The 24-hour rule: do you wait a day before big decisions?

After a big loss or win, the 24-hour rule postpones consequential decisions — depositing more, doubling size, quitting — until the emotion settles. Simple, old and effective.

The 24-hour rule: do you wait a day before big decisions? — drawdown and recovery diagram
An equity curve during a drawdown and its recovery

Do you use it?

  • the decisions you defer by a day
  • the disaster the rule prevented
  • where the rule doesn't work
The 24-hour rule: do you wait a day before big decisions? — risk-reward diagram
A risk-reward ratio of 1 to 2

The drawdown guide argues for exactly this kind of delay.

Background: Drawdown and recovery: why a 50% loss needs a 100% gain

Losses and gains aren't symmetrical. See how much you need to recover from a drawdown, what losing streaks do at different risk levels and how to set limits.

How much do you need to gain to recover from a 50% loss?

100%. The gain needed is the loss divided by one minus the loss, so larger drawdowns need disproportionately larger gains.

What is maximum drawdown?

The largest fall in account value from a peak to a later low, before a new peak is reached, usually expressed as a percentage.

Read the full guide

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