Daily Log - August 20, 2025

Prices formed a downtrend after the open, but there weren’t many setups I liked. The downtrend played out and reversed. After the first leg up, a HL formed — I skipped it. I was expecting a new high in the uptrend, price had pushed back above the EMA, and I even had a Tier 1 signal bar on my second chart. My only “reason” was a close below the EMA on the main chart that made me wait for a Failed Second Entry Short (F2ES). In hindsight, I should have pulled the trigger there.

Price then formed the second leg up and it looked like the uptrend had played out. I drew a downtrend channel for the reversal, but it was probably too wide. I took a double trap: the 2ES got trapped, price pushed back below the EMA, and a Tier 1 signal bar printed, so I went short. It took a while before the setup triggered — a clue not many got trapped — and the trade failed. It was congested, and I was selling into support, so not a great setup. Probably some FOMO too — lots of movement today, but not many setups.

Too bad I didn’t take the HL — if I had, I’d probably be green and would have skipped the double trap. The good thing: I took a trade, and I’m totally fine with the loss even if it wasn’t a great setup. That, by itself, is a win.