Something pretty interesting happened over the weekend as I was cruising Airbnb for potential weekend get-aways here on the Iberian Peninsula. Since I’ve always been a stingy bastard I’m not ashamed to admit that I was pretty perplexed by the exorbitant prices that I simply couldn’t square with the glaring lack of demand in tourism Spain currently is experiencing. Part of that of course is due to recurring and erratic COVID-19 lock downs and various other entry restrictions here in Europe. But some of it is also purely self-inflicted as excessive price gouging over the past years already started to be a topic of contention among visitors back in 2019.

If I could have a penny for every setup I felt enthusiastic about and that invariably blew up in my face I would be… well, a lot richer than I am. To be honest when it comes to picking juicy entries off a chart I rank about average. What may set me apart from the rest, and what has helped me survive in a wide range of market conditions over the years was learning to overcome my instincts and engage in setups that scared the heck out of me.

… Take It! Yogi Berra played, managed and coached the New York Yankees from 1946 through 1985. Yogi is known for not only his baseball career but also for his countless expressions that were memorable because most of them didn’t make any sense. However, every one of them has some truth to it and some of his quotes even relate to trading. Does “It ain’t over till it’s over” ring any bells?

So here I was sitting in my trading lair this morning, staring at my E-Mini chart for what must have been an entire hour. Whilst digesting the price action a whole range of emotions and thoughts passed through my mind which I attempted to process and internalize without becoming attached to one particular perspective or directional bias. I usually pride myself of maintaining a relatively neutral outlook on things, but was forced to admit that seeing the index futures pump higher overnight was creating a strong sense of frustration. What was going on?