What Is Revenge Trading? Chasing a Loss Into a Bigger One

Revenge trading is entering a trade mainly to recover a recent loss, rather than because your setup is present. The loss stings, the urge to "get it back now" takes over, and the plan goes out the window — usually with a bigger size on a worse setup.

Why it is so costly

The trade that follows a painful loss is rarely your best idea. It tends to be bigger, faster, and lower-quality — exactly the combination that turns one ordinary loss into a cluster of them. Revenge trading is how a manageable −1R becomes a −5R afternoon.

How Tracktions spots it

The Behavioral tab looks for the fingerprints of tilt: your average result on trades taken immediately after two or three consecutive losses, and clusters of quick re-entries. If your performance falls off a cliff right after losses, the data is telling you the losses — not the market — are driving those entries.

A worked example

Trades	Avg result
Normal entries	+0.3R
Entries right after 3 losses	−1.1R

Same trader, same week. The post-loss trades are where the damage is done.

How to use it

• Build a circuit breaker — a rule to step away after a set number of losses is the simplest defence.
• It often rides with overtrading — both are emotion taking the wheel from the plan.
• Watch the discipline tax — revenge trades are a major contributor to the R you lose to indiscipline.