When a trade goes against you, how do you tell the difference between rational conviction and an emotional attempt to win the money back?
In Episode 10 of Markets and Mindsets, Paul, Emma and Isar are joined by Andy, an experienced investor and trader with a background in equities, options and higher-risk strategies. Together, they explore why losses often feel more powerful than gains and how those emotions can shape the decisions that follow.
Andy shares how losing positions can leave him feeling sad rather than angry, why he sometimes steps back from options when markets turn against him, and how strong conviction can lead him to add to a falling position. The team examine where thoughtful reassessment ends and revenge trading begins.
The conversation also explores portfolio concentration, position sizing, the emotional rush of short-term trading, the influence of market-moving news and why self-awareness is essential when deciding whether the facts still support a trade, or whether emotion has taken over.
In this episode:
- Why losses tend to feel more powerful than equivalent gains
- How loss can trigger overtrading, paralysis or revenge trading
- Why reviewing a loss can become a valuable learning tool
- How different traders experience and express trading emotions
- Why sadness can be as important to recognise as anger or frustration
- The difference between long-term investing and shorter-term trading psychology
- How portfolio concentration can amplify emotional swings
- Why position sizing and risk limits matter when conviction is high
- How to decide whether adding to a losing position is rational or emotional
- Why a revenge trade often begins when the facts change but your view does not
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: Loss, Anxiety and the Revenge Trade
01:38 – Meet Andy: From Equities to Options
02:21 – Recognising the Emotional Impact of a Loss
05:03 – Position Sizing, Risk and Concentration
06:20 – The Emotional Rush of Short-Term Trading
08:13 – The Pull of Always-Open Markets
11:06 – How a Loss Influences the Next Decision
11:46 – Doubling Down: Conviction or Emotion?
15:46 – What Is a Revenge Trade?
17:04 – When the Facts Change but Your Mind Does Not
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Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you originally invested. This podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.
What is Markets and Mindsets?
Markets & Mindsets. Most trading content is about charts and setups. Markets & Mindsets is about something more important: you.
Hosted by Isar Bhattacharjee, Paul Cooper & Emma Binns: this is the podcast that flips the lens from the trade to the trader. Each week, real traders and investors join as guests, send voice notes, or call in to unpack the psychological side of the markets: the confidence, discipline, and mindset that actually separate consistent performers from everyone else.
Boredom trades. Revenge trading. FOMO. Overtrading. Sticking to a plan when everything in you wants to break it. These are the conversations most trading content skips and the ones that make the biggest difference to long-term success. No jargon. No shame. Just honest, direct conversation about the mental game of trading and investing. The hosts share practical ways to trade smarter, safer, and with a better relationship to the markets. New episodes every Monday and Wednesday.