What is your longest streak of losses?

I suppose it’ll be depend on your R:R and what probability setups you use. ATM I use around 1:1 to 1:2 risk:reward and encountered my sixth consecutive loss. What would you consider to be your longest streak of losses, and how have you psychologically dealt with your losses? I spent most of today just backtesting to restore my confidence. :slight_smile:

well the way i trade (yay price action) i typically win about 8/10 of my trades, that being said when i first started trading my longest streak of losses was 10 in a row :stuck_out_tongue: of course that was ENTIRELY me being an emotional trader, i had used my system solidly for a week and gotten $1000 profit, then i started taking huge risks with my lot sizes, entering early trying to get more pips, and exiting the second i saw things werent going my way, back testing is all good and fine until you realize that the problem isnt your system, you see you’re system is profitable, its just you messing it up D:

Eight and I used a 1:1 risk/reward. After six, I stopped for a week then jumped back in.

I do the same as you when starting to take a string of losses … I go on a backtest frenzy to rebuild confidence and focus on something else … try to optimize and find new ways to take better trades. My worst string of losses in a row was 5 and coincidentally on my 1st month trading. I deviated from the gameplan and was basically gambling. I am now ending my 3rd month and 2 losses in a row since then. I know these string of losses can happen again … just like long winning streaks … goes both ways.

I never counted my losing streak but I have a feeling it was a big number, somehwere between 10-15 and that was a long time a go when i was scalping a lot, it wass crazy i was naive and i learned my lesson :slight_smile:

13 in a row scalping. Morale?

Become better at scalping?

lol and reduce risk as you never know when a series of losses will materialize.

Actually, strings of losses depend on your [B]Win/Loss Ratio,[/B] not your Risk/Reward Ratio.

All the metrics associated with any trading system work together in concert, of course, so changing your R/R Ratio could affect your W/L Ratio. But, for calculation purposes, your W/L Ratio is the metric to use.

Here’s a previous post detailing a formula for the “expectancy” of strings of losses — 301 Moved Permanently

This formula cannot tell you how often [B]you will[/B] experience a string of losses of a certain length; it can only tell you how often, on average, [B]you are likely[/B] to experience such a string of losses. Like everything else in forex trading, it all comes down to probabilities.

Let’s say that you have experienced a severe string of losses. And let’s say that you have enough history with your present trading system to know its average W/L Ratio over time. With these two numbers (the length of your string of losses, and your W/L Ratio), you can determine the “expectancy” of that string of losses. From that, you can get a good indication of whether this string of losses is something that you should expect rather frequently, or whether this string of losses was an extraordinary event.

Suppose you determine that this string of losses was an extraordinary event — something that maybe should happen only once in a lifetime, on average. There could be two explanations for this event: Either (1) you just suffered some nasty, bad luck, or (2) something has broken down in your trading system and your W/L Ratio is no longer what you thought it was.

Unfortunately, the formula can’t tell you which of those explanations is the correct one. To determine that, you’ll have to do some “forensic analysis” of your recent trading.

hhhmm i haven’t had a massive losing streak for years. The closest i will get these days is a like 3 trades that are very small losses then ill have one big trade that will wipe out those losses then some more hehe. I use 2:1 profit to loss ratios but im very confident in my price action reading that I will never allow the price to go anywhere near my stop loss. My stop loss is there for peace of mind. Even once my trade is well in profit it still will never hit my stop loss.

Since im a breakout trader my losses should always be very small. A breakout is a god dam it breakout! Therefore i should be in profit very fast. If its not then i get the hell out because i can always get back in if things go my way again. Think of it like this. If im trading the AUD/USD at a breakout level and my profit target is 480 pips and my stop loss is 240 pips. The price should not move against me 240 pips over the next couple of days if im a breakout trader. That’s why i can sustain long periods of losses even though the most ill get these days is around 3 in a row.

I’ve had 4 straight losses before…i took a break and stopped trading for the day…the next day got myself back to where i was before…im sure i missed out on some good trades by stopping for the day…but remember trading can get emotional…it shouldn’t be…but sometimes you need a break and come back with a fresh positive mind…

SithJawa - you got me intrigued since I also rely on price action except, that I’m still in demo stage. I’m curious about two things: 1. What time frame(s) do you use? 2. How often do you get to trade?

I never found out… I was margin called! Sorry couldn’t resist! LOL!!!

Max consecutive wins: 36 trades
Max consecutive losses: 3 trades

When I take a loss, I’m thankful they weren’t bigger and move forward.