A maximum drawdown limit is a predefined loss threshold that triggers mandatory action — reducing size, stopping trading, or reviewing strategy. Common limits: daily max loss (e.g., 3%), weekly max loss (e.g., 5%), monthly max loss (e.g., 10%), and total max drawdown (e.g., 20%). Professional trading firms and prop firms enforce strict drawdown rules.
Daily loss limit: stop trading for the day if reached. Weekly loss limit: reduce size or stop for the week. Monthly loss limit: mandatory strategy review. Total account drawdown: maximum acceptable peak-to-trough decline. Trailing drawdown (prop firms): drawdown measured from highest equity point. Revenge trading prevention.
Set limits before you start trading — they must be predetermined. Hit your daily limit? Close all positions and walk away. No exceptions. Hit your weekly limit? Reduce position sizes by 50% for the remaining week.
Daily limit hit: close all positions, stop trading. Weekly limit: reduce size or stop. Monthly limit: full strategy review, potential pause. Total drawdown limit: stop trading, review everything, seek mentorship or change approach.
Applies to all trading activity
Drawdown limits are not optional — they are the safety net that prevents catastrophic loss. The discipline to respect drawdown limits is arguably more important than any entry strategy. Prop firms fail traders for drawdown violations even when the trader eventually would have recovered.
Fixed-fractional position sizing risks a fixed percentage of your account on every trade (commonly 1-2%). This ensures that a string of losses reduces position sizes proportionally, protecting capital during drawdowns. It's the most widely recommended position sizing method for discretionary traders because it's simple, sustainable, and mathematically sound.
Volatility-based position sizing adjusts trade size according to an asset's current volatility, ensuring that each position carries a consistent dollar risk regardless of how volatile the instrument is. By dividing fixed risk by the asset's average true range or standard deviation, traders normalise risk across different assets and market conditions, preventing outsized losses during volatile periods.
Hedging is the practice of taking offsetting positions to reduce exposure to adverse price movements in your primary holdings. Rather than closing a profitable position or accepting full downside risk, hedging allows traders to protect capital during uncertain periods while maintaining their core exposure. Effective hedging balances protection cost against the risk being mitigated.
The Kelly Criterion is a mathematical formula for determining the optimal bet size to maximise long-term growth rate. Kelly = (bp - q) / b, where b = odds received, p = probability of winning, q = probability of losing. While theoretically optimal, full Kelly is too aggressive for most traders — half-Kelly or quarter-Kelly is more practical.