Greg, Thank you for explaining the spread strategy. It makes a lot of sense now.

 I used to close out the "hedge" position  because it was showing a profit and because I was still wedded to my original thinking/position. So, I did not follow the rule "cut your losses fast and let your profits run".  In other words, I used to do the opposite. 

 Your tip here reinforces this sensible rule.  #marketreport