There is a reason people laugh at others misery, it's a psychological, it is a way to express their feelings but not show their true feelings, scare. It is almost like a young child laughing at a horror movie, some laugh to replace their emotions. I know what that guy feels - I 've been there and I have not traded since then - just on the sideline watching for over a year. Taking a huge hit, I mean a huge hit most traders cant recoup emotionally (again, I 've been there) http://elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=95359 There is a light after the destruction, but it comes at a heavy toll on you.
THAT IS SO FUCKIN REAL !!!! i thought i was watching myself. i remember saying the same shit and acting the same way. that is not staged,that is real and i feel his pain. this really hit home and it hit home hard !
It isn't funny to watch a guy blow out his life savings. But the simple fact, is he made a lot of key mistakes. I didn't see him place the trade or I do not know what he was thinking when he tried to buy a falling sword or step in front of a train, without having his finger on the bid button, and being able to reverse if needed. I would step in front of 200 point down days all the time with volatility in play when i day traded positions. It is a good Risk./Reward play if you serious and you understand that you may be wrong. Position trading requires hedges that may or may not include posted stops. So, the idea behind his trade was understanable. But his reaction, his thinking, his inability to take a loss are the three mistakes I could point out.
another thing,it really is'nt funny,that kind of hit can cause your mind to play tricks on you. don't make fun of the guy.its a post like this that reminds us all how vulnerable we are. was this guy long equities or futures?
Some trade to make money, some trade to feel less like a loser. Feeling less like a loser was his prime motivation in taking this trade. If markets would have traded up over the long weekend he would have recouped some of his losses, if it would have crashed, like it did, he knew there would be alot of other people in the same position as he. Either way, he would get from the market what he wanted.
when you take a big hit,down 7k as he was initially,its very tough to take that kind of loss. in his case it turned into 26k. thats a tough hit for anyone to swallow. this has all the signs of a guy who held a position over night. been there done that. its just not worth it.
if this is real, he still should have ~$30K(10ER overnight margin is ~3200? and his position wasnt liquidated) at minimum in his account. will he keep trading? my guess is yes.
when a guy takes a huge hit like that,he envariably takes another. why? he takes an even bigger gamble in order to "break even". of course that causes another huge loss. the best thing to do after a big hit id to stay away from the market for at least a day. a day does'nt sound like much but it does help clear the cob webs.
Never spit in the wind as it may hit you back in the face. I would have to say that is a real situation and would only try and learn from it, but i have had hits myself and it plain sucks