Plan: Clean action during the morning session, then the markets squeezed to end the day. SPY trying to stay above previous ATH. No proper short above ATH and yesterday’s close. QQQ 535.14 and ATH gap up at 538 for the short today. Long on QQQ I like 531.45 area, but I would like a starter at previous close if there is enough distance. Friday action, so I’m looking for a quick one this morning, Friday’s tend to go further than expected.

Result: Markets were a bit divergent at the open. SPY stayed high and tight near previous close. QQQ had a dip out of the gate. I went with QQQ 531 calls for a very nice first reaction trade to end the week. Make that 6 for 6 this week, 16 for 16 past two weeks. Discipline regarding trade selection, and equally important the discipline of paying at first targets is paying dividends.

Today’s trade I had less than a point to work with on the payout as the previous close was only 74 cents way from lowest/best possible entry. Knowing the trade can absolutely run more than where I get out, that is the battle every day. It’s not me versus the market. It’s me versus me. Staying disciplined on first targets is of heavy emphasis for me right now. Fighting the FOMO (fear of missing out) of “more” profits is where traders lose their consistency. Nailed the morning move on QQQ, that’s not by accident. A lot of my entries on “reactions” do end up being “reversals”. But playing for reactions is where the consistency is. Conquering fear at entries, and fighting greed at exits. That’s the game.