Trading can be a fickle game. As a trader, I reserve my right to change my mind, basically, whenever I choose because the markets (and our perceptions of the markets) can and do change on a dime.
For example, look at how my attempted play in Monster Beverage (MNST) went down earlier this week. I had a technical signal generated that “triggered” at $109.90. I identified a long call calendar, the 1/9 vs. Jan 112 call calendar where I put out a $0.60 bid.
It was as if the market had a security camera in my office. As soon as my signal was generated, MNST went from $110.30 to $112.50 in minutes. Upon generation of the signal, the market was $0.50/$0.70, which puts $0.60 solidly mid-market.
After the rally, the market was $0.75/$2.00. I canceled my signal. Why would I do that?
This was one of those times where my idea was right on and my timing was just a bit off. If, for some reason, I was able to get filled later in the day in MNST at my $0.60 bid, something had fundamentally changed and I most likely would not want to take a long play.
I reserve the right to change my mind and enter on my terms.