[ake]

"Be there to take the trade".

Potential profits from missed trades exceeded losses from all other errors I made in the past month combined, by a factor of 2:1.

If past experience is anything to go by, I will at some point in the future "master" this rule, and it will cease to be my number one rule. Instead, I will move on to the next category of error I will be making, that will be costing me the most money, and I will come up with another "number one trading rule" to address it.

My "number one trading rule" is a pretty transitory thing. At this stage, I don't know of "perennial truths" in my trading. It's all about troubleshooting. One at a time.

[crowdad]

Always have a hard stop-loss in place (with the exception of long option trades).

That's my #1 rule I always obey.

[JTurner77]

Lots of great stuff in here and I appreciate the contributions of everyone who shared.