Hi All,
Interested to hear how you manage your stops. Do you use trailing pips, ATR, last swing high/low, set to breakeven after Xpips or anything else?
I usually set my stop on the other side of support/resistance. After 1/3 of my target is reached, I close 1/3 of the trade and reduce my stop by 1/2. Once I reach 2/3 of my target I take another 1/3 off the table and move the stop to break even. From there I let the trade play out.
Of course I keep current price action and areas of interest in mind and may manage a trade at any time if I see price not moving as I had previously envisioned. The one thing that should never happen is moving the stop out further.
I also set my stop based mainly on support and resistance lines. Once my trade is winning I start to move it closer so that no matter what I will break even. I also do this for take profit as well. Trendlines can also help you determine where to set your stop loss. Below is a chart of mine from the other day it is a great example of support and resistance lines for entry and stop loss.
Me personally… stop is at breakeven once the trade is ‘in profit’ and forgotten.
Your examples given are good starts: Trail xxx pips, 2.5ATR trailing stop, and swing high/low.
BUT all 3 of those examples are [U]very[/U] prone to stop hunts now days (especially round # trailing stops). There’s nothing worse than the market coming back to stop your long out for a small gain, then making record highs.
So are you saying you don’t like trailing stops? Why not just move your stop into the profit that way you get something out of it.
I like them bc they’re one of the easiest ways to hunt uniformed stops. I thought about stops in profit but I’d be stopped out more than when they’re @ breakeven.
I just use opposite of support/resistance. Then once we get to my 1st target( around 50% of my total expected gain) move to BE. I have been considering moving to BE immediately as my trade goes to profit but then too often it will get stopped out at BE because it has ‘no room to breathe’. I dont use trailing stops.
Stay, good question. Its funny the things we take for granted after years of mental repetition, kind of like muscle memory in sports.
Anyway, my stops are a combination of different factors. I start at 2-3.5% at risk, and use the stop to protect that level. Since I do not trade hyper quick timeframes, and have a good relationship with my PBs, and white labels, I have yet to experience a trade through. Second, when I am green I move to BE, now to me BE is including costs, so some would say BE+, however you want to say it, if price reverses I will not pay the cost of the trade, or lose any money. Also there are times I look at certain levels, trendlines and time it takes a trade to reach TP level, I don’t think you can call these stops per say, they are more like flexible TPs.
The Ever Moving Through TimePrice VIPER