Tilt is what happens when a loss stops being information and becomes an insult. The tells are physical before they're financial: entering instantly after a stop-out, doubling size 'to get it back', abandoning the setup you planned, feeling the market is against YOU personally. Every trader knows the spiral; professionals just catch it earlier.
The reset protocol
- Two losses in a row = stand up. Water, walk, five minutes off screen. Non-negotiable, automatic, boring.
- Next entry after a loss must pass a harder filter than usual, never a softer one.
- Say the loss out loud in R: 'minus one R, process was correct.' If the process was wrong, journal it — then walk anyway.
Revenge trading has a signature: bigger size + worse setup + faster entry. If any two of those are true, you're not trading — you're paying the market to feel something.
The math backs the feelings: tilted traders break their sizing rules precisely when their judgment is worst. The drawdown lesson's daily stop exists exactly for this — it's a circuit breaker for your own biology.