💰 Daily loss limit
When today's losses hit this, you stop trading for the day. Period. No "one more setup." This is the single biggest edge most retail traders never use.
📐 Max position size
Cap on the largest single position. Even if the brain says 90%, you don't put 50% of book on one ticker. Defends against fat-finger errors and over-conviction.
⏸ Cooldown rules
After 3 losses in a row, the brain enforces a 30-min cooldown. Tilt protection. Most blowups happen here.
🛑 Hard stops (always enforced)
These can’t be turned off. If you find yourself wanting to disable them, that’s the strongest signal you need them.
✓ Stop loss required on every position before opening
✓ No averaging down losing positions (no exception)
✓ No revenge trading — 5-min lockout after each closed loss
✓ Friday afternoon caution — half size after 2pm ET Fri
Most edge in trading comes from not trading at the wrong time, not from genius timing of the right trades.
The single most predictive trait in profitable retail traders is rule-following. The single most destructive habit is "just this once" — which becomes 10 times.
Set the limits. Forget them. Trade your plan.