Let me tell you something no one wants to admit: Losing streaks are normal. 

They happen to everyone, even traders like me who’ve been at this for decades.

But what separates the traders who last from the ones who blow up, rage-quit, or ghost their broker after a 5% drawdown is how they handle it.

I’ve been through more streaks than I care to count. 

Some were short and annoying, and others dragged out longer than they should have because I refused to step back. 

I thought I could “trade my way out of it.”

That’s a lie the market loves to feed you — and it’s how a small bruise can turn into a broken leg.

Here’s the truth: You don’t fix a losing streak by trading more.

You fix it by trading smarter, or sometimes not trading at all.

Let me walk you through exactly what I do when I hit a red streak.

Step 1: Cut Size Immediately

If I’m normally risking $5,000 a trade, I’ll cut it to $1,000. Maybe $500.

No ego. No, “I just need to hit one home run and I’m back.”

That’s how amateurs think. Pros go the opposite way.

Think of it like a boxer on the ropes. You don’t start swinging wild. You cover up. You move. You wait for an opening.

I’d rather take five $500 losers while I find my footing than one $5,000 disaster trying to “get even.”

Step 2: Stop Trading Junk

Losing streaks have a way of making you feel desperate.

Suddenly, setups you’d normally ignore start “looking good.”

No. Bad trades don’t turn into good ones just because you’re frustrated.

Instead, you need to tighten your criteria and only trade your best setup.

If it’s not an A+ look, just take a pass. 

Simple as that.

Step 3: Review Ruthlessly

This is where most traders flinch.

They’d rather not look, so they say things like, “It just wasn’t my week,” or, “The market was weird,” or my personal favorite, “It was just bad luck.”

Nope. If you don’t look at your trades, you’re simply not serious.

Instead, print out your entries. 

Write out the real reason you took them, and then look at the charts after the fact. 

Were you forcing it? Were you emotional? Were you even following your own rules?

I guarantee you’ll find a pattern — every losing streak has one.

Find it, name it, and kill it. 

Step 4: Take a Day Off

Sometimes the smartest trade is no trade.

Get away from the screens and go to the gym. Take your spouse to lunch or walk around the block without staring at charts on your phone.

You’re not lazy. You’re reloading.

The worst thing you can do is sit there stewing, watching setups you wish you took, and second-guessing everything. 

That kind of mental fatigue will crush you.

You don’t owe the market anything. And it sure as hell doesn’t owe you.

Final Word

Losing streaks will happen. That part’s not optional.

But losing control during a losing streak is on you.

Professional traders don’t avoid losses, they manage them by cutting size, slowing down, and stopping the bleeding before it turns into a disaster.

If you want to trade for a living, you have to get good at this part.

Because surviving the tough spots is how you stay in the game long enough to win.

Stay street smart,
Jeff Zananiri

P.S. Looking for a real edge right now?

Danny Phee is going live today at 4 p.m. ET inside the APEX War Room — and he’s not holding back.

He’s laying out the trades he’s stalking, what’s actually moving, and how he’s positioning in this chop.

If you want to stop guessing and start getting ahead, be there.