Hah! That's really good. I remember coming to a point a couple of years ago where I realized that the fear of looking stupid in front of others (real and imaginary) was more powerful than the fear of losing money. Preservation of ego was more important than preservation of capital. It's pretty sad when you think about it.
I've made just about every mistake you can make in trading. I'm still learning, but if there is one thing I can do now - it is trade small. I used to risk way too much of my account or trade larger size because trading small size just felt stupid. If you are consistently profitable and you can safely manage risking large percentages of your account then that is fine. If you are still striving for that consistency and profitability then risking large amounts and trying to make money too fast is an unwise thing to do. Unless you have a system to stop you or someone to physically smack you in the back of the head, it really takes an attitude adjustment to trade small. I'd say risking too much is usually due to wanting to make good money right away or revenge trading. I used to risk way too much and now I've settled down and decided to risk as little as possible until I become consistent. Then I will slowly increase my size. Remember that whatever you can do with 100 shares, you can do with 1000 shares. Whatever you can do with one contract, you can do with 100 contracts. (Of course, barring liquidity issues.) For the most part, all the trading concepts are the same regardless of the size you use. So, if you have a negative expectancy for your trading then the more size you use, the more you will lose! One way I helped myself trade smaller was to thing about how I want to be a full time trader. That means I will do it for a living and do it for years to come. You don't have to make all that money right now. There is so much time! There are thousands of trades and thousands of trading days left to have good trades and make money. But, only if you are around long enough to get there. If you watch the Trader P/L thread, you'll see how small I trade. You'll also see that I'm not a great trader, but I am getting better and better at dealing with the psychological issues one faces with trading. I manage my risk, don't get pissed at the market, don't get pissed at stocks, and know that if I keep at it for long enough, I will be successful.
As a generalization... Quants are either arbitrage nits or gamblers... And they are pretty much hard wired that way. Nits should stick to trading... Gamblers should switch to poker where they will have an advantage.
==================== Range Trader; Posted on NOV,,2012; blown up yet???10% means only 10/+ mistakes or less[slippage]Thats why several mentioned ''blowing UP''