When you cut your position at an 8% loss, bouncing back only needs a 9% gain—math seems simple enough. But here's what catches most traders off guard: the deeper the hole, the steeper the climb out becomes.

Take a 50% drawdown as an example. You're not looking at a 50% recovery anymore. You need that money to literally double just to crawl back to where you started. That's the brutal math of compounding losses.

And then there's the real kicker—landing a clean 100% gain? That doesn't happen often. Most traders chase it anyway, which is why proper risk management matters more than most care to admit. Small, disciplined cuts compound into something that actually matters over time.