When not to trade

Every lesson so far has been about reading a trade. This one is about recognising when there isn't one. Sitting out costs nothing; most of the damage in SEBI's numbers comes from trades that never needed to be taken.

Your limits are hit

• Daily loss limit reached (lesson 9). Stop for the day. The urge to "win it back" is exactly when traders size up and break rules.
• Several losses in a row even inside the limit. A short break costs nothing.

The event calendar says wait

• Results, board meetings or major announcements for that stock during your trade window. Intraday patterns rarely survive a surprise.
• Big scheduled events for the whole market, such as policy announcements, can swamp any single-stock setup.

The market has no direction, or you can't see it clearly

• The first minutes after the open. Scores have little history, zones haven't formed and spreads can be wide (lessons 4 and 8). Watching costs nothing.
• A mixed, choppy day: counts close to even, flow-chart lines bunched around zero (lesson 2). Many setups fail on days like this. Trade less, or not at all.
• Stale data. Live Flow uses minute data that can run a few minutes behind the exchange, and the status line shows the time of the last bar. If that time isn't recent, or the page says the market is closed, don't act on what you see. Check the price in your broker's window before any order.

The setup isn't there any more

• Price is far from the zone and you'd be chasing (lesson 7).
• R:R is below your minimum once costs and slippage are counted (lessons 8 and 10).
• One lot is bigger than your risk allows (lesson 9).
• The option strike is illiquid, with a wide spread and little depth (lesson 8).

You are not in a state to follow your rules

• Angry, tired, distracted, or trying to make back yesterday's loss.
• Unable to watch the position until it is closed.
• Trading because you're bored, or because someone else said a stock will move. Tips and "sure-shot calls" are a well-worn path to losses, and paid tip groups are a common route to fraud.

That's the course. Go back to any lesson from the course page. If you trade with Live Flow (part of StoxGud's paid plan), let it focus your attention, and let your own written rules make the decisions.