What's your average stoploss %?

What percentage of your account you set SL usually? Is there an average?

3 Likes

I’ll risk 1% per trade with a maximum of 5% open trades. IMO, it’s more important to select where your T/P should be placed. - not using RRR which is pure guesswork.

5 Likes

I prefer 0.5%, but these days I’m risking 0.8%

I will pyramid with an additional position, though. My total risk could go up to 1.5%-1.8%

That’s only because sometimes getting a perfect rounded number isn’t possible.

R:R is not a factor for me. I have to take what the market gives.

2 Likes

I set a 1% SL on each open trade, and won’t have more than five trades open to risk at any one time, so no more than 5% overall account exposure at any given moment. I might have more than five open trades, but only when I have trailed the Stop to at least B/E on some.

Hi :grinning: personally I never risk more than 0.5% per trade :grinning:

Do you mean “SL” or “Risk amount” in %? The SL would depend on the amount risked and the margin required for the pair traded. For example, with a account balance of 10,000 and 1% risked will mean you are willing to put 100 towards the margin required. So, if the pair requires say approx 200 with a notional stop loss of 15 pips, then your your position size will be 100/200 = 0.5. However, that does not take account of any measure of volatility for the period of trade or trading style - scalping or position or trend trading etc. A newbie have to be more careful - thinking beyond the SL %!

1 Like

using a predefined % as stop less is useless or even counter productive.

you have to put the SL where the trade is invalidated.

And once this is defined, calculate your position size based on your risk management rules.

Usually I never risk more than 1 bar since I keep my losses very tight. Obviously under my system, if the trade goes more than 1 bar south, the setup is invalidated and it doesn’t make sense to keep the trade open

using a predefined % as stop less is useless or even counter productive.
you have to put the SL where the trade is invalidated.

I don’t think the OP means % of movement of the price of the asset, but rather the effect on the size of the trading account. If you use your analysis to determine the SL should be placed 20 pips below the current price for a long, you then calculate the size of your position such that a 20 pip loss results in a loss of, say $100 on a $10000 account, that would be a 1% loss. It doesn’t matter what % of the price of the asset 20 pips is.

/Daryl

Set stops according to market structures or use an atr indicator, its wrong to set stops according to what u willing to loss on a trade because where your stops are placed may not be valid. (Use market structures or an atr indicator to place stops, dont determine stops on what u willing to loose, thats a red flag)

I don’t understand you because you can choose or adjust your expected RRR based on volatility of the asset you are trading. Hope you are not suggesting that you would risk 1% to 5% of your account based on arbitrary T/P - paying no attention to other aspects such as timeframe, nearest Hs and Ls, PA, news etc. That would be dangerous!

Hi Crisko,

I agree with you to an extent but I am curious about your system. What time frame do you trade? You appear to be PA trader but what strategy you use - scalping or swing trading or breakout of your favourite patterns?

1 Like

my system works on any timeframe, but I use it this way:

FX - AUDUSD - m5 chart

Crypto - h4 chart

I consider my self a trend - momentum - transition - trader

My approach is based on the 20 and 200 MA to be positioned long or short with the trend

The entry is based on the price action: power candle, engulfing candle, tailbars which indicates an “ignition” bouncing off the 20, entering after the close of the ignition candle.

Stop Loss right under the ignition candle, since if price goes deeper, price structure nearly sure will be broken and invalidates my setup. Or if I go for quick trades, RR 1:2 with 5 pips SL and 10 pips take profit.

Risk: 0.25% of trade capital

Exit: break of the trendline, close below the 20 or if price goes far away from the 20 and I get a reversal candle pattern; try not to give back to the market. I prefer re-enter again near the 20 if marketstructure is intact.

the “transition” part comes this way:

I trade the m5 chart, but I have on screen 4 x timeframes simultaneously : m5, m15, h1 and h4

1.- taking the initial m5 trade if the next 2 timeframes are aligned, it gives me extra confluence and confirmation

2.- if the m5 works out well and on m15 I get the same entry signal of PA and MA, than I let the trade run based on the m15 setup… I transition from one timeframe to the next.

Also I usually add to the initial m5 trade if the multiple timeframes give me confluence / confirmation, usually based on Price Action, engulfing candles, doji pauses for continuation, or tailbars / bounces from the 20

If you want some more detail, please feel free to ask :slight_smile:

I’ve answered the question. My process is based on Ichimoku trend trading which I use 3 TF to be lined up like three ducks in a row.

How I decide will also depend on TA and order flow plus aiming my T/P before a S&R zone which gives me the probability of being on the right side of a trade.

IMO RRR is pure guesswork as to where the T/P is placed purely because it depends on where the S/L is placed whatever the volatility.