Thursday Notes - Crack That Whip

3:45pm Well, it was deja vu in terms of early setups today as once ES traded back north of 945, this time it held and we got a few mini-bear trap extensions a day later than initially planned. Having said that, I expected the early afternoon push through 950 to surge faster and farther than it did (it barely grazed above recent Globex highs), which tells us that many shorts may have already had most of the juice squeezed out of them in prior days, as well as new longs not loving the market even at breakout prices.

In terms of trade at this end, I felt I had a strong read on the market most of the day with the vast majority of sequences -- aside from shorting the opening surge and the afternoon break south of 950 -- on the long side given the chart bias, and the only thing holding me back from loading up on size (which I was looking to do in earnest) was an absolutely putrid pace and volume throughout most of the session, complicated in part by some traders moving to the September contract today. And you know how important pace is to me! Let me put it this way: Any better pace and today would have allowed me to comfortably trade size and capture the best day's chip gain of the year -- which I still feel is just around the corner.

Still, I made several strong trades and managed well, often adding small sizes on top of solid initial fade entries on turns north. And while it wasn't a filet day, it was a very solid three-course meal to set up Friday where I plan to be in "stay out of trouble" mode for much of the day.

Tomorrow, we'll score the week as we approach the half-way turn of this year's journey, which is now only 13 trading days away. And while I remain behind Alain Bernard in the '09 race (new onlookers may want to scroll through the late '08 posts or do a blog search in the top left for "Bernard" ... essentially, he's the guy I'm always trying to mentally catch), I've at least stopped splashing water in my own face and have straightened the goggles as I approach the mid-year turn.

Right now, after a lackluster first five and a half months -- including a putrid May, I'm behind where I want to be (the $1M target pace). Yet as someone pointed out to me the other day, considering (1) how atrocious I feel I've traded at times, (2) the trouble I had getting the post-2008 engine re-started, (3) this year's health distractions, and (4) declining volatility [no excuses ... simply facts], the fact that I'm even still talking about back-to-back million dollar years may be a more significant accomplishment than at mid-year '08.

I know this. The momentum seems to be turning, the "fun" is returning, the focus is there, the blood is pumping, I don't like to lose, and some are again questioning my legitimacy (providing instant bulletin board material).

Yes, I'm behind.

Yet if I recall, so was Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby, so maybe there's still life in this old horse.

Time to crack the whip.

Time to finish the comeback and get more serious about going back-to-back.

Did I say I don't like to lose?

Poker tourney night tonight, and I'm in second place by only 20 points with three sessions to go. I'm planning to bring my A game to the table.