Most new day traders don't fail because of bad entries. They fail because they never define how much they're willing to lose before they take the trade.

Here's the rule I wish someone gave me on day one: never risk more than 1% of your account on a single position.

Why it works:

• A string of 5 losing trades in a row only costs you ~5% of your account, not 50%.

• It removes the emotional spiral of 'revenge trading' to win back a big loss.

• It forces you to size positions based on your stop-loss distance, not your gut feeling.

Math: if your account is $10,000 and you're risking 1% ($100), and your stop is $2 away from entry, your max position size is 50 shares. That's it. No exceptions, no 'just this once.'

Most blown accounts aren't a bad strategy problem — they're a position sizing problem. Fix that first, and everything else gets easier to learn.