Today’s main lesson is simple: give a trade room to work, but only within a plan you made before entering. On October 1st, I used pre-market levels to map out potential SPY and QQQ trades, then managed a short and a long as parts of one broader plan—not as isolated bets.
Before the market opened, I marked support and resistance levels and decided how I would respond if price reached them. On SPY, I planned a short near an upper level and a long near a lower level. I also had another short idea around a cluster of moving averages. On QQQ, I set wider levels for potential short and long trades.
Once the bell rang, my job was to respond to those plans—not invent new ones in the middle of the session. That preparation matters especially when price moves quickly. A one-minute candle may feel fast, but if you already know your level and your plan, you have time to make a deliberate decision.
The first SPY short gave me an opportunity to enter, take profit as price moved down, and enter again when it rallied back into the planned area. I took three entries, paid myself along the way, and the move resulted in a reported 182% return from the best entry to the best exit. The important lesson isn’t to expect that result every time. It’s that I had a defined setup and managed the position rather than chasing the move.
The clearest example of the day’s main lesson came when I took a SPY long while still holding a small, profitable part of the short. The long was a planned trade near the previous close and the 50-period moving average. Because I still had gains in the short, I could manage the long with the overall position in mind.
I added to the long, took profit on most of it as price moved up, and held a smaller part to see whether the move would continue. Price dropped, and I closed that remaining part for a loss of about $1,035. On its own, the long was red. But the remaining short position had gained value, more than offsetting that loss.
That distinction is important for students: don’t judge a trade only by whether one entry finished green or red. Judge it against the plan and the risk you were willing to take. A losing position can be part of a successful overall approach when it was anticipated, sized appropriately, and balanced by the rest of the plan. That does not mean you should casually hold both sides or assume one position will rescue another. It means you need to understand your exposure before you add risk.
For me, giving a trade everything I can means giving it the space the plan allows—not giving it unlimited room, and not hoping it turns around. I identify the levels, know what would change my view, and manage the position as price develops. Sometimes one side works and the other does not. My responsibility is to manage both according to the plan.
So, when you review your own trades, ask yourself: Did I prepare before entering? Did I know my risk? Did I follow my plan when the trade became uncomfortable? Those questions will teach you more than focusing only on whether a single position was green or red.