The One-Trade Rule: What My Grandfather Taught Me About Discipline
There’s a story I’ve carried with me since I was a kid.
My grandfather was one of the best markmen in the US Army during WWII. After the war he won multiple marksman competitions for his skill with a rifle. Later he trained thousands of recruits that were headed off to the war in Korea in how to be accurate shots with their rifles.
Becoming great with a rifle wasn’t an accident. He told me stories about growing up poor on a farm in Kansas, and how they couldn’t afford to buy many bullets to shoot their dinner with.
So he’d get one, literally one bullet for his rifle, and if he missed his target he’d have no meat to bring back to his mother for dinner that night.
He got good with his rifle because he literally had no choice. He had to wait for the right animal, the right moment, the right; I don’t even know what else because I’ve never hunted an animal in my life.
And years later, when I found myself over-trading, second-guessing, and generally getting in my own way, I realized:
I needed the same constraint in trading that Grandpa had with his rifle.
So in 2025, I imposed a simple rule on myself:
One new trade per week — max.
Not because the market demanded it.
Not because it’s the “right” rule.
But because discipline needs structure, and my structure is constraint.
This post is the “why” behind that rule.
Overtrading Isn’t a Technical Problem — It’s a Psychological One
Most of the mistakes I’ve made in markets didn’t come from:
✘ lack of charts
✘ lack of data
✘ lack of setups
They came from impatience.
From wanting action.
From wanting to do something.
From chasing, tinkering, forcing, and FOMO.
And that clashed directly with the philosophy I’ve grown into — the one I wrote about here:
Everything Is a Hold Until It Isn’t
That philosophy only works when entries are selective. So I built a rule that forces selectivity.
The One-Trade Rule Forces Me To Ask Better Questions
If I only get one shot this week, then suddenly I care a lot more about:
- Is this trade really worth taking?
- Is the thesis clear?
- Do I understand the key levels?
- Am I trading the setup — or my state of mind?
It slows me down. It filters noise. It prevents “revenge entries.”
It turns trading back into something deliberate.
And honestly?
It calms the entire process down.
Precision Through Restraint
My grandfather’s story wasn’t about shooting.
It was about how humans behave when choices are constrained.
Unlimited attempts =
casual effort, sloppy focus, emotional drift.
One attempt =
quiet attention, being present for the moment.
Trading is the same.
If I think:
“I can always enter something else later”
I subconsciously lower my standards.
But when I think:
“This one has to be worth it”
I naturally lean toward quality.
That’s edge — not in the chart —
but in me.
What This Rule Does NOT Mean
I’m not claiming:
✘ that one trade per week is optimal
✘ that frequency equals failure
✘ that this rule works for everyone
This is a constraint I chose because discipline needs boundaries.
It pairs naturally with the way I manage trades:
Everything Is a Hold — Until It Isn’t
Entries selective.
Holds intentional.
Exits rule-based.
Simple. Not always easy.
A Cleaner Feedback Loop
By trading less, I also get:
- clearer performance attribution
- more honest post-trade reflection
- less emotional noise
- fewer random outcomes to rationalize
When I journal trades — like in:
it becomes obvious which trades were thoughtful
and which were dopamine.
Fewer trades = fewer lies I can tell myself.
Constraint Creates Freedom
Paradoxically, this rule gives me more freedom:
✔ freedom from chasing
✔ freedom from second-guessing
✔ freedom from my impulses
The hardest part of trading isn’t technical.
It’s non-interference.
It’s learning to sit still —
to let valid trades breathe —
to accept that the market doesn’t owe me motion.
This rule helps me do that.
Just Like Grandpa
I don’t think my grandfather cared much about markets.
But he understood something real:
Accuracy comes from intention.
Intention comes from restraint.
So each week, I pick my one “shot.”
And I take it like it matters.
Because it does.
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