How do swing traders who dont have much to stay in front of the computer trail their stop loss and take profits? I have read that using trailing stop as opposed to traditional stop loss could work to ones disadvantage sometimes when the market swings
The ideal place for a SL is where the TA now says that the probability of further gains has dropped to less than 50%. So its more likely you would lose even more money without the SL activating at this level.
The chart offers clues as to what this level is.
The SL means you know from the very first minute of the trade how much you can lose, and also that its unlikely you would be able to break even or make a profit if its touched.
A trailing stop means likewise you know how much you’re risking but it triggers without regard to the TA. So your trailing stop could take you out of a profitable position which has become a bit volatile but which actually shows greater probability of more gains than it did when you first entered the trade. What good is that?
A stop loss (SL) is a price limit entered by a trader. When the price limit is reached the open position will close to prevent further losses. A take profit (TP) works in a similar way - it automatically closes a position once a profit target is reached to have a fixed profit.