The story started when I offered a close friend of mine to invest his money through forex and gold trading.
At the time, I had absolute confidence in myself — and honestly, I still don’t know where that confidence came from.
I was relatively new to trading gold and forex.
I knew some basic technical analysis, but nothing advanced.
Up until that point, I had only been trading with my own money.
A Small Account That Lied to Me
My capital was simple:
- $100 of my own money
- Plus $100 bonus from the trading platform
So the total balance was $200.
What I didn’t understand back then was a critical truth:
$200 is extremely small capital for trading gold and forex.
A small account cannot absorb market volatility.
By luck — and maybe good timing — I managed to close a few successful gold trades.
The profits were small.
Almost insignificant.
But their effect on my confidence was massive.
Those early wins made me believe I was ready for more.
How Much Should I Invest?
When I suggested the idea to my friend, he asked me a simple question:
“How much do you think I should invest?”
Without hesitation, I replied:
“The bigger the amount, the better.”
Shortly after, he decided to invest $1,000.
To be honest, this was the first time in my life I would trade with what felt like a large amount of money.
Then the platform made it even more tempting.
When the Numbers Started Playing With My Head
The broker was offering a 100% trading bonus.
So suddenly, the account balance became:
$2,000
I remember thinking:
“Amazing 😁”
That’s when my mindset shifted.
I stopped thinking about:
- Risk management
- Position sizing
- Market volatility
And started thinking only about profits.
I compared everything to my old $100 account:
“If $100 could make this much… imagine what $1,000 can do.”
That thought alone was dangerous.
A Critical Detail I Ignored
The platform offered multiple account types:
- Cent account (for small capital)
- Standard account
On my personal $100 account, I always used a cent account.
But for my friend’s money, I opened a new account and selected a standard account — without fully understanding the difference.
At the time, I didn’t realize how serious that mistake was.
The Trade That Changed Everything
When I tried to open a gold trade, the system wouldn’t allow anything smaller than:
1.00 lot
I froze.
I had never traded that size before.
I was used to: 0.01 , 0.02
But seeing $2,000 in the account gave me false confidence.
So I did it. I opened a 1-lot gold trade.
The Shock I Wasn’t Ready For
The account was already down $45.
That wasn’t market movement.
That was the platform’s commission — the spread between buy and sell.
Before I could even process that…
Within less than a minute, the loss exploded to $350.
That was 35% of the entire capital.
Gone.
When the Mind Shuts Down
That moment didn’t feel like trading.
It felt like my brain stopped working.
I lost focus completely.
Even the simplest things I knew disappeared:
- What was my target?
- When should I exit?
- What was the plan?
There was no plan.
I hadn’t placed a stop loss —
which was already a chronic mistake of mine, one I had written about before.
But even if I had…
I wasn’t mentally prepared to lose $350 in minutes.
When Trading Turns Into Luck
At that point, the trade was no longer based on: analysis, probability or risk management.
It was based on hope.
On luck....... Pure luck.
I wasn’t managing the trade anymore.
I was just watching the screen, waiting for the market to save me.
Walking Away Instead of Deciding
I left the trade open for a moment — and went to sleep.
Days passed.
The loss kept moving between $400 and $750, and I was completely lost.
I didn’t know what to do.
I didn’t even know what to tell my friend when he asked:
“How are things going?”
I didn’t want to give up.
In my head, I wasn’t losing — I was fighting the market.
The Hedge That Felt Like a Solution
The platform allowed hedging —
opening a second gold trade in the opposite direction of the first one.
Before I did that, something important happened.
The market actually moved in my favor.
The loss was reduced to just $50.
I could’ve exited. I could’ve closed the trade with minimal damage.
I could’ve ended everything right there. But I didn’t.
I had a different plan.
I opened the opposite trade.
At that moment:
- The first position was down $400
- The second position locked the loss at $400
On paper, the loss stopped moving.
Mentally, I was completely gone.
Managing two opposite positions requires:
- Clear thinking
- Precise timing
- The ability to close one trade and let the other run
I had none of that.
If neither position is closed correctly,
the account remains exposed — and liquidation becomes a real threat.
When Fear Took Over
The market dropped sharply.
One position moved into profit,
while the other sank deeper into loss.
And honestly, I had no idea when to close the profitable trade.
I was afraid:
“If I close it now, what if the losing trade keeps bleeding?”
So I hesitated.
Days passed again.
Exhaustion Makes Bad Decisions Easier
After days of mental pressure and exhaustion, I finally acted —
but not in the right way.
I closed the profitable position.
And I left the losing one open.
At that point, the situation was clear:
Any further drop meant one thing- account liquidation.
The Most Dangerous Thoughts in Trading
The same useless thoughts came back.
I started calculating profits that didn’t exist.
I added:
- The profit I had already closed
- Plus the imaginary profit I could make if the losing trade turned around
In my head, the numbers looked big.
But the truth is simple:
This kind of thinking is toxic.
Unrealized profits are not profits.
Potential gains mean nothing when risk is out of control.
While I was lost in those calculations…
My phone vibrated.
The Notification I’ll Never Forget
It was a notification from the platform.
My account had been fully liquidated.
Yes.
The entire account.
Gone.
From a single bad decision —
followed by many worse ones.
The Lessons I Learned the Hard Way
This experience taught me more than any chart ever could.
The lessons are many, but these are the most important ones:
- Never try to fight the market.
The market doesn’t care how confident you feel. - Accept losses before you chase profits.
If you can’t accept the loss, you’re not ready for the trade. - Always use a stop loss.
Not as an option. As a rule. - And most importantly:
You must fully understand:- The type of account you’re trading
- Lot size and what it really means
- How to calculate risk before you enter
Ignoring these details doesn’t just hurt performance —
it destroys accounts
Final Thought
This wasn’t just a bad gold trade.
It was a complete lesson in:
- Overconfidence
- Poor risk management
- And emotional decision-making
I didn’t lose the account because the market was unfair.
I lost it because I wasn’t prepared.
And that lesson cost me more than money.
Disclaimer: This article reflects my personal trading experience and is for educational purposes only. It is not financial advice.
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