Stopping for the day after one good trade: a rule worth testing

[FXS London Scalper]

A simple rule some scalpers use: after one clean winning trade of at least 1.5R, stop for the day.

The case for it comes from a common journal pattern. If, on days with an early winner, the rest of the session tends to be flat or slightly negative, continuing gives back part of the first gain while adding risk and fatigue.

You can test whether that applies to you without changing anything yet:

• Find every day in your journal where the first trade of 1.5R or more came early.
• Sum the R of all trades after it on the same day.
• If that sum is negative or close to zero across a few dozen days, the rule would have helped.

What to expect if you adopt it:

• "One and done" days end below your best days but rarely turn red.
• Less screen time after a win, which often makes the next day start better.
• Some good trades missed, which is the cost.

Be careful with small samples. Thirty days of results can easily look good or bad by luck, and the answer may change with the market regime, for example in a strongly trending month.

Does anyone have a rule like this? Or do you think stopping after a winner is just leaving money on the table?