July 9, 2025

30 Mistakes That Destroy 90% of Traders

1. Trading without a plan

Entering trades without a defined setup, entry, and exit rules leads to random results.

2. Emotional trading

Letting fear, greed, or revenge dictate your decisions results in impulsive and irrational trades.

3. No risk management

Failing to control how much you're willing to lose can wipe your account with just a few trades.

4. Not cutting losses

Holding onto losing trades hoping they'll reverse usually leads to even bigger losses.

5. Doubling down after a loss

Trying to recover losses by increasing position size often accelerates the blowout.

6. Not keeping a trading journal

Without tracking past decisions, you can't learn from mistakes or improve.

7. No stop-loss orders

A single trade without a stop can spiral into a devastating loss.

8. No profit targets

Greed causes traders to hold winning trades too long, often turning profits into losses.

9. Entering trades without analysis

Acting on instincts or rumors leads to poor decision-making.

10. Unprepared news trading

Volatility during news events is high-trading without a plan is gambling.

11. Holding onto losing trades

Refusing to close a loss can destroy your account during strong trends.

12. No market specialization

Jumping across different assets prevents you from mastering any of them.

13. Skipping demo practice

Going straight to real money without practicing leads to unnecessary losses.

14. Changing strategy too soon

Judging a strategy by 1-2 trades ignores the importance of probability.

15. Trading while emotional

Bad moods or stress distort judgment and lead to poor results.

16. Lack of routine

Disorganized trading without a consistent process breeds inconsistency.

17. Underfunded trading

Too small of a balance amplifies risk and limits strategic flexibility.

18. Using borrowed funds

Trading with debt increases pressure and often leads to reckless behavior.

19. Following random advice

Taking tips from strangers or unverified sources leads to confusion.

20. Trading low-liquidity hours

At night, spreads widen and signals are less reliable.

21. Greedy entries

Jumping into trades too soon or too late just to not miss out often ends badly.

22. Closing profits too early

Letting fear of losing gains prevent trades from reaching full potential.

23. Not knowing your strategy

Using tools you don't understand leads to misuse and misinterpretation.

24. Overtrading

Too many trades in one session often leads to mental fatigue and bad results.

25. Fighting the trend

Going against the market's direction increases your risk and lowers win rates.

26. Hesitating on good setups

Fear of being wrong leads to missing out on high-probability trades.

27. Fear of losing > Desire to win

If you're more afraid of losing than focused on winning, you hesitate.

28. Chasing holy grail strategies

Looking for perfect systems instead of mastering simple ones is a trap.

29. Not analyzing past trades

Failing to review what went wrong means repeating the same mistakes.

30. Not learning at all

Refusing to improve or stay informed means you're always behind the market.