20180810
Short 2 NQ 7444.25, 7545.0, +2.0, +4.0
Long 1 NQ 7437.0, -1.0
Long 1 RTY 1685.2, -1.4
Long 3 RTY 1682.7, 1682.7, 1682.8, +1.0, +2.0, +4.0
Long 1 NQ 7415.75, -1.0
Short 1 NQ 7431.5, -2.25
Short 2 NQ 7433.5, 7433.5, -3.0, -3.0
Short 2 NQ 7441.75, 7441.75, +4.0, +5.0
Long 1 NQ 7431.25, +10.0
Total NQ +14.75
Total RTY +5.6
The market seems designs at times to thwart your own individual expectations. It's almost as if it reads your mind. Then throw in this: that you are probably in a large pool of common opinion as to the market's outcome at any point along the way. That suggests that the market tends to thwart the majority of traders most of the time.
Today's ORB in the RTY produced a classic ORB Pennant. ...but I was only convinced it could go lower, even after the sharply lower opening. The ORB Pennant model demands to be bracketed. There's no point in trying to predict it. You bracket both sides of the pennant with entry stop orders, and manage the outcome. But today, I could only place sell stops below it, as I watched the NQ launch quickly leaving the RTY behind, and ready to collapse. The NQ then stalled, and the the RTY exploded--but not in the expected direction of a further decline. The results of this glaring mistake jarred me. Not only did it set me back in negative opportunity space going forward, it threw me out of step with subsequent trade opportunities. I then proceeded to mismanage a series of trades. Luckily, the signals were so good today for swings, that even with my disrupted attitude did I yet make a profit. During that effort, I left yet more of the best trades completely off my execution list. I didn't deserve to win today. It was just such a good day for intraday swings that even my worst efforts managed to make good. Step up to the plate ready to execute your plan. Your job is not one of predicting. Prediction is futile. Your job is to be the Trader. The Trader has a Plan. That Plan is designed to execute a practiced set of trade entry concepts. FOLLOW THE PLAN.
