I made a mistake by not hedging an investment today when I could have taken a profit I let time pass and it went against me which was unfortunate. I chose the high variance option instead of reducing or eliminating my stake risk altogether and unfortunately it went against me. I usually close for a profit especially if there is a sudden market movement.
Sometimes I hedge and feel like I am giving away some of my edge by hedging instead of letting a market develop further. But that thought process reminds me of all the times I went on holidays and bought health insurance and didn't need it. I can't logically think it was a waste of money because I didn't use it because you'll be glad to hedge when something goes against you.
The only caveat is when the market is mispriced by whatever metric you use for that and the hedge is brutal value, if that was the case I'd obviously prefer to take the risk of losing the gain in order not to enter the market and give away value.
My stakes are low and in the end it was a loss of 1.2% of my trading balance so not the end of the world.
The lesson learned is to hedge some of the loss away when I find myself in a similar position in the future if the price is reasonable to take the hedge.
This is going to be some of my thoughts to empty my brain to be better the next time. If I type anything don't take my word for it, do your own research, anything I say isn't financial advice.