When position size feels too small to care about
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2026 5:34 pm
Reducing size after a drawdown is good advice. The part that doesn't get discussed is what it does to concentration. At 0.01 lots a 5-pip loss is a few cents, and the brain stops treating the trade as real.
Typical symptoms:
- Entries without checking spread.
- Holding losers longer because "it's only 40 cents".
- Taking setups that would never pass at normal size.
- Boredom trading in between.
Some fixes that work for different people:
1. Track results in R, not currency. A loss of -1R at 0.01 lots is still -1R.
2. Set a smaller trade count limit while size is reduced. Fewer trades, same standards.
3. Write the dollar figure you would have lost at normal size next to each trade. It brings the weight back.
4. Use the small-size phase for one specific skill only, e.g. exits, so each trade has a purpose.
The goal is to make the small-size period a test of process. If the process breaks at 0.01, it will break harder at 0.50.
What do you do to keep small trades feeling serious?
Typical symptoms:
- Entries without checking spread.
- Holding losers longer because "it's only 40 cents".
- Taking setups that would never pass at normal size.
- Boredom trading in between.
Some fixes that work for different people:
1. Track results in R, not currency. A loss of -1R at 0.01 lots is still -1R.
2. Set a smaller trade count limit while size is reduced. Fewer trades, same standards.
3. Write the dollar figure you would have lost at normal size next to each trade. It brings the weight back.
4. Use the small-size phase for one specific skill only, e.g. exits, so each trade has a purpose.
The goal is to make the small-size period a test of process. If the process breaks at 0.01, it will break harder at 0.50.
What do you do to keep small trades feeling serious?