when should i exit a losing position to cut my losses early?

Great question Mike! For me, if a trade is still in a loss 15 seconds after i open it, then i will quickly close it to cut my losses early.

A good trade should immediately slip into profit at least 15 seconds after it is opened even if the spread on the instrument is high. Anything more than 15 seconds, i quickly close the trade because it means the trade wasnt high quality.

You should not hold a position if the original reason based on which you had entered has been invalidated.

Meaning, you should only keep a position if it is going as you had expected it to go. If it is not, you should try to cut your loss quickly, or just take a small loss.

Never ever take any loss or drawdown that you cannot recover from. Small losses never hurt, it is turning small loss into big ones that hurt, either by pushing back (not accepting the loss), or giving a bad position more leeway to eat into your equity (not accepting the loss).

You have to learn to take small losses. But I'll also add that a lot depends on how you trade, for someone few minutes may be too late, for some few hours or days. But the point remains, never take a big loss.

You can very easily recover from a single losing trade or a small drawdown. But once it starts to get bigger, it can take months to get back to the point, if at all.