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The trade came together like it was supposed to.

During my session with Blake earlier this week, we talked about a long against the 62 with the target at 26,000. The NQ came down, touched 62 to the tick, and ripped.

That was a 50-handle trade without any real sweat.

All you had to do was identify the level, trust it, and let the trade work. That kind of clean execution only happens when you accept a simple truth that most traders fight their entire careers.

"If you're in the right trade, it ain't coming back. If it comes back, you don't want it."

Rodney asked me about that trade in the room. He wanted to know what happens if price pulls back after entry.

The answer should be carved into every trader's monitor.

We don't want green trades turning into red trades. If you buy a level and it bounces, you're in the right trade.

If price starts coming back toward your entry, the setup has lost its validity. Get out.

Let me walk you through what made that trade work.

The 50-Handle Trade Nobody Missed

The setup was simple. We identified the 62 as a key level.

Price descended, tagged it to the tick, and launched toward the round number at 26,000.

"So this thing goes 66, it goes 62 to the tick, by the way, 62. That's a 50-handle trade without really any kind of sweat."

The traders watching in real time didn't need complex confirmation. They didn't need divergence signals or momentum oscillators.

They needed to know one thing: the 62 was a level where bulls should step in.

Blake had a level at 916 on his chart from his methodology. Mine showed the 62.

When both levels aligned and price respected them, the trade was obvious to anyone paying attention.

"Cool story, dude. We're already long back here because we identified one of our key levels holding."

Some traders draw lines and call it a breakout after price has already moved 30 handles. We were long at the origin.

The Trap That Caught Me This Week

I need to be honest about something.

This week included a session that tested every ounce of discipline I've built over the years. The tape was choppy. Headlines hung over the market.

We had PPI, potential tariff decisions, Fed speakers including Bostic and Kashkari, and the Beige Book all stacked into a single session.

"Kind of a stacked little, you know, potential headline minefield."

I took some stops. The NQ wasn't giving clean setups.

Every time I got a plus-three, I wanted to go again. And that impulse cost me.

"What has gotten me today is the go again. Like, oh, I'm just gonna go again. I get the plus three, I'm gonna go again. No, you're not."

This is the mistake that separates profitable traders from everyone else.

You catch a small winner. The setup looked right. You want more.

So you jump back in immediately without waiting for the next proper setup to form. The market punishes that behavior every single time.

The Weekly Pivot Battle

This week revolved around the weekly pivot.

The NQ spent session after session churning between key levels, refusing to give directional traders anything easy.

"Look how long we hang out in this zone between these two."

I showed the room 30-minute bars that illustrated the problem. Price wasn't trending. It was mulching.

Every push higher got sold. Every dip got bought.

The kind of tape that destroys traders who force action.

"If 812 can hold up here, you know, and they get back under this weekly pivot, the 633 is set up."

That conditional framework kept me from overtrading. If a certain level holds, I know where we're going.

If it breaks, I know the thesis is wrong.

What The Right Trade Looks Like

Here's how I think about every entry now.

When I buy a level and price bounces immediately, I know I'm in the right trade. The market is confirming my analysis in real time.

That confirmation comes in the form of price moving away from my entry, not back toward it.

"If you're in the right trade, it ain't coming back."

A trade that bounces off your level, gives you plus-three, then comes back to your entry is telling you something important.

The level isn't holding the way you thought it would. The buyers aren't as strong as you hoped.

Getting out at breakeven preserves capital for the next trade. Holding and hoping turns small losses into account damage.

"We don't want green trades. We don't go green to red."

The 62 trade this week worked because it never came back. Price tagged the level and launched.

No pullback to test the entry. No second-guessing. Just the setup working exactly as the methodology predicted.

Managing Risk In A Headline Tape

Trading through Fed speaker days requires a different approach.

"Still potential headline risk in the tape. Remember we got a lot of Fed speakers today."

You can't predict what Bostic or Kashkari will say. You can't time a tariff announcement that keeps getting delayed.

What you can do is acknowledge the environment and adjust accordingly.

This week I kept positions small. I took profits faster than normal.

I refused to hold through announcements that could move the market 50 handles in seconds.

"You gotta let it play out."

That patience saved me multiple times.

The tape would spike, reverse, and trap traders who overcommitted before the dust settled. Meanwhile, I was flat, waiting for the next setup.

What Next Week Brings

The methodology doesn't change based on market conditions.

The levels will still matter. The 50s and 62s and round numbers will still act as inflection points.

What changes is your execution. Your willingness to wait.

The traders who caught that 50-handle move against the 62 this week understood something fundamental. They trusted the level.

They didn't need the trade to come back and confirm their entry.

They recognized that a trade working immediately is the best confirmation you can get.

Next week, the levels reset. The weekly pivot establishes itself. New setups will form.

And when price tags your level and bounces without looking back, you'll know you're in the right trade.

Because if it comes back, you don't want it.

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