Hedging? That's like to trying win a race why your riding the brakes. I don't recall any of the market wizards mention hedging. By the time your position is 'safe" it costs plenty and ensures you will not get extraordinary returns. Traders cut losses - pension fund use hedging, the opt for safety and are o.k. with anemic growth.
When trading seriously you will have a lot of balls in the air at once which you are juggling. Dont think you are in control if you have any complacency. Dont take your eyes off those juggling balls, always be vigilant. This is where accidents happen.
No retail traders talk about hedging because stop loss is all they know. I teach derivative instruments and when you study market system over 10,000 hours, then you understand how market system operates and how to hedge price/interest risk better than those who never really study
what are the two worst things a trader can do? 1. If you can read the charts, don't fail to believe what you see, 2. If you can't read the charts, don't believe what you think you see.
Worst things you can do? 1....Not having a big position when you have conviction. 2...thinking being right is important.
my two worst things i have done are 1= trade when i am tired/lazy = no discipline 2= i have traded on numerous times last year when i was very drunk and could not see the screen,got financially smashed majority of the times.looked back at my trades the following day and could not work out why i put the trade on.
1. Trying to find only 2 things a trader can do wrong. 2. All of the above. OP's question is kind of irrelevant. What is the point of prioritizing among mistakes what we obviously don't agree on anyway and if #4 mistake takes you down, how did it help you knowing #1 and #2? The relevant thread is the Why traders fail? : https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/why-traders-fail.308682/page-5#post-4443983
Trading iron condor on volatile underlying without understanding mitigation strategies. Close out losing position and then stock retraces turning your winning position into a loss.