Foolishness update:Bad week for me last week due to believing...

Foolishness update:

Bad week for me last week due to believing midweek that the market would go down over the short-term to medium-term, and therefore doubling up and widening my stops. When will I ever learn? Stops are there for a reason - to protect you!

Even after a 35 point loss in one day (incredibly stupid!), I could have broken even for the week, but I kept trades open while I went out for various appointments and tried to turn the loss into a profit. So I ended with a 30 point loss for the week.

Now I have written across the top of my screen:

- Don't hold beyond one hour.
- Forget about longer-term trends or reversals.
- Don't double up.
- Don't widen stops.

Simple, but I get lured by the prospect of bigger wins even though I win well enough from scalping.

Of course, this approach is only relevant for daytraders, not medium-term or long-term traders.