that means there is a problem mate. You should never lose sleep. To keep emotion out of it..i simply program everything. The most important thing would be GTC stop loses. I may only check my account once a day...and that is to send my results to my back office.
If your trading consists of jumping into XYZ at 10am because you saw it on some msg board or most active list then jumping out at 10:30 after it moves against you 50 cents then you're parents are right. You're gambling and will be back in school once the account goes bust. :eek: There's no percentage figure, it's "how much do you got?" and "how much have you lost?" and "how much do you need to make back to break even?" Trying to figure out that last one is the killer. Then it's a losing game because like gambling it's psychologically self defeating.. going for a few dollars more you'll figure out a way to defeat yourself every time (i.e. why does it always go down after I buy and go up after I sell?). I don't think there's any person or book who can help. Those resources give contradictory info...like expecting to lose 50% of the time but be willing to take small loses (but that's what I'm doing, right?) while not 'overtrading' (then 'when' do I trade?), buying into weakness and selling into strength (which always leads to an initial loss!), or buying strength and selling weakness (with my luck this means buy the top and selling the bottom!) and 1001 ways to predict the future using the past (magic chart reading) ... when it's about 1) learning to stay away from an uncertain setup or betting the minimum (risk management) and not regretting it when you shoulda coulda woulda made a buck on it (discipline) and 2) knowing that there will always always be another opportunity so no reason to try to force it (more discipline).
I don't really agree with the premise of the post... That successful traders lose X amount... and then turn it around. Successful traders... Have a lifetime of obsession with zero sum games and games of chance... Starting in the teens... Plus almost always a university degree in a "hard science"... Like computer, math, engineering... Plus genius level math/strategic analysis skills obvious by the mid-teens. Plus 1000s of hours analyzing poker, sports betting, blackjack, options, stocks. Then at some point 5-10-15 years into it all... The Top 5% ONLY... Put it all together and discover ways to ARB and HEDGE money out of the market. If that does not sound like you... If you think the right book or software is the key... Then I'm describing the competion that will ** certainly take your money **. Personally... I lost money or broke even for years on everything else... But was immediately profitable in stocks... and that was 13 years and 400,000 trades ago.
I've heard the analogy from somewhere that trading is a lot like a sales job. You go out on sales calls and not every one turns into an order. In fact, it's a relatively small percentage of them that do. You may repeatedly go see the same potential customer and still not get the order. (These are the trades that go against you.) The orders you do get should do more than pay for the ones you don't. That way, your business survives. (These are the trades that go your way.) The ultimate trick here is to accept the small losses as the cost of business and not cry too long about it.
I think money in this case is secondary to time ... Money is replaceable, time is not. And regarding the time, there is a very good proverb about trading:"First 10 years you spend learning, another 10 years you make money, another 10 years you become rich..."
Everyone's "tuition" amount will always be different. Some will have to pay a few years. Some will pay several more extra years. Others will be lifetime students.... or until the capital runs out.