Daily Loss Circuit Breaker
Stop the bleed before tilt takes over
Many day traders describe a predictable blow-up pattern: a normal loss turns into an abnormal red day because they keep trading while emotionally compromised. This recipe enforces a hard "done for the day" rule once a daily loss limit (in $ or R) is hit.
INGREDIENTS
PROMPT
Create a day-trading risk guard called "Daily Loss Circuit Breaker". Inputs: realized P&L (USD), estimated R-based P&L, and trade outcomes. When realized P&L <= -$300 OR <= -3R OR consecutive losses >= 3: (1) send an urgent alert, (2) disable any order-entry helpers for 24h unless I explicitly override, and (3) ask me 3 journaling questions to capture the first failure point (setup quality, sizing, stop discipline). Keep it platform-agnostic.
Pain point
Traders frequently report that their worst days are not caused by a single bad trade, but by
continued trading after reaching a mental "tilt point" (revenge trading, oversizing, rule breaking).
Triggers
- Realized P&L <= -dailyLossLimitUSD OR <= -dailyLossLimitR
- Consecutive losing trades >= maxConsecutiveLosses
Conditions
- Applies only during configured session window(s)
- Optional: ignore the first X minutes after open (separate recipe handles open volatility)
Actions
- Send a high-priority alert: "Loss limit hit — trading day is over."
- Lock trading workflow (block order templates / require manual override)
- Prompt a short journal entry: What happened? What rule broke first?
Parameters (defaults)
- dailyLossLimitUSD: 300
- dailyLossLimitR: 3.0
- maxConsecutiveLosses: 3
- lockoutMinutes: 1440
Examples
- If realized P&L hits -$300, block new trade templates and prompt an end-of-day review.
- If you take 3 losses in a row, enforce a full-day cooldown and suggest demo-only review.