What's the best way to close a losing trade with no stop loss?

[samewise]

Sounds like a dumb question. You’re thinking, why didn’t use a stop loss from the start!?!?

I know I know.

Just put yourself in my shoes and imagine a short time frame trade has turned against you while you stepped away from the charts. What do you when you come back and see the big minus sign next to your profit column?

Close the trade right there and cut the loser? Or keep it open hoping price will retrace some to reduce the loss, and maybe even into profit?

You haven’t actually lost until you close. Is it flirting with danger keeping it open even longer?

[BBFx27]

I think you know what you should do in this situation, but you just trying to avoid it for a little longer. If you don’t close the trade and it does manage to go back to breakeven you still lost. Why? Because the next time you might think it will work again by hoping that the price will come back to breakeven. How many times will you get away with this is something I will advice you not to find out.

@samewise

You haven’t actually lost until you close.

The broker will say otherwise if you get a margin call. Get this experience as a lesson and don’t repeat the same mistake.

[ProfesorPips]

how about testing different approach like trailing stop, or time exit and choose the best option? btw, how do you test your startegy?

[patina]

Never open a trade without a stoploss.
As traders, losses are inevitable. Looking for a good entry is one thing and managing the trade is another. Knowing your risk tolerance is important as knowing where to place your stop. I try as much as possible to let my open positions hit either sl or tp unless i have genuine reasons to close the position.
If I find myself in a situation like yours what I’d do is that i will try as much as possible to either close the trade immediately or look for a good point to place sl provided I wouldn’t be risking more than 5% of my balance and also if the trade have potential of going in the direction of the position.

Never jump into a trade without a plan and always practice proper risk management

[flok]

It’s not recommended to trade without stop loss as it’s highly dangerous and can result in blown up account. Losing traders let their losing run and cut their profits short, especially during news impact.

[Panda_Forex]

@samewise

Close the trade right there and cut the loser? Or keep it open hoping price will retrace some to reduce the loss, and maybe even into profit?

You haven’t actually lost until you close. Is it flirting with danger keeping it open even longer?

From my bad experience about losing trade without stop loss, most of them would turn to profit if I kept them for a few days or a few weeks. But you I think you’ve already known the pain feeling when you hold a big lost for hoping. And I really don’t want myself to face that feeling again so a trade always goes with a stop loss and the stop loss is placed where it should be, it means it will work well in case the trade is invalid. I still have a mistake when I place the SL, it was hit and turn back to my favour (in this case I think my SL is put in hunting area of big bank or hedge fund). Need to learn more about this part.

[samewise]

@BBFx27

Because the next time you might think it will work again by hoping that the price will come back to breakeven. How many times will you get away with this is something I will advice you not to find out.

That’s a good point. I’m playing with fire.

[samewise]

@ProfesorPips

how about testing different approach like trailing stop, or time exit and choose the best option?

Yea, I mean I’ve been trading on a short time frame 5 min. I think I’m just an idiot of not wanting to get stopped out on a tight SL.

I’m trading on trading.com. Their web platform. No trailing stop. I think you persuaded me to switch to another broker.

[samewise]

@patina

Never jump into a trade without a plan and always practice proper risk management

The plan is there. I’m an idiot, plain and simple.

@Panda_Forex

From my bad experience about losing trade without stop loss, most of them would turn to profit if I kept them for a few days or a few weeks.

Trading EURUSD I feel like there’s always a chance that even if got the entry wrong, you can wait for a retracement or reversal. But that’s the wrong thinking, and it wastes time and margin. Cut it and get into a better position. That should be the goal. I know it. I just need to hear it.

[Panda_Forex]

@samewise

Trading EURUSD I feel like there’s always a chance that even if got the entry wrong, you can wait for a retracement or reversal. But that’s the wrong thinking, and it wastes time and margin. Cut it and get into a better position. That should be the goal. I know it. I just need to hear it.

Yes, you’re right. Why don’t close the lost one and find another chance, let SL do its job,

[patina]

The question is that how long can you keep doing that if you were to open a position and what you imagined to be a short pull back “let’s say in an uptrend” might be a trend reversal and not only will you blow up your account as you will also be missing out on many opportunities.

[steve369]

I close losing trades even though I hate losing money, I hate losing bigger more so. There’s always another trade awaiting.

[dushimes]

@samewise

hoping price will retrace

Tommor has said that ¨hope is not a strategy¨. Just let that marinade for a minute.

I say just close it. It could get better, or it could get much much worse. I’ve been in that situation before. I placed my orders wrong, and now I’m in the red, big time. Rip the band-aid off and just close it.

However!!! However, if there is a resistance/support zone right next to it, you could place a SL there.

[ProfesorPips]

This is psychology problem, drawdowns , hitting stop loss are part of profitable trading. Test your strategy, monitor behavior and if something going wrong, just turn off strategy, replace to new one.

[tommor]

It does happen to everyone eventually, you enter a good trade at a good time but price moves unexpectedly against you. So imagine you had just opened the chart where you found price at this new level. Would you enter here, now? If not, exit immediately.

[Splitpink]

If you use MT4 there is an EA called VR CloseAll that monitors your trades and will close all tickets at the loss amount in money or percentage depending on what you wish. Decide a max loss amount and set it to go.

In other platforms I am not sure of any tools but there is probably a close-all script somewhere.

Google around and see what you can find.specific for your trading platform.

[MattyMoney]

I think it’s already been said pretty well. The sentence that sticks out for me, which I have fallen victim to too many times in the past is “what if I close it and it comes back?”

Easy solution: don’t look! Don’t check to see if it came back. Move on.

I know that can be a no-no for journaling purposes, but it’s helped me a lot.

There will be more trades…but only if there’s money left to trade with.

[samewise]

@dushimes

Tommor has said that ¨hope is not a strategy¨. Just let that marinade for a minute.

That’s a really good trading tattoo. I should put that on the top of my hand!

Or print it out, frame it, and hang above my monitor!

[samewise]

@ProfesorPips

hitting stop loss are part of profitable trading.

I have to get better at this part. Losses are part of the game.

[samewise]

@tommor

So imagine you had just opened the chart where you found price at this new level. Would you enter here, now? If not, exit immediately

That’s a good of looking at it.

@Splitpink

If you use MT4 there is an EA called VR CloseAll that monitors your trades and will close all tickets at the loss amount in money or percentage depending on what you wish. Decide a max loss amount and set it to go.

So you mean in place of a single trade SL?

@MattyMoney

Easy solution: don’t look! Don’t check to see if it came back. Move on.

I know that can be a no-no for journaling purposes, but it’s helped me a lot.

There will be more trades…but only if there’s money left to trade with.

Two great lines, well 4 with the above stuff.

1. Move on, don’t dwell on the loss. (MattyMoney)
2. There will be more trades…but only if there’s money left to trade with. (MattyMoney)
3. Hope is not a trading strategy. (tommor)
4. Hitting stop loss is part of profitable trading (ProfessorPips)