ICC A loss stings, so you take the next trade to win it back. Then another. An hour later a small losing day has become a big one. That is revenge trading. Its cousin is overtrading: taking more trades than your plan has setups, out of boredom, fear of missing out or the wish to "make the day". Both are common, both are expensive, and both are easy to see in a journal once you look for them.
The signs
- A new trade within minutes of a loss, often in the same market and the opposite direction.
- A bigger position than usual "to get it back".
- Trades without a setup from your plan, or with the stop moved or left out.
- Many more trades than usual on red days.
- Feeling angry, rushed or that the market "owes" you.
Rule 1: a cooling-off rule
Write one rule for the moments after a loss and follow it mechanically, for example: after two losses in a row, or one loss bigger than 1R, I stop for 30 minutes and leave the screen. The break breaks the chain. When you come back, the next trade must pass the same checks as any other trade.
Rule 2: a daily max-loss rule
Pick a number that ends the day, for example −2R or −2% of the account, and a maximum number of trades per day. Once either is reached, you close the platform. It feels hard on the day and it saves the month: a bad day stays a small bad day. Write both numbers into your trading plan.
Rule 3: the pre-trade checklist
Revenge trades skip steps. A short pre-trade checklist on your phone (bias, level, entry trigger, stop, size from risk, news, session and "am I calm?") makes the skipped step visible before the money is at risk. If a box stays empty, it is not your trade.
How your journal shows it
- Trades per day: the calendar and the daily journal show how many trades you took each day. Days with twice your usual count are worth a closer look.
- Results after a loss: the ICC Zillas AI coach looks at trades taken right after a loss and tells you if they do worse than your other trades, and flags overtrading days.
- Tags: tag such trades "revenge" or "FOMO" and give them an emotion. The tag report then shows what they cost you in money and in R.
- Hours: the hourly report often shows that the worst trades come at the end of a long session.
Seeing the real cost of these trades in your own numbers is usually what makes the rules stick.
Trading carries a high risk of losing money. This article is education, not financial advice, and no rule or tool guarantees that you pass a challenge or make a profit.
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