Day 96 - Learning to Trust the System

October 23rd, 2026

The Morning Trading Dilemma

The theme of this week was clear: my biggest obstacle is no longer my strategy, but my execution.

I spent much of the week questioning whether morning trades were worth taking. After reviewing my backtesting, I realized that morning losses occur relatively infrequently, around 15% of the time. My new approach is to treat the morning session separately from the rest of the day, with its own risk management rules. If a valid setup appears, I need to take it.

When Emotions Take Over

Unfortunately, emotions got the better of me again. I panicked during a valid trade, entered twice, and ultimately finished down $173. The frustrating part? The original trade would have worked, even though it experienced a drawdown of approximately $200.

Day 96 Travel Poster

Missed Opportunities Throughout the Day

At 9:40, another opportunity appeared, but MES was still below VWAP, making it invalid. No setup, no trade. That’s exactly how the system should work.

At 10:20, a valid setup appeared, offering approximately 25 points on the first contract and 5 on the runner. Another valid entry followed, offering 23 points plus 5 on the runner. I recognized both opportunities but hesitated because of my earlier loss.

A final valid trade would have lost 49 points per contract. However, taking every valid setup would have brought the day close to breakeven rather than the $173 loss I actually recorded.

Consistency Over Individual Trades

That’s the lesson: individual trades don’t matter nearly as much as consistently executing the entire system.

I still finished the week approximately $200 ahead, but my potential results were considerably higher. The strategy is becoming clearer, and my backtesting gives me confidence in its potential. Now I need to translate that confidence into disciplined execution.