If it makes you feel any better, CL will condition me to become a scalper after I patiently try to let winners run and watch good profits turn into break even trades. Then I take a small profit and it runs 4 times more without me!
Seems even mature traders still don't keep runners?? Seems so simple.. regardless of market, always keep a runner at B/E.. completely eliminates the needless stress... remember.. do as I say, not as I do though.. now go forth, I have set you free..
It helps a lot, thanks To trail or not to trail. Hmmm More experimenting is needed. I believe that if I traded multiple contracts (back to one for now), it would have been very easy to exit half at a scalp trade, move the rest to breakeven and trail.
Yes, it would be <i>easy</i>, but you would take 100% your losses with your full position, some of your winners with between half and one point (1 point + BE or 1 point + 1 point) and your larger winners with half the position. It's not about doing what is easy, but what it's [most] profitable (not lecturing you, just talking to myself after a day of freezing in the headlights). Still, can't beat that happy feeling when taking profits, even if you leave much more on the table...
I think you are correct to congratulate yourself on a good call - what is your min profit target on a trade like your long 1233? About exiting with a trail, and your earlier quote about leaving a point on the table: I have concluded that I will set an alarm for my target exit less 1.5 and then watch my ST indicators. My minimum target is 6 pts (or I don't enter the trade), so using the example of the 1242 shorting opportunity: 1. would only do it if I see 1236 potential (so fine as my target was 1234 or lower.) 2. at 1234 plus 1.50 ie 1235.5, I would set an alarm and then watch ST indicators to decide if to get out. (Once I am 5 pts in the money I move my stop to trail 5.) Just some ideas. What do you think?
What he said! To trail or not to trail: What I do, is when price is very close to my profit target zone, and I have reason to believe the market may have more to offer (such as price is running hard toward target and has had very shallow retraces), I may choose to trail a stop and try to lock in more. It's an imperfect science and I've watched my full target retreat to break even, and I've also watched price run 2 or 3 times my full target. If trading more than 1 contract, I recommend taking 1 off at target and trailing a stop on the other to let it run. I wouldn't take off part of the position before the target zone is reached for the exact reason Picaso states.
IM back. Approaching midnight here. Didn't get low enough to fill me for my add on, sop just holding the 1239 long, coulple of points offside. see what tomorrow brings./.
We are sitting just at 200 period EMA on not time based charts. If we believe that rally did not endet that here is the correct time for swing long. Small long 230.50. I will sale for small loss about 1 point if we fall bellow 26 or will double down around 20. I will eat whole loss somewhere bellow 206 (catastrophic scenario). Target at 242, if we will go straight up than 237 and I will buy first retracement around 242.
im awake. filled early this morning with my add on at 1230. closing that here for another +4 points at 1234 still holding the 1239 will put that add on long back on again if we go down to 1229