Today, I want to share a critical lesson from my recent trading session: don’t oversize your positions. In the video, I discussed a tough morning where I took a $9,742 loss on a trade in Q’s that didn’t go as planned due to a grindy market. The key takeaway is that oversizing—loading up on positions like a 100-contract options trade, equivalent to a $7 million equity position on SPY—can wreck your account if you’re not careful. I’ve seen traders, including one of our members, escalate from one contract to 100, driven by greed and the false expectation that every trade will work. That’s a dangerous mindset. When I took that loss, I didn’t panic or add to the position. Instead, I managed it with discipline, cut the trade, and waited patiently for a better setup.
Later, I executed a trade on SPY, which was trading more naturally, and turned a $16,333 gain, offsetting the loss and ending the day green. My point is this: focus on the strategy, not the money. Oversizing happens when you’re money-obsessed, not when you’re committed to mastering the art of trading. By sizing positions based on calculated risk and expecting the worst outcome in every trade, you protect your capital and stay emotionally grounded. That’s how I’ve stayed in this game for over a decade, and it’s a lesson I urge every trader to internalize to avoid blowing up their accounts.