Steps
1) You see a surprise move and feel late.
2) You hit market “to get in”.
3) You get slipped and immediately start in drawdown.
4) You try to make it back quickly (revenge speed).
5) The market mean-reverts or widens; the account eats a sequence of low-quality trades.
Intervention points:
- Cut size at the first sign the chain is forming.
- Pause when you start “fixing” the last loss with a new trade.
- Stop trading when execution quality degrades.
Antidote
• If the move started without you, your edge is gone. Wait for structure.
• In event windows, switch to limits or do nothing.
• Track your worst fills. If they cluster around news, block those minutes.
- Stop the sequence: one loss is information, two losses is a warning, three losses is a system failure. Have a hard cut.
- Reduce degrees of freedom: fewer pairs, fewer timeframes, fewer discretionary choices.
- Re-enter only after reset: calm state, checklist passed, size reduced.
Notes
Field checklist
- Write the rule in observable terms: if X, then Y.
- Remove choices under stress. Choices become rationalizations.
- Track the precursor: what state were you in before the mistake?
- Make deviations costly (size down, pause, review).
- Turn lessons into gates, not notes.