Why you cut winners short and let losers run
You close a winning trade the moment it is green, and you hold a losing one “until it comes back”. Over time, small wins and large losses add up to a losing account, even with a decent win rate.
How to tell if you do it
Compare how long you hold your winners with how long you hold your losers. If your winning trades last a few minutes and your losing trades last much longer, this habit is costing you. You can work this out from your broker's trade history: entry time, exit time, and the result of each trade.
Why it happens
A gain feels like something that can be taken away, so closing it brings relief. A loss is not real until you close it, so holding it postpones the pain. Both feelings are normal. Both push you in the wrong direction.
How to fix it
- Decide your exits before you enter. Where you are wrong, and where you would take profit. Write both down.
- Judge exits against the plan, not the outcome. “Did I exit where I said I would?” is a better question than “did the price go further after I sold?”.
- Use the same rule both ways. If you would not hold a loser past your stop, do not close a winner before your target without a reason you can name.
- Look at your holding times every week. If winners keep getting shorter, it is usually nerves, not strategy.
A note on hindsight
“It went up after I sold” does not mean the exit was wrong. Prices move after every exit. The only fair comparison is with the plan you had when you got in.
How Ticky helps. Ticky compares how long you hold winners and losers, from your own trades. When you close a win much faster than you usually give a loser, it asks whether that was the plan, or nerves.
Join the waitlist