(Being a guy helps when arguing and once I was accused here by one of the guys I was contending with about scalping of having too much machismo.. lol)
It is a great point and obviously a big hurdle as an American. On the other hand, there is an objective problem that would extend across cultures in that it is hard to take a loss if you have no confidence in what you are doing is going to produce winners. My experience is that winning trades solve so much of these trading psychology problems. I am currently on a 5 trade losing streak and the last trade would be up right now if I had just held on a little more. It has taken me so long to be on a 5 trade losing streak and actually feel really positive about how little money I have lost. It is not so long ago I would have started questioning what I was doing and I should have been questioning what I was doing because what I was doing was not really working. A pro baseball player is good if batting 30% but that is predicated on knowing you can actually hit a 100mph fast ball.
You are right. This morning after I reset paper account to have instant fill and no time lag in the quotes, TOS results = ~ SSE results. The expectancy is now very similar to live. Doesn't mean I am home free, just means I can now focus on learning how to take losses. Thank you and @birdman.
2-5 is like "I was convicted for murder - or grand theft - or tax fraud - or a parking ticket" About x3 is your breakeven, right? Then even if you just score x20 5% of the time, your system would be great (30% 1R losers, 65% breakeven or small winners that cover your expenses, 5% 20R = about 14R net profit every 20 trades or so, or about a 1.7 expectancy). Most people here would kill for a track record like that. Don't be so hard on yourself.