#Educational Post

What Is Revenge Trading?

Revenge trading refers to a psychological trap where traders try to quickly recover their losses, often leading to irrational trading decisions. Revenge trading can lead to a dangerous cycle of poor trading decisions, as traders start basing their trades on emotions rather than proper trading strategies.

How Does Revenge Trading Work?

Revenge trading typically occurs when a trader experiences a significant loss or a series of losses. Feeling the pressure to "make back" the lost funds, the trader deviates from their trading strategy, often increasing their position sizing or entering trades with higher risk profiles.

The trader's judgment is clouded by emotions, overriding the discipline and rules set in their trading plan. They may start ignoring fundamental risk management principles and market indicators, focusing solely on recovering their loss as quickly as possible.

For instance, imagine that after a heavy loss caused by an unexpected market downturn, the trader doubles down on another risky position to recover the lost capital. The new position bets against the recent downturn. Despite market indicators suggesting further decline, the trader sticks with the new position without any reason other than to recover their previous losses.

Consequences of Revenge Trading

Revenge trading can negatively influence traders both financially and emotionally. Financially, revenge trading often leads to further losses. It can also result in higher trading costs if trading frequency increases.

Emotionally, revenge trading can lead to stress and anxiety. It can also lead to a feeling of frustration and failure, which might deter the trader from following a systematic trading approach in the future. Furthermore, persistent revenge trading can result in burnout, causing the trader to lose interest and potentially stop trading altogether.

If you find yourself revenge trading, or failing to follow your trading strategies, long-term investing might be a safer and easier choice, especially for beginners.