Trader Psychology: Do you panic sell?

By ShortMeTina
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​How often do you check the quote of a stock you own?  If you’re anything like me; you’re usually plugged into the market 12-15 hours out of any given day.  I want to say; since early 2000s; not one single day has gone by without me checking a quote in some fashion or another.  This, in my opinion, is beyond ‘crazy’ behavior and can possibly work against you if you’re not careful. 

​Truthfully, I personally can’t escape the task of checking the stock market once per day (I have premium members that pay me to remain constantly plugged in); I have learned; however, to detach myself from trades I am in and it may be in your best interest to do the same. 
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Simply put, maybe checking stock quotes every single second of the day might be scaring you out of otherwise very good positions.  Just check the trading range for stocks such as TSLA and AMD.   These are stocks that are subject to massive sell-offs but also stocks that tend to recover. 

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​Imagine this:

Scenario one:  Trader A has shares in AMD.  Trader A check his/her stocks throughout the day.  Sometimes every hour on the hour.  One day; Trader A wakes up to a decline of  about 25% in one day (insert any bad rumor to explain the decline).  Trader A panics and sells all his/her shares.  The next day; the stock recovers.  The following week; the stock recovers.  Within a few short weeks; the stock is up over 50%.  Trader A did not participate in this recovery because he/she sold out during a panic.  
 
Scenario two: Trader B is also in AMD.  AMD declines 25% in one day (insert any bad rumor to explain the decline).  Trader B does not panic sell; because Trader B only checks the trading activity of her/his stocks when necessary.  Trader B remained in AMD.  Within 2 months; Trader B is up about 50% on her/his trade.  
 
For those hyper traders out there; the thought of ‘not’ religiously checking a stock quote is near impossible to do.  But for those that are constantly kicking themselves for selling out during a panic, do yourself a favor and disconnect from the stocks that you’re in. 

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What I do

I have a plan for all my trades before I enter them.  This plan consists of a buy-zone, a stop-loss and a target.  Once I enter a trade, I have 2 alerts set on when I need to be notified.  Alert 1: Tell me when my stock is approaching my stop-loss level.  Alert 2: Tell me when my stock is approaching my target.  After that, the only time I am interested in the stock’s quote; is when I receive either Alert 1 or Alert 2.  At that point; I am monitoring the stock. 
 
The main thing this does for me is; it prevents me from getting emotionally involved in the natural up/down swings of a stock.  And it also prevents me from panic selling like trader A did. 
This also allows me to spend my time more productively finding other great trades to get into. 

That's it.  Once in a trade; stop obsessing over it.  

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