How to Know if a Day Trader Has a Gambling Problem

A brokerage account on the internet opens up financial possibilities beyond normal income. The lure to make money at all cost drives the trader. The addiction arrives at a point when the trade becomes more important than financial gain.

Instructions

1. Note any negative changes in personal relationships. This includes lying and problems occurring on weekends, vacations and family visits that interfere with any activity related to buying and selling in financial markets.

2. Watch for large capital risk-taking in the stock market. Typically, a day trader works with a margin, money borrowed from the broker. This gives the trader more capital for trading. One signal of addiction occurs when the trader continues to lose but invests more of the broker's money, disregarding any financial safe houses.

3. See if the day trader plays the market like a slot machine. Constant buying and selling while using many tools. Charts, graphs, level 2 quotes, stock news, streaming quotes and momentum remain good sources for executing a trade, but the appeal of the different colors and constant change stimulates the addiction.

4. Notice the highs and lows of the day trader's behavior over trades. Like all gamblers, there's a fluctuation in emotions. A quick money making trade brings the emotional level up while a loss can depress, so the trader constantly seeks the high.

5. Observe a preoccupation with the financial markets to the point of obsession. Life for this person revolves around day trading and the pursuit of the next trade. The addicted person lives in isolation at the computer while avoiding other daily matters.

6. Monitor borrowing activities relating to family, friends, money from a credit card and weekly paychecks. A problem trader, like a casino gambler, has an addiction that overrides common sense.

7. Listen for a false sense of reality or justification for making the next trade. No matter how large the loss, the addicted trader always believes in the success of the next trade.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep an eye on bank accounts drawn down and debts piling up. An addicted day trader loses control of commitments to other financial obligations. Some tap into their children's college fund or retirement savings to seek their next stock purchase.

• Compulsive day traders often want to quit but can't. The market takes control of their life.

• Approach the addicted day trader in the same way you should try help any alcoholic or drug addict. Suggest counseling and support groups. Seek a support group yourself with others who have a problem trader in the family. Share experiences and learn about resolutions.

• Not all day traders have an addiction problem.