Helloooo! 
I feel like I’ve asked a similar question about Stop Losses. 
But recently, I hit my TP but I could’ve gotten so much more profits if I didn’t set one. I know greed is an enemy of traders at times 
But I just wanna know if you guys also set a TP for your trades. Is it part of your strategy and do you do it for all your trades, regardless of their potential? 
3 Likes
I set a target for the first lot and another, slightly-further-away target for the second lot, and after the second lot clears the stop-loss moves to nearly break-even on the third lot, and then if there’s any more movement in “my” direction, it trails.
I have that set up so that it’s all automatic, of course, and “done for me” with the same single click with which I place the trade entry.
So it takes a minute to describe it, but no time or effort at all actually to do it. It only sounds complicated. It actually isn’t, at all.
Working it out to start with was a bit complicated, but there are books that show you how to do that, of course.
You don’t have to trade three full lots to do this, of course. You can trade any size you want and just divide it into three equal (or even unequal) chunks.
It’s not perfect (what is?!) but it suits me well enough and it back tested (and forward tested) better than anything else I tried.
Overall, I do slightly better this way than using something simpler. And those small differences do add up, in the long run.
4 Likes
There’ll always be some times that that happens.
It doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
The outcomes of individual trades hardly matter. All that matters is the long-term, collective outcomes of 200 or 300 trades.
I now use a fixed target, almost always, for almost all my position. I do better that way, overall. I have no FOMO and very rarely find runners anyway.
5 Likes
I always do.
Trading with a fixed R works out much better for me in the long run (and its what the few people I really trust always recommend, too).
I know I might miss the occasional “runner,” but you can’t argue with statistics, and I do better this way.
2 Likes
The above commenters are likely trading futures, not FX. If I set a TP for a forex pair and 5 o’clock NY time hits, the spread will trigger it if it’s even remotely close, and poof, half of it is gone.
I do use them but I’m also careful to see how much room I have before the session ends.
6 Likes
For each of us there’s probably an accurate, provable right answer, but what it is surely depends on exactly what we’re doing? We have to determine it by testing to the level of proof, or at least to a level of high confidence.
But before we can do that, we have to learn how to. I started only recently and am still learning how to. It’s not easy!
I know the right answer’s certainly going to be different for different people, and I know that there are going to be individual occasions when whatever I select won’t work out best, but I still don’t yet know what my own right answer is - which is disconcerting. 
Please forgive my all-round ignorance, but are you saying that just because futures don’t have spreads to pay, or for some other reason(s)?
1 Like
I don’t follow how the spread widening triggers your TP, or do you mean something else? I totally understand the spread widening and your profit reduces or hits SL.
1 Like
This ^
If price is approaching your TP then the widened spread can trigger it prematurely, reducing your profit.
I don’t understand how that works. With stop losses, a widening spread moves against you, so causes the stop to be triggered. But for a TP, it moves away from your TP so you would have to manually close it rather than it hitting your TP.
You buy at the bid price (top line) and the TP triggers when the ask price (bottom line) reaches the TP. If the spread widens, it moves the ask down and bid up, so you have less profit and the TP doesn’t trigger.
2 Likes
@ria_rose I’m sure I have said this before - but if your crystal ball is working set a TP
If you cant be watching the screen set TP - otherwise see what the market gives you. I know you use higher timeframes, so my views probably do not apply
Oh - just a thought -
How about a trailing SL of some kind?
I don’t use and never have used auto trailing stops, though I do manually trail - just an idea.
1 Like
@chesterjohn ya, you’re right. I guess I was thinking about when moving SL up into profit, then the spread can trigger it and wipe out those profits. Thanks for correcting me there, I’m still new at this, lol.
If it worked the way I described then we could probably all take advantage of it at every close.
3 Likes
What annoys me about the spread widening is when I have pending orders and it triggers them, with a ridiculous starting drawdown. I’ve only noticed the spread go wide on EURUSD 3 times and twice it put me in positions that I didn’t really want to be in yet
3 Likes
I almost always set a TP as part of my strategy. It helps me stay disciplined and lock in profits consistently. Sometimes I leave room for a trade to run, but I prefer to secure gains rather than chase potential.
feel you! I always set a TP too—it’s part of my strategy to keep emotions (especially greed ) in check and manage risk. Sure, I miss bigger profits sometimes, but consistency beats chasing big moves!
1 Like
For me, it’s a risk avoidance technique because previously I didn’t used to use TPs that made me suffer much and from that I learnt to use Tps.
Hey Ria! Many traders look at the session timeframe before setting a TP. For example, if trading on a 1-hour timeframe, the movement can be faster towards the end of the session, so it might be better to set a closer TP. On the other hand, if there’s potential for a strong move in the middle of the session, setting a slightly farther TP can work well. This approach can help align with the market trend and take profits at the right time.
Why would the possibility that the movement might be faster towards the end of the session be a reason to set a closer TP, please, @aliimam ? 
Interesting! I haven’t really tried trading with “multiple lots” or like a big lot divided into three chunks but I kinda see how this would work. I’m curious though! Does this count as 3 different trades and do you also setup 3 different SLs for each one? I feel like this is the first time I’ve heard of this approach so I’m very intrigued!
Yeah. 
I also tried to console myself with this thought. That it’s definitely not gonna be the last time I’d hit my TP and miss out on so much more profits. But thanks for this Theo! 
I hope that generally, after those 200 trades, I’d have more wins than losses!
I need that kind of control and mindset.
1 Like