Everyone is different, but for myself the only way to avoid large losses is to place a stop as soon as a trade is entered. Accepting that, the focus is then on waiting for the best entries, especially after a pause. I find that the the alternative of using a mental stop is occasionally prone to failure due to emotions taking over. If prices move rapidly it only takes a moment of indicision for a small loss to become larger, then the temptation to manage the trade can take over and before too long the loss can be excessive. Staying in control has been mentioned very early in this thread and no matter how smart and rational we may think we are, emotions can get the better of us. A friend of mine had a stroke in 2013 at a relatively young age and although his intellect was unaffected he now experiences 'emotional lability', often getting frustrated or laughing excessively. Emotions are within us all and when trading they need to be kept in check.
Trading very small helps.
I used to think, what's the point in buying £1,000 of stock because, even if it goes up by 10%, it's only £100. Whereas if you lay down £10,000, the profit is £1,000.
But there is a flip side.
It's far easier to stay in control putting £1,000 in play than £10,000.
And as the OP said, lots of little profits add up.
