One of the hardest things to do in trading is to win after losing.

A losing streak can be triggered by a number of factors. Bad trade selection. Bad luck. Bad market environment.

Unfortunately in their eagerness to “make it back” most traders usually make it worse. Typically after two or three losing trades the urge to win overtakes the ability to think calmly and collectively and a wild orgy of stop losses follows.

Despite trading for twenty years in other markets I still fall victim to these problems, especially when I experiment with new setups. But I learned to curb my worst instincts and correct my behaviour before doing real damage to the trading account. In short, I learned how to win after losing.

Marty Scwartz, the famed trader who wrote Pit Bull had a great saying. “You have to pass through neutral before you can go forward from reverse.” Marty always believed that the first thing you must do after losing is just stop trading. He was a great believer in pulling yourself away from the screen. Stopping to him meant physical separation from the market. In trading, winners never quit but they frequently stop and pause.

The single most toxic thing you can do after 3 or 4 losers in a row is to keep on trading. At that point your chances of winning are better in Ladbrokes FOBTs than on Betfair. Much better to walk away from the screen, go for a walk, have an espresso, read a book and come back next day rested and relaxed.

Why not just fight through it?

Trade until you get your groove back? Because inevitably you turn to impulsive trading and move away from the well thought out, well tested disciplined approach of our trading plan. In pursuit of “getting it back” we quickly abandon our rules. I can get sloppy, then angry, then obsessed and before I know it I’ll drop 10% of my account in one day. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen too often these days.

I walk away.