Trading is a game of discipline, but when emotions take control, it can turn potential life-changing gains into painful losses. I recently made a mistake that cost me dearly—I went from being up $550 to losing $950, all because I lacked the patience to hold my position. To make things worse, if I had just stuck to my plan, the trade would have hit my target and made me $10,000.
This wasn’t just a financial loss—it was a harsh lesson in emotional control.
The Perfect Setup: A Strong Start
I entered a long position on $ORCA Perp at $2.508, using leverage. My strategy was solid, and the trade started going my way. Not long after, I was sitting on a $550 profit.
At that moment, I had two choices:
Lock in the profit and secure a safe win.
Hold on for bigger gains based on my original plan.
But then, emotions got involved.
The Emotional Trap: Selling Too Early
As the price continued moving, I got impatient. I started doubting myself:
What if the market reverses?
What if I lose my gains?
I should just take the profit and be safe.
Instead of trusting my plan, I sold too early at an average exit of $2.564. A small win, but nothing compared to what came next.
Shortly after I closed my position, the price skyrocketed.
The Regret: Watching My $10,000 Slip Away
I sat there watching in disbelief as ORCA kept pumping. Had I simply held my trade a little longer, I would have hit my target and made $10,000—a massive win that could have changed my trading account completely.
Instead, I walked away with a tiny profit and a lot of regret.
Frustrated by missing out, I made the worst possible decision: I jumped back in. But this time, I was trading out of frustration, not strategy.
Revenge Trading: Turning a Win Into a Loss
Determined to “make back” what I missed, I entered another trade, but it wasn’t based on my system—it was pure FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). I rushed in at a bad price, with no proper setup, just hoping to catch another move.
The market had other plans.
The price reversed sharply, and before I knew it, I was deep in the red. Instead of cutting my losses early, I hesitated, hoping for a bounce. But the bounce never came.
By the time I finally exited, my $550 profit had turned into a $950 loss.
The Cost of Emotional Trading
This wasn’t just a loss of money—it was a loss of discipline.
If I had just followed my plan, I would have made $10,000.
If I had simply held, I wouldn’t have needed to re-enter the market.
If I had cut my second trade quickly, I could have avoided the loss.
But I let fear, greed, and impatience control my decisions.
Key Lessons: Avoiding This Mistake Again
Trust your plan – If your setup is valid, stick with it. The worst trades come from second-guessing yourself.
Patience is everything – If I had just waited, I would have made 20x more than what I settled for.
Never revenge trade – Trading out of frustration only leads to more losses.
Take emotions out of trading – The market doesn’t care about your feelings. Follow the strategy, not the fear.
This trade was a hard lesson, but it reinforced something important: discipline matters more than anything. The difference between a small win, a huge win, and a big loss isn’t the market—it’s the trader.