The 3-6-9 rule
The 3-6-9 rule is a set of loss caps. At most 3 percent on one trade, 6 percent in a day, 9 percent in a week.
In depth
The three numbers stack. Three percent is the most one trade may lose. Six percent is the most the whole day may lose. Nine is the weekly cap. Hit a cap and you stop until the next day or the next week.
Take a 10,000 dollar account. That is 300 on a trade, 600 in a day, 900 in a week. Two full losers and the day is over. The exact percentages are a judgment call. Plenty of traders run smaller caps, nearer 1 percent a trade. What matters is setting the number before the session, not during it.
Why it matters
Without a cap, one bad session can undo a month of patient work. Losses also get harder to repair as they grow. Down 30 percent, you need a 43 percent gain to get back to flat. A cap ends the day before frustration starts picking your trades for you.
TraderLog does not enforce your caps, it records whether you kept them. Schwab and IBKR fills import on their own. The calendar puts a profit or loss on every day. The stats page reports your worst day and your max drawdown, so a broken cap shows up.
Frequently asked questions
No, it is a guide you set yourself. The percentages are yours to choose, and many traders use smaller ones.
Stop trading for the day and write down what happened. The cap only works if you never trade past it.
Keep your 3-6-9 rule trades on the record in TraderLog
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