Lessons › Why traders lose › When you're ready
World 11 · Why traders lose · lesson 33 · level 2
When you're ready
Four counted checks, not a feeling, decide when you go back to real money, and passing them is not a promise of profit.
In one line
How do you know you are ready for real money again? Not a feeling: four checks you can count.
Explained simply
Feeling ready and being ready are different. Use four checks you can count. One: at least 50 practice trades in your journal, because with fewer, luck can hide your habits. Two: rules kept on at least 9 of every 10 trades. Three: a journal with no gaps, ugly trades included. Four: your average result in R, the amount you risked, is above zero. Miss one, and you keep practicing. Passing all four is still not a promise of profit. It only means your rules held up in practice.
A worked example
An example: 50 practice trades with a total result of +6R. The average is +6R ÷ 50 = +0.12R per trade, above zero. If 5 of the 50 broke a rule, you kept the rules on 9 of every 10, so that check passes too. None of this is a promise of profit; it means your rules held up in practice. Then come back small.
Mistakes to avoid
- Going back because you feel ready, without counting.
- Rushing to 50 trades as if it were a target, not a floor.
- Leaving the ugly trades out of the journal.
- Reading an average above zero as a promise of profit.
Check yourself
At least how many practice trades must be in your journal before you go back?
50. At least 50, all logged. With fewer, luck can still hide your habits; fifty is a floor, not a target.
You pass all four checks. What does that mean?
Your rules held up in practice, not a promise of profit. Passing only means your rules held up in practice. It is not a promise of profit, so you still come back small.
You broke a rule on 2 of your last 10 practice trades. Does the 9-of-10 check pass?
No: two breaks in ten means more practice. The check needs rules kept on at least 9 of every 10 trades. Two breaks in ten means more practice.
What does a journal with no gaps mean?
Every practice trade logged, the ugly ones too. Every practice trade, with the same columns each time: stop, size, reason, feeling, result in R. No gaps means no guessing.
Example: 50 practice trades, total +6R, but 10 of them broke a rule. Are you ready?
No: 10 breaks in 50 is 2 in every 10. The average, +0.12R, is above zero, but rules were kept on only 8 of 10 trades. Miss one check, and you keep practicing.
Goal of this lesson: Count your practice trades, rule breaks, journal gaps and average R, and keep practicing if any check fails.