Mixed · Off-Plan Execution · Missed A+
September 29 — I Made The Plan, Then I Strayed From It.
Down 1.5R today, and that one is on me. I wasn't locked in. I took a couple of decent trades, but I missed the A+ setup and then took two lower-quality trades after it. I even built a plan and then strayed from it. I marked the OB on the chart and it top-ticked the market. The plan was right. My execution wasn't.
LOSS · −1.5RMissed A+2 Lower-Quality TradesLH CISD · SMT
The A+ I Missed
MNQ 1m · LH CISD done · SMT with ES · draw down into the 15m SSL
This was the A+. Price ran the morning highs, printed an SMT with ES, and the 1m gave an LH CISD. Then it delivered lower into the 15m sell-side liquidity near 30,557. Sweep, confirmation, then a draw. It's exactly the sequence I say I wait for, and I wasn't ready when it printed. Everything after this was me trying to make up for it.
A Lower-Quality Trade — The OB Top-Ticked The Market
MNQ 1m · OB tap · 15m and 1H SSL below
After the A+ went without me, I took lower-quality trades. This one was off the OB I'd marked, and it top-ticked the market. The level was right. But a good level doesn't make a trade A+ when the setup around it isn't. The 15m and 1H SSL sat below as the draw, but I was no longer trading the plan. I was trading to get back what I'd missed.
The Lesson
A plan only works if you follow it.
The read on the market was fine today. The OB was right, and the LH CISD and SMT were on the chart. The loss came from execution. I missed the A+, then took two lower-quality trades to make up for it, and that is how a single miss turns into a red day.
If you miss the A+, you don't owe the market a trade. Missing it costs you nothing. Chasing to get it back is what costs you. Be honest about which days you're locked in. On the days you're not, the best trade is the one you skip.
If you miss the A+, you don't owe the market a trade. Missing it costs you nothing. Chasing to get it back is what costs you. Be honest about which days you're locked in. On the days you're not, the best trade is the one you skip.
The Grade
Loss · −1.5R
Execution Day
Execution Day
Net result−1.5R
The A+Missed — LH CISD + SMT short
Lower-quality trades2
PlanBuilt it, then strayed from it
Marked OBTop-ticked the market
Draw15m / 1H SSL
Why Post Every Day
Wins, breakevens, and the days I sit on my hands all get posted. The record only means something if it's complete. No hype, just process.