All terms
Selling quickly at the first sign of trouble.
Paper hands is the mild insult for selling early, especially into fear. It is used to mock people who exit before a recovery.
Taking profit or cutting a loss according to a plan is not paper hands, it is discipline. The insult only really applies to panic.
Selling because the price dropped 8 percent and you had no plan is paper hands. Selling at your predefined stop is risk management.
That selling quickly is weakness. Cutting a position that is not working is the behavior that lets somebody still be here in five years. The insult only ever comes from people who need buyers to stay in.
Common questions
Is being called paper hands an insult?
Why does the label exist?
Where to go next
More culture terms
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