The simple method that works: sell a third to a half once the trade has made as much as it risked, and move the stop on the remainder to the entry price. From then on the trade cannot become a loser, and your head clears. It lowers the average win — and also the pressure, and the bad decisions born of pressure.

A stop moves in one direction only: in your favour. After de-risking, trail it under rising lows or under a short moving average. The one rule in this entire course with no exception: never widen a stop. The moment you do, both your position-size calculation and your method's expectancy become fiction.

And its twin: never add to a losing position. Averaging down lowers your cost basis and feels clever, but it increases risk exactly when the market is telling you you're wrong. That is what a one-trade account wipeout looks like.

When the target is reached. When the trailing stop is hit. When the reason for the trade is void — for instance, the breakout you bought falling back into the range. Or when the day is over: an intraday position closes at the end of the day, whether at a small gain or a loss. Turning a day trade into a long-term investment is the single most common way a small loss becomes a large one.