At the time of your post, the ES hadn't traded above 1311.25 for 20 minutes. What time did you go short?
Went short 10:23. ET time stamp is seriously off (4 to 5 minutes). Don't know why it can't sync with an internet atomic clock, if my computer seems to do so seemlesssly. Check it yourself. At the beginning of my journal, I used to post the exact time I entered each trade, but I found this too time consuming.
Would likely have held on to that trade for longer, but I am presently anticipating an interruption (important phone call that can't be pushed off) and don't want to be in the market when it happens. Profit on last trade: $687.50. Profit on day: $1587.50 . If you were watching the price movement of the ER as the ES moved up from 1312.50 to 1314.00, you will know what gave me the guts to stay in that trade, and to add another 5 contracts @ 1313.75.
After I exited, ES continued to fall, without me. Them's the breaks (still awaiting important phone call).
How much influence, if any, do you allow the previous day's action or chart/tape movement on a higher time-frame, in regards to your daytrading? Or do you prefer to wipe the slate clean of opinions and just focus on the present session? Or somewhere inbetween? As an aside, I've always held the same attitude towards the importance of entry as you've stated earlier -- just that the vast majority of what qualifies as low-risk for me has been to enter fading momentum, rather than jumping aboard a moving train. Nice trading btw.