Watchlist changes

I have always said that compiling a good watchlist is just as important as having a good strategy to trade. Recently, I've loosened the criteria of what makes my list and what doesn't. In doing so, I somehow got it in my mind that any stock on my list was good to trade. I lost focus. The focus of checking the opening range, where price action compared to the opening range... so forth and so on.

I reviewed every stock in my list over the past two weeks and one thing was obvious. Stocks trading in the lower (for shorts) or upper (longs) half of the opening range had a much higher probability of a good setup. So this is what I will focus on. That's the first thing I will change this week.

The second change will be my entries. I was very selective before... almost too selective. Always looking for the narrowest range bar entry and bypassing the rest. That needs to change. I need to trade the chart, not the candle. I will actively look for entries occuring around the ORH/L on strong, weak or NR bars. My preference will still be that my entry bar is NR, but more in relation to the previous bars than a % of closing price which is what I was basing it on before.

Will these changes work? Who the hell knows. But I do know these changes will put me focus on the setups that are leaning in the direction I would like the trade to go. 

Just to give you visual examples of what I'm talking about, the two charts below represent the kind of price action and opening range strength/weakness I want to look for.

-Strong first bar (weak for shorts) with price closing in the upper (lower for shorts) half.
-Price action generally staying below/above the halfway point of the OR
-Look for entry at the ORH/L with a closing price at or above (for longs) the ORH (vice versa for shorts). Stay away from entries with long upper tails (longs) or lower tails (shorts). The only exception would be a hanging man setup on a short.