You Start Making Exceptions for Yourself

The note is taped to the top of your monitor.

You wrote it yourself.

NO TRADES FIRST 15 MINUTES

You've been trying to slow things down.

Too much happens right after the open.

So you made a rule.

Simple.

Wait fifteen minutes.

It's 9:37.

Eight minutes to go.

Then something starts moving.

Fast.

You lean toward the screen.

Volume is picking up.

The setup looks good.

Really good.

You look at the clock.

9:38.

Then at the note.

NO TRADES FIRST 15 MINUTES

You know.

But this one's a little different.

The setup started forming before the open.

Volume is stronger than usual.

And if you wait another seven minutes, the move might be gone.

You look at the note again.

Then back at the chart.

"This isn't really what I meant when I wrote that."

Your hand moves to the mouse.

Click.

You're in.

Maybe the trade works.

Maybe it doesn't.

That's not the interesting part.

The interesting part happened before you clicked.

You had a rule.

You remembered the rule.

You could actually see the rule.

And somehow you found a reason why it didn't apply.

Not forever.

Just this once.

You've probably done this somewhere else.

"Two losses and I'm done."

Two losses come.

Then another setup appears.

It's cleaner than the first two.

"This one's different."

Or:

"I don't add to losing trades."

Price drops.

Then reaches support.

You look at the chart.

"I wouldn't normally add here

but this is a really good level."

Or:

"No trades during the Fed announcement."

Then you see something setting up a few minutes before.

"I'll be out before the announcement."

None of those thoughts sounds crazy.

That's what makes this hard.

You aren't sitting at the screen thinking

"I'm going to ignore my rules today."

You're looking at what seems like a special situation.

And special situations seem to deserve special treatment.

Sometimes they do.

Markets change.

Conditions change.

A rule you wrote six months ago may not make sense anymore.

That's possible.

But then there's another question.

Would you have written this exception into the rule before you saw the trade?

Go back to Sunday night.

No chart moving.

No money on the line.

No setup about to leave without you.

Just you and the notebook.

Would you have written:

NO TRADES FIRST 15 MINUTES

Then underneath:

Except when volume is strong, and the setup looks really good.

Maybe.

If that's really part of your plan write it down.

But if the exception only appears at 9:38, while you're watching price run.

That's worth noticing.

Because one exception has a funny way of making room for another.

The first time the setup was unusually clean.

The next time volume was unusually strong.

Then the market was unusually active.

Then you had a really good feeling about it.

Each trade is different.

Each explanation makes sense on its own.

And after a while the rule is still sitting there.

You just can't remember the last time you followed it.

How many exceptions can a rule survive before it stops being a rule?

Maybe that's not a comfortable question.

Especially when the exceptions worked.

Because now the exception has evidence behind it.

The next exception gets a little easier.

But maybe the real question isn't whether exceptions are good or bad.

Maybe it's simpler.

Did you discover an exception or did you need one?

There is a difference.

One changes the rule because you've learned something.

The other changes the rule because following it suddenly became uncomfortable.

From the outside, they can look exactly the same.

Same chart.

Same click.

Same trade.

Only you know what happened in the few seconds before it.

Sunday night comes again.

The note is still taped to your monitor.

NO TRADES FIRST 15 MINUTES

You look at it.

Then you think about Tuesday.

And Thursday.

Maybe the rule is wrong.

Maybe fifteen minutes doesn't make sense anymore.

Fine.

Change it.

Write a better rule.

Write the exceptions into it if they belong there.

But decide what the rule means before the next trade appears.

Because once the chart starts moving, your hand will be on the mouse.

And somehow this one will probably look different too.

_{Disclosure: Struggling Trader exists to share lessons, observations, and experiences from the markets. I’m here to help people think about trading, not tell them what to buy or sell. Every trader’s situation is different, and all financial decisions are ultimately your own responsibility. Markets carry risk, including the risk of losing money, so always do your own research before investing or trading.}