On Nov 19th, traders got absolutely smoked.
Let’s talk about it.
Because it was one of those days where the market tests your patience, your bias… and your discipline.
ES opened with a dip and then started to grind up, slowly at first, then with acceleration. On the surface, it looked like a clean rally… but man, if you tried trading it, you know it wasn’t easy.
Why 6700 was an important support level
Going into the morning, 6700 was the line in the sand for me.
We had:
- A call cluster building
- Strong liquidity interest
- A clean structural support zone
- ES holding firm even when momentum softened
- Zero signs of aggressive sellers taking control
This is a classic case where structure > bias.
What I was thinking
My plan was simple:
If price pulls into 6700 and shows buyer response, I get long.
I was hoping for price to hit my next key level which was around 6720. Unfortunately, my plan failed.
Within 10 minutes, ES dipped right back down. No follow-through. No confirmation.
The trade never set up.
Even the cleanest level, like 6700 today, becomes a liability without a defined exit. What saved me today wasn’t my read… it was my stop.
I had a clear level: 6700.
Below that, I’m wrong. Period. Not because I wanted to be right. Not because I was married to the idea.
But because the data said: “If we break below here, the buyers lose the fight.”
Your stop is the line that protects your account from your ego. Without it, you start defending bad trades, adding size, and trying to “prove the market wrong.”
And that’s exactly how people blew up today, trying to fade strength that was never weak to begin with.
Stop is Decision Management
Most traders think a stop is about “risk management.”
It’s not.
A stop is about decision management.
Here’s why:
Without a stop, you start defending bad trades. You add size. You try to prove the market wrong.
Your account becomes a referendum on your ego. But with a stop, you have permission to be wrong.
You know exactly how far you can be wrong before you admit it and move on.
And paradoxically, that permission is what gives you confidence to take the trade in the first place.
Because you’re not risking your entire conviction on one level. You’re testing a hypothesis with a defined downside.
Today, the long never confirmed.
… and the presence of the stop is what kept me patient enough not to force anything.
That’s the whole point.
I know today was not an easy day. I want you to remember…
Your stop loss is everything.