Not every trade goes according to one's wishes, but every trade can go according to the plan! How is that? Well let me explain. On 6/25 I had recommended going long in Quanex (NX) with a stop-loss at 17.62. The chart itself was phenomenal. I was short in every other stock I had in the portfolio, and this would be the sole equity that I would be long in. NX was breaking out to all-time highs, had broken through multi-year support in text-book fashion, and had since pulled back ever-so slightly, near the breakout-point offering an EXCELLENT risk/reward setup. One that if I was right on, could go on and see a major move and be perhaps one of my best trades of the year. To say the least, It had been quite a while since I had been this impressed by a long-setup.

 

But upon entering the position, the market was out to prove that even the best setups to the long-side, would become futile to the wiles of the bear. Initially, the stock showed strength and on an intraday basis, at one point, I was even up as much as 3% or 4%, but ultimately I would give up those gains and the stock would continue to trade lower, and ultimately would have made a nice short trade. On 6/29 I was stopped out at 17.62 (I had a little bit of slippage from my 17.65 order - which is something I'm never thrilled about). But the trade went according to the plan I had laid out. I got in based on a positive chart analysis that I believed would yield me a potential profit, however, but when it did not, I got out at my pre-determined stop-loss, and moved my money on to the next trade, which happened to be DLLR, and one that I did quite well in, making up for the NX loss and much more.

So while, I took a loss on this trade, I didn't leave discouraged or disheartened in the least bit - instead I remain confident and steadfast because I planned my trade prior to entry (in order to avoid the emotions that the market can so easily stir up) and then once the trade was on, followed my trade strategy perfectly.

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