Bit of Luck, but a Whole Lot of Patience

Part 1: Morning

Given that today was NFP, I was extra cautious and I'm proud of the fact that I sat out of the markets today. However, I did get a bit of luck as I placed a limit order last night. To be completely honest, I actually forgot about it until I woke up this morning with a profit of just under +$300. I closed the trade out just before NFP and monitored the markets for a bit after the markets opened.

As much as I wanted to trade, I'm weary that NFP can cause major swings so I ended up sitting out for the majority of the moves. There was one signal that I really wanted to take, but I'm proud of the fact that I never did.

YMZ9 500 Tick Chart

At 11:30 AM-ish, price tested this resistance level that I was watching. I was so tempted to take a short trade. However, given how price is reacting at this level, I ended up sitting out. The reason was because there wasn't a strong move away from this level. At the same time, the range is quite narrow. Since this is a tick chart, this is telling me that a lot of traders are settling their trades at this price range. However, it doesn't provide much indication for directional movement.

I'm glad I sat this trade out because, otherwise, I would've lost money. But sitting on the sidelines during this trade opportunity wasn't luck. It was the fact that I knew there wasn't a strong move away from this level. While there were transactions, it appeared that the market was having a hard time forming a bias. As a result, it's better to monitor it rather than jumping in on a trade with a fear of missing out.

Sticking to my trading plan, I avoided trading ES entirely. I did keep an eye on it as there tends to be a lot more technical levels. All that tells us is that the ES tends to be a bit more choppy. All in all, it was a good day as I was patient. I got a little bit lucky, but I certainly wasn't looking to rely on luck when I placed my pending trade.

Part 2: Afternoon

This afternoon I was listening to the Limit Up! Podcast, episode "Passing the TopstepTrader Trading Combine featuring Nick Dolby". He brought up a very good point that I was a victim of.

Don't trade for the sake of passing the Combine. Don't try to force trades. The more you do, the more likely you'll fail. Trade the setups that you see and the money will roll in. If you trade well, you will pass the Combine.