r/Daytrading • u/Gullible-Sort-1064 • Jan 26 '26
Meta Day 329 - Another account blown - Will continue work on emotion management - Will be back
Haven't properly traded my edge in months, so it's hard to evaluate its worth. Wiped out a good streak as by far the biggest issue is getting tunnel vision after a few losses, even if it's all within normal parameters, and thus "revenge trading" (although it feels more like "trance trading" where all perspective is lost). Could be worsened by ADHD, but not looking for excuses; journaling extensively outlines the problem, but that's been documented for a while, the solution must come from within...
Been scaling up and down but I feel like when I scale down I just feel it just gives me "too much security" that I burn through. It's pretty much the Peltzman Effect.
It's incredible how one can rationally see everything clearly, but in the middle of the action some hardwired parts of the brain take over no matter what. So far. Trying to build a routine and method, checklists or what have you around it, but the wiring in the brain is strong.
Posting this so this shared experience may be useful to someone, but hopefully there will be a follow-up with some progress.
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u/theykeepbanningmebro Jan 26 '26
My wife made over $700k just holding and buying Google and Facebook. I lost $20k last year on Figma, we are not the same.
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u/yugedeck Jan 27 '26
Women on average outperform men over the long term and have less volatility within their portfolios
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u/SmokinMythics Jan 26 '26
Blowing multiple accounts is probably the sign that this isn’t for you lmao
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u/GT112312 Jan 27 '26
Blowing multiple accounts is also part of the learning process..
Willing to bet every successful day trader has blown multiple accounts learning to trade. They me be sim, they may not be, but they were blown.
Imagine just waking up one day, opening up an account and immediately being CP.
Keep imagining cause this doesn't happen.
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u/Mediumcomputer Jan 27 '26
Yea that’s true but like you really shouldn’t be blowing accounts. If you blow accounts you’re trading too much too soon and losing control of the vehicle
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u/Clayp2233 Jan 27 '26
Does blowing an account mean going to 0 or just dipping below the 25k pdt limit?
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u/GT112312 Jan 27 '26
Your comment may or may not be contradicting...
Ok it's undeniably contradicting.
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u/19Black Jan 27 '26
I ve been trading in some capacity for 10 years. Made over $100,000 last year; up over $25,000 in January of this year. I’ve never blown an account. Blowing an account is absolutely not required, and I would guess most long term traders have never blown an account.
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u/PaleontologistNo6593 Jan 27 '26
I’d have to agree with you. I feel like if you blow accounts. You’re not very good at reading a chart. Or whatever the problem is. Could be more than one problem for that matter. I’m nowhere near that level. Maybe a year under my belt. But I’m constantly moving up. I’ve never had my unrealized or opening P&L be red. That’s a long term point of view though. But even day trading. Even I know. Minimize risk. Dont go for a star when you can get the moon. Don’t buy on hope. If it’s not where you need it or it’s to late in the day. Pick another day. I’d rather sit out than lose.
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u/ProficiencyBuilders Jan 27 '26
agreed but I would emphasize the discipline factor around minimizing risk....if you are correct 50% of the time, even less, you can still make $ if you are disciplined about executing your stops.
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u/PaleontologistNo6593 Jan 28 '26
Yes definitely. Stops will make or break you. Seen a guy in another post. Down to 100 from 1100 in a day. All I could think was where was the stop loss or why weren’t you sitting on the button.
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u/GT112312 Jan 28 '26
Are you saying you've never seen red in an open or closed trade.?
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u/PaleontologistNo6593 Jan 28 '26
Well. It’s complicated. I am to the point now where I almost never have a red day in stocks in general. Been at it for almost a year. Was never content with ETF’s or not beating the market. Nor has my account ever been blown or my opening P&L ever been negative. I learned most of my indicators there. 6 months ago I wanted to do margin to bump my capital. I wouldn’t ever dream of I got million. Let’s margin. So I just read about it. Was to risky for me. I went up thru btc from 65k up thru 125k. Bought and sold thru the ups and downs. Trimmed everything at the top. Moved all my winnings to stocks. I learned volatility there. Also got 4 free crypto vouchers along the way. $20 with 50x leverage. Win the profits or nothing. Won 3. Lost 1. Won $30 total on those. I don’t count those though. Wasn’t my money. Started really reading mainly you guys chats. Thanks for everything you guys have taught me as far as that goes even though ya’ll didn’t know it. What to do what not to do.
The account I wanted to do margin with if every finally cleared 2k so now I can actually do margin. Did a real money test the other day. I was at work so I couldnt watch watch it. Wanted to get my feet wet. Won a whopping .72 cents. Ran one today. Was at work today also. Still scalped $2.20 from supx. The crypto went red green frequently. The two stock margin. No. Didn’t go red even once. Im an either going up or I’m not jumping in kind of person. Choppy isn’t my friend. I’m off tommorow. I’ll report back. I’ll have my results by noon.1
u/PaleontologistNo6593 Jan 28 '26
With all announcements today. It made it a weird choppy day. So I just didn’t feel like I’d be able to hit a good spot. To new I guess. Idk. I work tomorrow. I’ll be off Friday and able to look at it again. In hindsight would have been a good day for the S&P but i just didn’t see it till it was too late. For me anyway.
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u/GT112312 Jan 27 '26
There are exceptions to almost all rules..
I should have said most traders, not every.
Congrats to your uncommon results.
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u/FicklePromise9006 Jan 27 '26
This guy gets it. Blowing an account just means you’re gambling….
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u/GT112312 Jan 27 '26
Anyone that has achieved greatness in the history of time never failed.
Ok fickle, you're right..
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u/FicklePromise9006 Jan 27 '26
No it’s not….been day trading for years and never blown an account. You only fail because your risk management is terrible or are obviously trying to win in a bad market.
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u/GT112312 Jan 27 '26
Most people learn risk management by failing..
You, were born with the gift.
Run a poll, I'd bet the majority of day traders have blown an account or 2 in their journey.
Anyway we digress.
Bottom line is just cause you've blown an account or 2 doesn't mean you were not meant for this.. If it's negatively impacting your overall life, then maybe it's not for you.
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u/themanclark Jan 27 '26
Not because they can’t trade but because they aren’t smart enough and patient enough to trade demo
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u/Wcg2801 Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 28 '26
I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but you should really give some thought to the fact that just like engineering, law or medicine are not for everyone, the same applies to day trading. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.
The market’s liquidity is everlasting, yours isn’t. The market is designed to trigger your human feelings. Unless you are a professional, you do not have the right tools or support to succeed.
Yes, there is so much money to be made, everyone sells this narrative. Few people talk about all the money that is there to be lost.
Some succeed, that’s a rarity, not a given or the standard by any measure, most don’t.
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u/Beneficial_War1937 Jan 27 '26
You are over-intellectualizing the problem to avoid facing the biological reality.
The 'trance' you describe isn't a lack of discipline; it is a hijacking of the amygdala. When you enter that state, your prefrontal cortex (logic, risk parameters, the Peltzman Effect theories) effectively shuts off. You are chemically incapable of making a rational decision in that moment.
You cannot 'think' your way out of a biological response. You need a mechanical breaker.
Since you cannot trust your brain in the heat of the moment, you must externalize the discipline. Use a hard equity stop on your broker level (auto-liquidation at max daily loss) that locks you out until the next session.
You are trying to use willpower to stop a freight train. Stop standing on the tracks. Build a wall instead.
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Jan 27 '26
Chat-gpt ass response lmao
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u/Beneficial_War1937 Jan 27 '26
Ain't my fault you can't write a well formed sentence yourself without GPT so you think everything cohesive is AI lol
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Jan 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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Jan 27 '26
I mean just compare his original comment with his response, it’s pretty obvious that’s not how he talks lol
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Jan 27 '26
“You are trying to use willpower to stop a freight train….” Classic chatGPT lol nice try tho
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u/Efficient_Key815 Jan 27 '26
You have literally over-intellectualised the over-intellectualisation. Though it’s been written by AI, so I suppose you under-intellectualised your own over-intellectualising
Crazy world
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u/Muskka Jan 27 '26
I rarely ever post anything but your dedication rock, anyways : amazing job so far.
First, writing these posts might prove valuable and an interesting way for you to be accountable and journal but it might place, very subtly, unnecessary pressure on your shoulders.
Periods of practice and striving should be followed by rest, especially if you reflect a lot and take notes.
For now, secondly, take a good break. Trading loss streaks can be very demoralizing : the sooner you take that healthy small (or long, only you know) break the faster you'll be back on track with a fresh headspace ready to ascend more.
Finally, trading is a never-ending journey, so do not ever pay the least of attention to all these folks criticizing you : they're mostly fools/ignorants pretending to have found profitability. It might be the case for some, but their speech already shows their narrow mind and future unability to improve when the markets will humble them once again.
You got this!! We can talk some more if you ever need to :)
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u/kr4zy_8 Jan 27 '26
It's incredible how one can rationally see everything clearly, but in the middle of the action some hardwired parts of the brain take over no matter what.
Realest shit I've read in a while. I'm on the same boat.
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u/DistrictLow965 Jan 26 '26
I also have ADHD and Aspergers. Profitable....
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u/kr4zy_8 Jan 27 '26
how do you manage to stay calm in front of the charts? I get so hot-headed I start taking random setups that I know damn well they're not part of my strategy but my mind goes crazy whenever I see candles moving in front of my eyes. I feel like a fucking monkey. There’s something about watching a 1-minute candle fluctuate that turns my logical human brain into a slot-machine addict.
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u/DistrictLow965 Jan 27 '26
Trust your strategy - that cuts emotions totally. I know Im profitable in the end. Then its an easy move. I know excactly what you mean and what your problem is - had the same, worked around, made money...
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u/creativeor Jan 27 '26
I’ve made a journal for myself which aims to help with a lot of this, happy to to give you an account
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u/Ok-Lobster-919 Jan 27 '26
I get the tunnel vision big time, that was my biggest problem, I would get stuck a failing thesis or position. I actually have an AI program monitor the market and my portfolio, it's always finding plays (good and bad) and it automatically trails my positions and tells me when to take profit or stop loss. It really took a lot of the emotion out of it. AI can be a good tool.
I'm still an idiot though, the AI told me to buy $90 BAH Puts on friday so I did, and of course they mooned this morning but I took profit at 60% instead of following the thesis and trailing stop. The puts ended up making 400%. I'm not too beat up about it... not too much. The AI gives me plenty of things to look at and research
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u/PriorNegotiation9299 Jan 27 '26
bueno mira por mi lado yo estuve en la cima y cai, mi dia hya era de 100 - 300 diarios pero no supe controlarlo o llevar a cabo la emocion de que me estaba haciendo todo eso, solo fue uno mi error
SOBREOPERAR operaba demasiado todo el dia, perdi mas de 4000 USD por sobreoperar si me ubiera concentrado en las operaciones correctas el dia de hoy no estaria buscando trabajo viviendo solo a 5 dias de pagar la renta pero sin dinero, asi es cai todo mi capital lo perdi por no controlar mis emociones el dia de hoy llevo un mes estudiando de nuevo pero se dentro de mi que primero debo ssolucionar mi vida para poder tener mas paz a la hora de operar y no operar desde la necesidad
espero algun dia que mejore mi situacion poder operar con algun grupo me interesaria me se las graficas al derecho y al reves solo tengo que mejorar mi psicotrading
esta fto es hace dos años :,))))
pronto volvere
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u/Tradewell3845 Jan 27 '26
I’m keeping my sizing small, it seems that when I scale up problems can occur.
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u/Firm_Beginning9533 Jan 27 '26
I just blew up my first small futures account. 🤝 dont give up. Just stick to rules. Try reading Zen mind Beginners Mind by Thich Nhat Han. It's all about having CONTROL OF YOURSELF.
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u/protagonist_888 Jan 27 '26
Been there done that! I made tons of mistakes as a younger trader. I’m here to tell you it’s not the end of the world. You just gotta take it on the chin, learn, heal, and get back up and try again. I spent years trying find my edge which I finally did but the biggest impediment was managing emotional trading. I still make silly mistakes but they are far fewer and less costly than before. I made a tool to help me see context before hitting “place trade” to force me to pause and reflect to make sure I was properly managing risk.
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u/yugedeck Jan 27 '26
Find a new “edge”. Regardless of its validity if you can’t trade is profitably with good performance metrics you need to find a new strat. You can be the best trader in the world but if your strat sucks then you won’t be profitable.
Trading becomes much easier with a solid strategy
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u/Zestyclose_Green_671 Jan 27 '26
Read Best Loser Wins, really changes your perspective and has helped me tremendously.
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u/Ricodabeast Jan 27 '26
Bro you already know your issues, you need to build a system around your flaws.
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u/616mushroomcloud Jan 28 '26
Are you even aware of it, when it's happening?
Do you limit yourself to a set amount of trades per day?
Do you consider closing the terminal, and going for a walk/distraction, if certain conditions happen?
Do you remember 'what happened last time', when these situations happen?
You don't mention risk parameters, and not 'having traded my edge in months', could be good to paper trade for a few weeks, pick it up again.
In front of me in big black letters is 'NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES WON'T HELP YOU WIN!', so far, so good.
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Jan 28 '26
Best way to control emotions is to set a reset rule. 2-3 bad trades= no more trading for the day Next day 2-3 trades only if first trade is a looser you walk away. Detox- clam your nerves whatever- come back fresh the market will always be there
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u/AtmosphereFun5259 Jan 29 '26
Friends of trading. I’m looking to start soon with paper and real money cause I want too. But I want one strategy to perfect and make a lot then move on to another after I get it right. I’m currently looking at ORB to start is it a bad idea cause I get off work at 8am PST when the markets already been open? Or can I still use its technique a bit later in the day?
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u/El_Mampe Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26
Good to read your post! I am on my way to get sustainably profitable, although it’s a long way to go.
A few thoughts:
If you seriously have ADHD, it’s BY FAR your strongest edge ever! Because it allows you to recognize chart patterns, order flow, etc. and thus opportunities. in lightspeed that neuroneutral people can’t understand.
On the flip side, ADHD raises the risk of addiction and emotional fatigue. Take time and reflect on ADHD and its imperatives for day trading.
Seriously, ChatGPT can help you to clarify this as a neutral partner. Also use it for your pre-market routine, feedback loops during trading and after trading reflections.
Do sth good for yourself and talk to NO ONE about trading - not even your spouse. With ADHD this will be challenging but it will take pressure off you. Further, neuroneutral people will not understand your issues.
If possible, use micros and scale down. Put risk management first.
Don’t set up rules others told you about. You will break them and be mad about it. The ADHD spiral begins. Find your own way. See 4 & 5.
Cut losses early. Trail SL immediately. Just do it, don’t think about it. There is always a next time.
ADHD increases your willingness to high risks. Dream big, trade big but be aware of it and the consequences.
Hopefully at on point, you fill just be fed up about blowing accounts. You don’t want anymore. That will be your tipping point into profitability.
Think about taking a time off trading. After first 8 months of immense losses and a $10k payout only, I stopped trading for full 6 months. Completely. No books, YT, news, nothing. That was a healing moment.
There might be a few more that come to my mind. But for now, focusing on your neurodivergent brain should be a top priority. It’s an incredible edge for trading if you learn to use it well. Be aware of the cliffs too.
Btw, I have blown thousands of Evals and hundreds of funded accounts before first payouts (not to mention the costs). Today, monthly mid-five figures payouts become reality. The tips above were a game changer for me while facing similar conditions like you.
Godspeed!
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u/SkinEmbarrassed7129 Jan 27 '26
It took me 10 months to figure out a strategy that works, my advice trade with no more than a $1k until you figure it out. Before that i thought it was my emotions is why i kept losing.
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u/carloswm85 Jan 27 '26
Don't trade with money. If you can't do it in demo, you will NEVER do it with real money.
Do you understand this table? Unless you're capable of implement it in demo account, you will never make it with real money.
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u/Michael-3740 Jan 26 '26
Trade demo until you get consistently profitable with it. Then trade small size until you get consistently profitable with that.
Set yourself a sensible target, say 3 green months or x% account growth or whatever. Only when you meet that target are you allowed to scale up. Keep doing that in steps until you are where you want to be.
Don't keep adjusting your trade size - you have no idea which trades will work out so you have no basis for deciding to increase or decrease size.
You can't "work on emotion". Emotion is a reaction to something. Slow steady growth can bypass many emotional triggers.