Last night I took a small tumble; upon review, it’s really not a matter of “wrong direction,” just pure slippage and timing issues. I looked at the order book thinking the depth was sufficient, but when I rushed in, the orders looked paper-thin, after eating through the first two levels, the rest was immediately empty, and the average transaction price was pushed up so much I was stunned… Basically, I was competing with myself for liquidity.

Thinking back, I was too hasty with my orders: I should have split them up, first placing small orders to test the waters, see how quickly they get filled and replenished, then decide whether to add more; or simply wait for the volatility to settle down. The current environment is quite tricky too—when rate cut expectations come in, the dollar index sometimes moves in tandem with risk assets, both rising or falling together, making it even harder to gauge the rhythm. Anyway, I’d rather earn less in the future than gamble on that “instant success” — it’s just too dangerous. Sigh, I’m really fed up.