June 25 2009 Prep Overlay and ES Trades

I have to give my prep a C - today. You can look back and see that the prep has typically been very clear and accurate. I had a good read on the market today but failed to illustrate my written premise text via the grey arrows.

This is actually very interesting and speaks volumes about the habits of a trader. I did my analysis and then inserted the text on the prep. I turns out that the text was correct.

However, when I went to draw the grey vizualization arrows, I "picked" a premise which was not completely inclusive of all the details the market structure was giving me.

In other words, I "thought" correctly but "visualized" poorly.

Then, I traded the visualization arrows with blind confidence in the area even though I was fully aware that 890 held and that I had an expectation of an extension upward.

I was correct with my analysis but executed poorly and lost on the first trade. That is not the only problem. While I was being stubborn about the short, I missed an excellent long entry around 11:22 EST at 903.50.

This kind of failure is fascinating when you look back in hindsight because it seems like it was avoidable. The reality is that it was not avoidable because it is actually what happened.

What does that tell you about the value of backtesting and hindsight??

BTW, I am always very critical of myself in attempt to consistently be improving. It is worth mentioning that I came back at the end of the day with a good long and was in the green today.

Failing and coming back repeatedly is what makes a good trader.