Talked to a beginner trader last week who blew up a $500 account in 9 days. Not because his setups were bad — half of them were actually solid entries. He just sized every trade like he was trying to double his account by Friday.

Here's the thing nobody tells beginners: your risk management is 80% of the job. Your entry signal is the other 20%.

The rule I make every new trader follow: never risk more than 1% of your account on a single trade. On a $1,000 account, that's a $10 max loss per trade. Sounds tiny. Feels tiny. But it means you can be wrong 10 times in a row and still have 90% of your capital left to trade the setup that actually works.

Most beginners do the opposite — they risk 10-20% per trade chasing a quick double, hit a losing streak (which WILL happen, even to good traders), and they're done before they ever get good.

If you're just starting out in forex: figure out your position size math before you figure out your entry strategy. It's not exciting, but it's the only reason I'm still trading five years later.