The fate of the investor who fell into the dark side of Tilt, falling to the bottom of the abyss

A mental illness where a player loses rational judgment, repeats reckless actions, and destroys themselves—that is Tilt. Immediately after taking losses far beyond acceptable limits, one is most susceptible to falling into Tilt.

The essence of Tilt is the desire to recover a huge loss. Because Tilt is caused by aggressively acting to improve the current situation and self-destructing, Tilt is frightening.

Because you want to recover losses quickly, you rush into high-leverage bets and fear missing opportunities if you don’t act now. You become extremely afraid of missing chances, develop a risk-averse “everything or nothing” mindset, but after taking positions you can’t bear the floating losses and panic and cut them.

This is the symptom of Tilt, and history repeats itself (o^-')b

When unexpected price movements inflate floating losses beyond one’s tolerance, one becomes extremely cowardly and cannot adapt. In this way, shrinking too much and being unable to cut losses is also Tilt.

When one becomes intimidated, the fear that the price will rebound right after closing a loss feels frightening, or even when holding would rise, one cannot endure a small unrealized loss and closes the position, shedding tears as they miss the chance to buy.

When Tilt is caused by losses, one realizes that either they repeatedly gamble aggressively or become extremely fearful and debilitated, and cannot make any decisions.

If you yield to the desire to recover losses and engage in aggressive bets, you fear missing opportunities and gamble rashly, or bet on a small chance for a sudden reversal.

There is a tendency to take reckless bets even when the odds are slim.

When you enter to recover losses, you get forced to a loss-cut. You try to recover past losses. It tends to become an ultimate two-choice gamble. You just want to survive. It’s as if you are repeating a fortune-telling dice game with fate deciding your luck.

At this point, investors think that if they manage their funds they cannot recover losses, and they recklessly take on disproportionate risk, chase large profits, deny the fact that their tolerance has been exceeded, and self-destruct in high-leverage bets. This is a characteristic of aggressive Tilt.

Passive Tilt is when fear of losses makes you extraordinarily cautious, and you end up losing money even when trading. You feel you won’t be able to win even if you trade, and you are paralyzed by meaningless fear, unable to make any decision.

Tilt states usually start with a loss. It does not have to be a huge loss; any loss that makes an investor want to recover it can trigger Tilt.

If you fall into Tilt, you should withdraw immediately without question, or you will be unable to recover. Investors in Tilt, unless blessed with extraordinary luck, will end up making big losses in proactive trading even with small losses, and in the worst case may lose sight of themselves.

Tilted investors fear losses so much that they cannot bear floating losses. However, when no position exists, they fear opportunity cost and reluctantly take positions. They cannot bear the floating losses immediately after taking a position, and close the position. This cycle repeats forever.

As a result, you feel that when you buy, the price goes down; when you sell, the price goes up; and when you hold, you immediately incur floating losses, which makes you even more passive. It’s like an expert turning into a beginner, and you cannot take the actions you must.

Moreover, you wonder why this happens, and you realize it yourself (o^-')b

There are various causes of Tilt. They often occur simultaneously, making Tilt more easily serious. For example, you delay buying during a strong market uptrend, then fear and stubbornly keep shorting, or you fail to buy after a big win because you fear losing, blaming yourself for not securing the profit you deserved, or floating losses swell and you fall into a negative spiral of forced stop-outs and easy cut losses, which leads to over-reflection, shrinking focus, or doubting why you bought when the price goes down and why you sold when it goes up, causing negative thinking about luck and judgment.

If you cannot face that misfortune properly, you will suffer significant losses.

The essence of Tilt is the desire to recover losses, and listening to seminar instructors, investment advisors, analysts, market insiders, or media hype, stopping your own independent thinking, slipping into a thinking-stopping state, and trading while escaping reality with alcohol will trigger Tilt, so be careful.

Can Tilt be avoided from falling into the depths of despair?

Tilt is a very fundamental emotional reaction to gambling in general, a game of chance. At some point, a moment when you are deceived by luck occurs. When that happens, your capital seems to sprout wings and melt away as if it flew out of a window.

First, at the stage when the first signs appear, check your mental state. If you realize you are Tilt, immediately quit gambling, recognizing that you are in a mental state where you impulsively gamble for enormous profits in a short period.

In Tilt, you cannot keep your mind calm.

Various factors cause you to lose composure and seriously impair judgment.

When I fell into Tilt, I lost 700,000 yen in just one day. The shock of losing 70% of my total assets in a single day was overwhelming. My total assets were 1 million yen, yet I lost 700,000 yen in one day. It was like falling off a cliff—my assets plummeted.

Recognize that Tilt can greatly affect your judgment ＼(^o^)／

When Tilt hits, you become excessively aggressive and make unreasonable decisions. You engage in high-leverage bets due to the pressure, panic, and self-destruction. The urge to recover losses quickly makes you end up with a cycle of overtrading. This is the initial symptom.

If it deteriorates further, fear of losses makes you cautious and you regret missed opportunities. If you force profits, you get driven by floating losses and become burdened by losses, causing further loss expansion and demise.

As a live streamer on Nico Nico Douga FX, I get dragged into a negative chain. I want to see a massive loss, a forced stop-out. I want to be delighted by others’ misfortune. Such negative feelings influence me.

Perhaps I am not a good person. A person who rejoices in others’ misfortune cannot become a profitable investor...

Wishing ill on others draws you into the dark side of Tilt (o^-')b

How to cope when you fall into the dark side of Tilt: close all positions and observe. This is a reliable and simple solution, but in a sense the most difficult method.

I think taking a break and cooling off is the best approach.

That said, if the urge to recover losses quickly is strong, taking a break may be impossible. So what should you do? The answer is simple: trade within the range of losses you can tolerate. Even then, you may still lose somewhat. If small losses happen in succession, they affect your mental state and erode your calm, so decide in advance the maximum loss you can tolerate in a day ＼(^o^)／

Tilt is a mental illness where the desire to recover losses dulls judgment, creating a heated mental state—an angered mental state.

Most investors experience Tilt. Even after making profits, some fall into the dark side of Tilt and lose everything, so stay vigilant. Always participate in the market with humility and remain alert to Tilt.

Investing is a money game that requires rationality, thinking power, and judgment.

When Tilt occurs, emotions seize control, reason is lost, and you chase short-term gains, fear losses excessively. You become flustered, lose concentration, oscillate between bullish and bearish, and inevitably your entire wealth melts away.

Investment is a money game that stirs emotions, yet those who can face the financial markets calmly will gradually start to profit.

Indeed, maintaining rationality is crucial in investing (o^-')b

Investors who experience bad losses, or when their method doesn’t work, or after a long losing streak, or when they want to recover losses after one win, should be cautious.

For investors, Tilt is almost inevitable to experience at least once, and handling it is essential. The simplest countermeasure is to close positions, take a break, and refresh your mood.

Many investors, when they are down and feel the sting of missing a buy, seek justification for their stance.

Position talks after taking a position, or writing desires in SNO, can bias your market sense, which may become a bad habit. If Tilt occurs, take a deep breath, calm down, and think about something enjoyable ＼(^o^)／

Once you regain composure, focus on the next trade and win.