I think this is my biggest weakness at the moment, figuring out when to exit a trade and take profit. I normally aim for fixed R:R ratios but realise that this method is quite arbitrary since you may be exiting trades that are still moving in your favour. What are your methods that you use to determine your TP?
[QUOTE=“Kevin LaCoste;498222”]I think this is my biggest weakness at the moment, figuring out when to exit a trade and take profit. I normally aim for fixed R:R ratios but realise that this method is quite arbitrary since you may be exiting trades that are still moving in your favour. What are your methods that you use to determine your TP?[/QUOTE]
10 pips…
I watch for price action patterns. If I’m in a trade and see movement that is looking to render me in a position where I would no longer desire to be in the trade, I will place a stop loss locking in pips, yet giving price the room it needs at times if it continues to go in my favor.
[QUOTE=“mastergunner99;498227”]I watch for price action patterns. If I’m in a trade and see movement that is looking to render me in a position where I would no longer desire to be in the trade, I will place a stop loss locking in pips, yet giving price the room it needs at times if it continues to go in my favor.[/QUOTE]
So… You buy when price is going up… And sell when it’s going down…? How do you do it man… You should write a book, this is some really helpful stuff.
Depends on what I’m trading. If I’m trading a Break Out, I’ll just place a Stop and let it go until it shows signs of weakening… such as narrowing of the candlesticks, long wicks against the trend, or a candlestick formation that suggests a reversal is imminent.
If I’m trend trading, I usually aim for a 2:1 return vs risk. Now, I used to try and catch long swings with greater trends but I found that I don’t like holding open positions for an extremely long time because news events can be so choppy. So I aim to find my optimal entry points, take my 2:1 and then step out of the market to wait for the next opportunity. Yes, you will often see Price continue in the direction you were in the market on. But- you won’t be able to predict how often this is going to work out for you. Better to take your 2:1, step out, and wait for the next opportunity- in my opinion anyways.
There is no simple answer to your question, but fixed R:R is a joke for sure.
Anyway, my ckeclist says:
"
You may close a trade only if
- Valid countertrend setup
- Valid TP.
- Nice profit and high impact news coming out
"
Comments: - Preferred one. Good arsenal of valid setups help.
- Sometimes you have made nice trade with high R:R but there haven’t been significant pullbacks. It is like a feeling of market running out of steam - you think it might go a bit higher, but maybe not… exit just to reduce risk and save energy.
- News have potential to turn market around. Might be a good idea to exit you trade, especially if you are in a nice profit.
Good luck.
You have to keep studying, not an easy answer for that
I’ve a solid target. Either the Take profit is hit or the trailing stop is hit or the breakeven stop is hit. Also, I’ve a maximum duration time for each trade. When the duration has expired, I close the trade.
Here is three things I have been watching.
1. Size of the pair in the past week or month, any day or hour what is the average top and bottom pips size, first variable to look for is the Support and Resistances.
2. I look at the time of the largest movement, to see if their is a pattern. Maybe it is 5:00 am PST every Mon, Tues, and Weds only.
3. When do similar pairs work together or differently. Like AUD/CAD and NZD/CAD.
This helps to find a workable stop and target point for the pair your working with. Instead of using the same one on every bid, like 20 pips trailing stop and 60 pips limit every time.