly was today. I couldn't even hear the rusty joints of my elbows squeaking as I reached for the mouse to place the orders. ....because my elbows never even moved. ....dear in the headlights phenom. When the filters for taking breakouts are just right, your head has to be in that game fully prepared. ....not on the sidelines pondering the possibilities as the numbers roll by. Those of us that trade the First Frame for a living can get lazy and comfortable at all the nice swing trends that usually appear as price tries and fails to discover the True Trend in early going. Then a day like this comes along and gives you a jolt: the best trades are, indeed, sometimes the breakouts.