At what point do you start thinking to take some profit off the table?

What in Heaven's name are you guys talking about?????

You enter and exit the market based on what is actually happening, and the amount you risk on the next trade is set by the market, in the same way the amount you can make is also set by the market. Of course, if you do not have adequate capital to trade effectively in the first place, then you should not be messing around and throwing away money.

Text book rubbish will do nothing but keep you from making money trading. The sooner you realize that the sooner you can start to see some good results.

 

At 1:15 into it. Man.

 

I made a trade about 3 months ago where I banked 2% in 93 seconds. Did I regret closing out the trade after 93 seconds for a 2% gain?

HELL NO.

Just remember, patience may also turn your 3% gain into a 10% loss.

 

That's exactly what makes me wonder how I'd decide to sell.

 

Decide where to set your point before you enter the trade. What price point indicates you are wrong about the trade? Once it hits that point cut your loses and exit. Also, determine what price indicates you are correct and you got the movement you expected. Set both of those as your exit point and roll with it. Since you laid out the exit points of the trade BEFORE you had money at stake, its more likely you made a rational decision.

The most important point of this method is to never let a losing trade continue. You have to take your loses and live to fight another day. Losers don't exit out of losing trades in a timely manner.

 

Great advice I appreciate it! I am preparing myself to get back into the game after 5+ years. I still feel the bruises from all the losses including borrowed money that set me back for so long. I will not use borrowed money anymore.

 

Yeah, don't use borrowed money. If you have more money at risk than you are comfortable with, then you are under too much stress and will make bad decisions. Keep it manageable.

 

Backtesting !!!!!!!!

 

I agree. Backtesting will reveal much. The problem with profit targets is that they are basically an attempt to protect the future. This is of course impossible. Hence I base exits on technicals. The markets can tell you with resonable accuracy when to exit.