It’s frustrating really. My TPs are always 2 or 3 pips away from the highs/lows. It sucks to always be so close to your prediction yet so far.
Bad luck, pal?:19:
You are not alone, if it can help you:cool:
Have you considered making an adjustment to your exit strategy since you claim to always be a few pips off?
Bet that never happens with your stops, those buggers always get hit
Try aiming for about 90% of what you think TP should be
Well I guess the good news is that at least your analyses and/or method are good in that you actually even get near to your targets 
Many might be envious of even that much!
I think Micallef78 is right that you should shave off a generous amount from your calculated target. If you are using target methods that are commonly used by others e.g. pivot points, fib extensions then you can be sure others are also placing their orders in front of the actual levels.
Bah! I know how you feel! Sometimes I even miss my PTs because of the spread. I just try to close my trade near these PT levels if I’m around my platform then, but I do hate it when it happens while I’m asleep then I wake up to find that I ALMOST won my trade. I just tried to adjust my PTs 5-10 pips higher/lower since then.
Have you tried trailing your stops? or are you talking small time frames?
I need you have your money management set incorrectly. My TP is SL+broker fees + 5 pips profit (as I’m scalper).
Try to remember Take profit points will be a zone for example support or resistance area not an exact number.
For take profit on a buy trade try to set it just below a resistance zone and for the stop loss in the same trade place it a few pips below the support zone this may help in getting your stop loss hit less and your take profit getting hit more provided your Analysis is correct.
That said it’s nice to let your winners run but you can’t always be in front of your trading platform.
Good luck and keep learning.
You know it! What’s worse is when the price point barely grazes the SL then shoots in the opposite direction!
That’s one thing I need to remember. It’s a zone. Problem is you can’t really set the TP in a zone, so unless you watch the screen…
It is a problem with me as well. I tend to open a trade on lower time frame and then switch to higher time frame and set my TP very large. Upon some price reversal I close my trade and price often at times moves in my favor without me being on board.
The problem is not setting your Take Profit but your analysis so your TP point is out of reach. It’s important for you to find out proper style of trading so your TP point can be placed correctly. If you placed it out of reach so you must manage your money management so you can place TP point not in too much number in pips. Maybe you shouldn’t become swing traders if your TP point is hard to reach.
When we set Tp it is not necessary it will hit. It is our estimation that market will reach to this point. some times it turns just before 1 or 2 pips. We can get profit instantly if we are monitor trading.Not wait to hit TP . I many time loose my profit Now I compromise on less than My TP too and get some pips profit . It is better than have nothing in hands.
In my opinion trading is about ‘not’ losing money. Ok, ok I know that we all want to make money, of course we do but I hate losing it! Obviously depends on what TF you use but I ensure my SL gets to BE as quickly as possible. This is down to the individual on how they do this but try not to lose money before taking profit is one of my first aims. Set some rules and have an exit strategy before you enter the trade. Remember that you are not going to win every trade. If the trade meets your rules, trade it. Happy trading