I'm also sorry to hear about your loss. One bad decision is bad enough, but seven bad decisions at the same time? I can't understand how you could make 7 bad decisions at the same time. Namely, 1) why you were not diversified, 2) why you held an obviously declining stock overnight, 3) why you were bottom fishing in a bear market, 4) why you were bottom fishing especially in the financial services sector, 5) why you kept averaging down, and 6) why you didn't protect your position with a stop loss, 7) why you used (near) maximum leverage. All of these bad decisions sound like clips from an educational video titled "Complete Amateur Hour". You sound green. I suggest you 1) Diversify. 2) Go flat at the end of the day. 3) Never bottom fish in a bear market, and 4) especially in the current bear market of the financial sector. 5) Never average down. 6) Always use a stop loss. 7) Use little or no margin. And most importantly, don't be a hero; don't go against the trend; in these months and days the trend is down, so follow the trend. The trend is your friend, except in the end when it bends.
On the positive side, each of these 7 mistakes can be educational. Also on the positive side, there are no PDT rules in futures. Also on the positive side, no $25K is necessary. Also on the positive side, futures trading is different from equities trading. However, I suggest you watch out; there are many similarities as well, and when you're green, chances are you will be inclined to make many of these very same mistakes in futures trading as well. For example, "one contract" may sound like nothing, but you need to remind yourself the leverage in futures is much greater than in equities, and leverage can help you as well as hurt you.
Steve
