"take profits relentlessly" is a stupid way to trade, sorry. Gee, I made $10 per contract on the emini, take the profit!!! While you get out on average, with $200 in losses? You need to trade based on facts, not useless untested rules. "After analyzing my last 300 trades, I noticed that an optimal profit target is 3.5 S&P points." or "Using ATR, I noticed that getting out within 20% of one side, I maximize overall profits." or "I use support/resistance levels to get out."
Best advice I received about trading was to treat it as a business. If it's a hobby, you'll lose money. I like to golf, it's a hobby. I "pay" to golf. Professional golfers treat golf as a business. They "make" money golfing. In the best of both worlds one can enjoy their business, but it's a business first and foremost.
BUY when everybody does not want to buy; SELL when everybody does want to buy; Who is this everybody?
View Trading as a Score in Points and Not In Money Stop counting dollars every time the market moves and start concentrating on following your rules flawlessly. When you can operate on this level not only do your profits soar over the long run but it takes away all the stress of trading. All top traders never saw the markets as a cash box but simply as a way of operating a business. the name of the business was to follow their rules and score the points. It's not possible to become a top trader if you view every tick in the market as money lost and gained. Forget about the money that will take care of it-self it's all about those rules and how well you can follow them.
There's a couple different methods for taking profits: Method No. 1: "You can take modest profits frequently." With this method you need to have a Reward to Risk Ratio of 1 to 1 or better and a Win/Loss Ratio of at least 66% to 70%. Example: 7 winning trades with +1 point of profit each (total +7 pts). 3 losing trades with -1 point of loss (total -3 pts). Net Gain: +4 points profit total per every 10 trades. Method No. 2: "Large winners and modest losers." With this method you need a Reward to Risk Ratio of 2 to 1 minimum and a Win/Loss ratio as low as 40% still creates a decent net profit. Example: 4 winning trades with +4 points of profit each (total +16 pts.). 6 losing trades with -2 point of loss (total -12 points). Net Gain: +4 points profit total per every 10 trades. Notice that both methods produced the same Net Result: +4 points profit per every 10 trades, but Method No. 1 requires a lot greater Win/Loss accuracy. Wish is best? That's a matter of a person's risk tolerance and one's individual trader physiology. With many traders frequent consecutive losing trades can de-moralize one into wanting to quit trading. The higher your win/loss ratio is, its less likely to have too many consecutive losing trades. The lower your win/loss ratio is, its more likely to have many consecutive losing trades. Match your trade personality to the suitable methodology.