What revenge trading is
Revenge trading is taking a trade to win back a loss rather than because your setup appeared. It usually comes with larger size, a shorter wait between trades, and setups you wouldn’t normally take.
How to see it in your journal
- Time since last loss. Compare results of trades taken within 5 minutes of a loss with the rest.
- Size after a loss. Is your average size higher on the trade after a losing trade?
- Setup tag. Trades tagged “no setup” or “other” cluster after losses for most revenge traders.
- Trade number. Profitable first trades and losing fourth-and-later trades is a classic signature.
Rules that work
- Cool-down after a loss — a fixed pause (10–15 minutes) before the next entry.
- Max losses per day — two or three, then you are done.
- Size never increases after a loss — only after the day is green, if at all.
- Daily loss limit well inside any prop-firm limit.
Price the habit
Rules are easier to keep when you know what breaking them costs. Tag revenge trades for a month and total them up; most traders are surprised. LoggingTrades runs habit detectors for revenge trading, tilt and overtrading and shows the dollar impact of each — computed on your own computer.
And keep the size of each mistake small to begin with: see risk of ruin explained.
FAQ
How do I stop revenge trading?
Use a mandatory cool-down after losses, a maximum number of losing trades per day, and never increase size after a loss.
How do I know if I revenge trade?
Compare trades taken shortly after a loss with your other trades — size, setup and results usually tell the story.