Don't ignore that first feeling when sizing a CFD trade

Been trading CFDs for a good few years now, mostly on indices and forex. Something I’ve had to really drill into myself, the hard way naturally, is listening to that initial gut feeling on position sizing. You know the one – you do your analysis, set your levels, and then you’re about to hit ‘execute’ and for a split second, you think, “This feels a bit big.”

More times than I care to admit, I’ve ignored that whisper, convinced myself I’m just being a chicken or that the setup is so good it warrants the extra juice. The result? Almost invariably, those are the trades that turn south, or at the very least, they keep me on edge throughout the entire duration. The stress levels become disproportionate to the potential reward. I’ve seen decent setups turn into net losers simply because my emotional capital was depleted, leading to early exits or moving stops that should have stayed put. It’s not about being afraid to take risk; it’s about taking calculated risk that aligns with your mental bandwidth. If it feels too big at the outset, it probably is. Cut it down, even if it feels like you're leaving money on the table. Trust me, you're buying peace of mind, and that's invaluable.