---
title: "Volatility is an aphrodisiac, but also a poison."
type: "Topics"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/27043757.md"
description: "Sharing a good article: The first thing many beginners do when entering the U.S. stock market is to buy the major indices SPY and QQQ. After holding them for a while, they realize they can't make much money and start looking for stocks that rise 10%, 20%, or even double in a single day, thus embarking on the rollercoaster ride of losing money in stock trading. For newcomers, a 10% daily gain might seem like a shortcut to quick wealth, with an allure comparable to an aphrodisiac. Here's a simple scenario: suppose you only trade 10 times a year, going all in each time, and each trade yields a 10% profit. With compound interest..."
datetime: "2025-02-07T14:26:04.000Z"
locales:
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/27043757.md)
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/27043757.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/27043757.md)
author: "[京城Z先生](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/9198235.md)"
---

# Volatility is an aphrodisiac, but also a poison.

Sharing a good article:

For many beginners entering the U.S. stock market, the first thing they do is buy the major indices SPY and QQQ. After holding them for a while, they realize they aren’t making much money, so they start looking for stocks that surge 10%, 20%, or even double in a single day—thus embarking on the rollercoaster journey of losing money in trading.

For newcomers, a 10% daily gain might seem like a shortcut to quick riches, as enticing as an aphrodisiac. Here’s a simple scenario: Suppose you make only 10 trades a year, going all-in each time and earning 10% per trade. With compounding, your annual return would be 159%. Some, unsatisfied with the gains from regular stocks, see others multiplying their money with options—sometimes even tenfold—and jump into options trading. Imagine buying an expiring option that doubles in a day, earning more than a year’s salary in a single trade. Who needs a job then? With such alluring fantasies, many can’t resist the temptation and inevitably give it a try.

In the beginning, luck and lingering caution often lead to profits. Buy, see a rise, cash out—pure bliss. But gradually, greed takes over. A rising stock makes you crave even more gains, yet fate seems to mock you: Just as the price nears your target, it reverses. You watch your paper profits erode, clinging to hope for a rebound, but the stock seems to defy you, sinking further. Soon, it drops below your entry point, but you still refuse to sell. Down another 10%, you vow to exit at breakeven. Then it plunges 20%, and negative news floods in. Disheartened and hopeless, you finally capitulate—only to see the stock jump 10% the next day. It’s as if Wall Street’s big players are watching your account and screwing you over.

Are they really targeting you personally? Of course not! Wall Street collects retail investor data, but it’s not about your individual account—it’s about big data to design trading strategies. For you, it’s like swallowing a pill Wall Street hands you, labeled “volatility.” Either you’re a skilled trader, bold yet meticulous, resisting the pill’s assault on your willpower, or you swallow it and follow the script, step by step, into the trap—until you’re forced to cut losses and exit. For the latter, it’s poison.

The U.S. stock market is the world’s fairest trading arena. When you chase high returns, you face high risks. Volatility is the perfect tool to harvest naive investors who are bold but clueless. Thus, it’s as seductive as an aphrodisiac—and as deadly as poison.

## Comments (38)

- **咸鱼与韭菜 · 2025-02-10T10:36:05.000Z**: Gambler mentality is the same everywhere, you can even start betting while watching a ⚽️ match.
- **春山如我 · 2025-02-09T10:14:50.000Z**: Learned from the detours, thank you 🙏
- **龙神威武 · 2025-02-08T23:33:50.000Z**: Let it rise as it will, like a breeze brushing the mountain ridge; let it fall as it may, like the moon shining over the great river. I remain steadfast in holding my stocks, waiting for the clouds to part and see the moon shine bright.
- **空空郎君 · 2025-02-08T17:48:07.000Z · 👍 1**: I don't understand those day traders. It's not even that profitable, so why take such huge risks?Whether it's investing or speculating, risk and return must be matched! Gambling-style speculation like day trading, hype-driven plays, or naive investor coins—with their massive risks and minimal profit
  - **長野原烟花店交易员** (2025-02-09T03:21:36.000Z): In 2021, the stock price dropped from 34 to 21 when I built my position, and then a few months later it fell to 13, which should have triggered a margin call. The person who used the example of sellin
  - **空空郎君** (2025-02-09T03:27:41.000Z): If you don't want to take risks, it's simple—just buy U.S. bonds. There's no risk in that.
  - **長野原烟花店交易员** (2025-04-17T07:39:43.000Z): NVDA has dropped 30%, bro, have you sold your house and car to go all in?
- **ZOZO · 2025-02-08T16:10:52.000Z · 👍 4**: Reposting Balloon Brother's article without even giving credit? What a piece of trash!
- **Relex · 2025-02-08T15:18:30.000Z · 👍 1**: People with both S and M attributes are most suitable for trading US stocks. I feel uncomfortable if I don't trade for a single day now 🙊🙊🙊
  - **——-** (2025-02-09T14:29:06.000Z): Huh?
- **——- · 2025-02-08T15:15:14.000Z**: It's a pity that I'm already bankrupt meow meow meow~
  - **春山如我** (2025-02-09T10:19:51.000Z): That hurts💔, it's hard to go bankrupt without financing.
  - **——-** (2025-02-09T14:51:13.000Z): My principal is getting smaller and smaller, all because of off-exchange margin trading. I don't use platform leverage because of forced liquidation risks, but off-exchange trading doesn't scare me - 
- **满仓会热泪盈眶 · 2025-02-08T15:14:40.000Z**: Absolutely right
- **番茄大王 · 2025-02-08T15:05:39.000Z**: The article is very well written, especially for young people like me. Greed and the desire to get rich quick are growing in my heart, and I feel like I'm not far from destruction. A wake-up call for myself.
- **Baimax · 2025-02-08T15:03:51.000Z**: Want to transfer 10% each time, absolutely impossible
- **富士山下¥ · 2025-02-08T15:02:48.000Z**: Exactly. That's how I lost 50% step by step.
- **Edward125 · 2025-02-08T15:01:22.000Z**: Seen on X
- **Justinti2009 · 2025-02-08T01:22:10.000Z · 👍 2**: It's been almost a year since I started investing in U.S. stocks, but I've never touched options and don't plan to.
- **为什么不Ban猛犸 · 2025-02-07T18:13:43.000Z**: Master, I got it
- **leo_x · 2025-02-07T17:22:35.000Z**: Good thing I got beaten up and educated when I had little money 😄
- **長野原烟花店交易员 · 2025-02-07T15:32:44.000Z · 👍 2**: There's only one reason why you can't make money by buying the major indices SPY QQQ—you haven't held them long enough. So what if the gains are small? Be a friend of time, and the returns will come when you least expect it.
- **慕容纳凉 · 2025-02-07T15:07:01.000Z**: I'm in NVIDIA, watching the ups and downs every day.
- **种地瓜的土豆 · 2025-02-07T14:56:45.000Z · 👍 4**: Thanks to the mistakes made in the past, now I can understand this article. Some luck is the fuse of disaster, reminding myself that survival is the first step.
  - **京城Z先生** (2025-02-07T14:58:35.000Z): Making money in the wrong way is a very dangerous thing.
- **美股008 · 2025-02-07T14:55:35.000Z · 👍 7**: Already lost 60%
  - **京城Z先生** (2025-02-07T15:00:03.000Z): Just need to make 150% profit to break even🌚
  - **胖 哥** (2025-02-08T07:24:26.000Z): 😂😂😂😅😅😅
  - **AnJi Liu** (2025-02-08T15:03:27.000Z): Same, I've already lost two-thirds of my investment.
- **美股008 · 2025-02-07T14:55:06.000Z**: Summarized so accurately