Late post but I had a busy day in between trading. I'm happy about the fact that I got up and did other things while I let the market move, I think that is the patient mindset that I look for. I came back 50 minutes later after the first trade of the day and went ahead with an aggressive short after I saw the market break out of its consolidation zone. After a 1.25 pt pullback I went short 1 lot, and this is what the chart looked like:
Pattern looked fairly clear here, LL and LH, price rejected above yesterdays high early in the session, internals moderately negative. I went short at 66.50 and after 17 minutes of extra consolidation, I decided that it was time to scratch the trade. This is what the chart looked like when I got filled on my scratch:
7 minutes later the market moved down another little leg and I decided to go for a counter-trend scalp. My thinking was that the channel like pattern would continue and the market would continue to be rotational instead of breaking out big to the downside. Did I absolutely know that? No, and I think that this trade was marginal, especially because it was a short term scalp. The DOM action and the volume profile acted like a support at 63.25 and I decided to take a stab long with 1 lot and a very short time horizon. This is where it is difficult to describe exactly why I decided to take the trade. From what I remember, it legged down, and I finally saw some offers being filled on my volume profile chart, at the same time I saw the DOM put up a larger bid and price paused at this level. Within 2 minutes I got out with a 1 point profit. I think it's very possible I got lucky on this trade, and I'm not sure if I should be in the habit of taking counter trend trades in this manner. This is what the chart looked like:
I went ahead and left the desk again in anticipation of waiting for another opportunity. The market consolidated until 3pm so as soon as I saw the chop I figured there would atleast be a small breakout one way or another. I'm glad I didn't decided to get involved until I saw the move. Normally I like to sit around and force trades but it feels like I was picking my spots well today. I went long 2 lots at 66.25 with a 3 point stop and a plan to add 1 on a pullback. The idea was that the breakout would follow through, but at the same time there was an hour left and I wasn't looking for a large move.
The chart looked like this at the time:
I scaled 1 for 1 point and 1 for 2 points and called it a day.
Overall I was in tune today, and that helped me feel a little better after yesterdays disaster. I will try to maintain this patient attitude and get into the habit of not forcing trades and overtrading. At the end of the day, I still woke up later than I should have, and I broke one of my rules (counter-trend trading), so there is room for improvement. I am looking for a breakout of this range in ES before I attempt a trade for a larger move. I don't see any reason to position for my timeframe. The week is basically over and there is headline risk over the weekend. Next week should provide some good opportunities.