Risk Management is mitigating risk in a open position, also referred to as Trade Management - letting the market swing while still protecting profits and avoiding a catastrophic loss.
Money Management is looking at your overall account equity and its relationship to your position sizing and number of trades. The number of strategies here could warrant another post entirely. (Fixed Percentage, Fixed Ratio, and other incremental methods to increase and decrease trades and lot sizes as equity fluctuates.)
Back to Risk Management . . . I have found, especially with new and struggling traders, you must back test to be prepared for the average draw downs that occur with your trading system on your trading time frame. Knowing this will relieve you of much of the anxiety of a draw down because you expect it. Risk/Trade Management is trusting your system data, knowing where price is most likely to stall or reverse (S/R) and taking profits accordingly.
The next step is to use a two trade system that satisfies both fear and greed. Set profit targets based on a percentage of Daily ATR, Trading Time Frame ATR or what ever you use. Take profits on trade 1 at a shorter target to satisfy your fear - money is now in the bank. Set stops to break even for trade 2 once trade 1 target is attained. Now you can relax because trade 2 is free and can take advantage of continuation.
This may seem over simplified, but psychologically it works and I have used it to train even the most nervous traders.
This skill takes gathering data on your trade system, studying price action, trading in a demo account or small live account so you can forward test your performance vs. your data, and diligence in following your trade plan. That is really how pros control risk and avoid the worry of a draw down. They have determined their risk before the trade is entered, so unless thier stops are hit, why waste a minute worrying about a draw down? Target 1 attained, stops to break even on trade 2 . . . over and over again. Practice and repetition. There is no substitute.
Over a period of time, The brain starts capturing these images ... Tactics ... Strategies .... the calculations and all the important factors that go in to opening and closing a trade ....
System do not do it ... Strategies do not do it ...
Trader does it ... I DO IT .... I is THE TRADER ....
Take care.
