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Psychology

Max-Daily-Loss Cap

A pre-committed maximum percentage of account capital that can be lost in a single trading session. When hit, the platform closes and the session ends. The cap is the Ulysses mast for tilt cascades — it removes the option of recovery trading, which is the only fuel the cascade needs.

See also
Psychology Ulysses Contract A commitment device that binds the future self via the present self's authority. Odysseus ordered his crew to bind him to the mast and ignore his future demands — he used his rational present self to govern his irrational future self. Every pre-committed trading rule is a Ulysses contract. → Psychology Tilt The state in which emotional arousal degrades decision quality below the trader's actual skill floor (Tendler and Carter, The Mental Game of Poker). After a loss, the amygdala spikes, cortisol releases, and prefrontal cortex activity is suppressed. The trader is not running their best setup — they are running a distressed nervous system. → Psychology Walk-Away Trigger A pre-defined condition that forces physical removal from the trading environment. Examples: hitting the max-daily-loss cap, three losing trades in a row, tilt symptoms (rushed clicking, 'just one more'), trading at 3am, or trading in an emotionally dysregulated state. Must be pre-committed and non-negotiable. →
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