It might be uncomfortable but why not use 3 initially unload two at the initial target and then hold the one with the original stop for a 2nd target. Are you spreading your stops out as well or do you exit both at one stop? With 3 contracts you'll be damn sure to be patient with your entries. Personally I think it should depend on the setup or patterns you're dealing with at that time. Some setups will tell you you're wrong right away so why not just go all in and some are more iffy. I love scaling especially with what I'm looking at tonight I want to get short just 1 at 97.60-70 with a stop above 98.20 (lower confidence entry) if we get below 97.20 (high confidence entry) I want to drop the hammer on this bitch. This might be horrible logic and just me trying to be greedy and capture every tick instead of playing between the 30 yard lines so to speak but I accept my flaws and am willing to live with the outcome.
I dont think I will ever be holding a position with a 60 tick stop, trying to find a balance that rewards the legging out of a position and not getting hurt when trades go against me. you do take on some risk with a 60 tick stop, much more then I have the stomach for, but by seeing that you are still here 8 years after signing up here at ET, you definitely have figured out what works! I will keep messing with it, and writing stuff down, still a long ways away from real money trading Looking back at today.. I started with 4 trades losing and 1 scratch. Until the 6th trade earned me 61 ticks. the failure to keep grinding after I made it all back is what made it a scratch day compared to nice day. because with the guidelines that I have written down there were 2 to 4 more trades that needed to be taken to make a system work.
Classic example of being under exposed to such an obvious pattern. I want to sell 1 when underlying front month is at 96 and the other at 95.50.
Took 2 trades on CL thursday. Unable to do any trading yesterday. Trade 1---horrible trade, looking back at it 2 days later I am thinking why did I even trade it!, Just to press the button I guess. Short at 97.57, at the time I was expecting a move down to 97.45-.40 area on the break below the .60. Did not happen and I closed at 97.70. 2x -13 ticks. Trade 2--- Planned and executed much better. 5m chart did not close above 20EMA, and 1 minute broke below the base that was formed at the double top. SHort at 97.70. Closed 1 at .58 and 1 at .55. 1x 12 ticks, 1x 15 ticks. chart is central time.