Trading small is best for frequent traders, trading large size is best for infrequent traders, those who wait and then slam it big time when all the ducks line up. As for the OP's post re being caught out frequently recently, the probable cause is market dynamics are shifting, eg, we have hit a top and or trend direction changing / volatility changing / chop. Best to stand aside for a bit. There is a time to trade and a time to stand aside. Knowing the difference is what makes a trader a profitable trader. Just my opinion.
..Shown are tonight's charts (500 tick) with and without the "gap". I set my charts at 24 hours as I find actual price action more useful than where "gaps" may exist, especially in today's 24 hour markets.
Trading small is best for frequent traders, trading large size is best for infrequent traders, those who wait and then slam it big time when all the ducks line up. You can blow just as fast if not faster going that route. Greed & fear is why most traders wash out. Trading big is plain old greed - and it turns to big fear when the trade doesn't work out. A few of the best all time traders have stated they could have done a lot better trading much smaller positions. Retail could cut their size in half and there still wildly large compared to they way pros size their trades.
The ONLY time when this is true is when you are trading against a market maker in Spot Forex trading. The market maker knows EXACTLY where you've entered the trade, where your stop is and since forex is not traded on central exchanges like stocks and futures for example, so it's the market maker who sets the price and it can deal to you whatever price it wants and you are basically trading against the market maker mono à mono and just like you said, it will do whatever it takes to shake you out of the position cuz if you profit, it will lose and it will only profit if you lose. This only happens in spot forex trading and also with a market maker. If you are not trading spot forex then yeah that's it's in your head although it really feels like the market's got it in for you sometimes.
Well I agree there is always another day to trade hence no need to get greedy but if you have a winning system and dont leverage (which I don't) then trading small is lost opportunities. There is no point having money sitting idle in a trading account when opportunities abound and then only betting small. It comes down to several things ; experience, opportunity, diversifying vigilance and imo not trading large money on short term moves.
It's not the market it is the trader who knows who he is (he usually considers himself a biggest sucker who has no business of being in the market), he (not market) hates himself and do what ever it takes to exit asap and to abandon whatever method he has at hand.... Later on, when it becomes evident that all market fluctuations were within parameters of his method and he just panicked (because he is a sucker), he starts looking for confirmations that he is not alone in shit like that, that there are a lot of suckers like him.... he finds that confirmation on the forums and sleeps better after that..., until it's time to open another position