Hi, I was doing paper trading in tradingview just messing around and seeing how all the functions of the software worked and I noticed that my stoploss triggered when the price action never actually got to that point. Im not sure what happened. I dont think that is what you would call slippage, especially considering it was paper trading? I dont have a trusted badge yet to attach a screenshot but basically my stop was at 1.29342 and the swing high on that candlestick never even made it to 1.29330. There was probably a 1.5 pip gap between the high and my stop. As soon as I earn my badge I will attach the screenshot.
I think I might have figured this out myself. I think its because of the spread. So if the stop loss was set to 1.29342, but the spread as listed in the screenshot is 1.5, that means that my stop loss would trigger at (1.29342 - 0.00015) = 1.29327 and the swing high on that candlestick was 1.29328, one babypip above the trigger price. Can any of you more experienced confirm my theory?
Correct. Well reasoned
Thank you.
Yes, whenever you set a SL or TP, you need to take the spread into consideration. Also, pay attention to the price at which your order will be closed, especially for sell orders, which will be closed at the ask price rather than the bid price.
I agree to @chen2020, but with proper risk management this can be achieved, no?
Very well explained.
Hey!
I’m new to trading and keep struggling with how to put the stop loss?
Any tips on getting it right?
“Right” means “the way that works best, overall, given what you’re doing,” so it’s determined by testing (backtesting first, then forward-testing on demo).
Nobody posting in a forum - however successful and/or experienced - can possibly tell you what’s going to be right, for what you’re doing, without first seeing in detail what you’re doing. (It couldn’t be otherwise, really, could it?).
What works best for me is putting the stop loss a pip or two below the last swing-low for a long trade and a pip or two above the last swing-high for a short trade. Depending on what you’re doing, that might be one of the things worth testing?