Trading: Lose the Battle, Win the War

The Key to Preserving Capital and Winning in Trading

​Imagine this:
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​You’re an Army General, in charge of multiple regiments, anywhere from 10,000 to 1,000,000+ soldiers.
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Your mission? Deploy those soldiers in the most effective way on the battlefield.

In a perfect world, there would be no casualties—but this is war, and casualties are inevitable.
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An experienced General aims to minimise losses while focusing on the ultimate goal: winning the war.

LOSE THE BATTLE, WIN THE WAR

Now picture this:

The General is overseeing a battle, a battle that’s being lost. The enemy holds the high ground, superior weapons, and better tactics.

The General has two options:

1️⃣ Keep fighting – Knowing the chances of heavy losses are high.
2️⃣ Withdraw – Preserve men and resources to regroup and fight another day.

The most rational choice? Withdraw. Live to fight another day.

Now flip the script and view this through the lens of trading.

You are the General, and your capital is your army. Each trade is a battle you aim to win.

But as a pragmatic trader, you understand you can’t win them all. Your job is to preserve your resources and deploy them only when you have the advantage.

  • Wait for the great setups. Trades with edge, where the odds are in your favour.
  • Recognise when the battle is lost. If you’re taking loss after loss, accept that today’s battle isn’t yours to win. Stop trading, take the loss, and regroup.

The Big Picture

You can lose many battles and still win the war.

In trading terms: you can endure losing trades or even losing days and still have an exceptional year.

It’s all about playing the long game and preserving your resources for when it really matters.