Trailing stops are good. But not all traders have the ability to use them. And very few get to use them on nasdaq issues. Mental trailing stops are a very worthwhile approach. To save myself some typing, I will quote myself (from my previous incarnation when I was the less evolved "Rs7": Now I realize that what is "bad thinking" to me, is not at all "bad thinking" for those who trade with "targets". I know many great traders who use targets. We each have our own styles, and our own beliefs. So this is just me. Certainly whatever you are comfortable with is right for you. There is no definitive answer to anything about trading. If there were, we would not need to think. We would buy a trading program, fund our accounts, turn the thing on, and let the computer trade. But it doesn't work that way. For the post and thread I quote myself from, written in the ancient days of July of last year, for those interested, the whole shebang can be seen at: http://elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=84775&highlight=reason+to+exit+a+trade#post84775 Peace, Rs8.5
worry comes from no plan got a trailing stop, great. got a price target, great. got many systems working on different philosophies, great. making it up as you go along, shittty. unless that works for you, then what the fuck am i talking about
I think the trailing stop is the best idea. If you want to make things simpler Try selling 50-75% of your position when you normally get out. And try playing with the other 25-50% of your position if you feel that there is still potenial profit in your trade. See how that works for you.
Use two different time frames, enter on the shorter and use the longer to keep you in the trade if it merits staying in. Use the same parameters for both,i.e,. if you enter on the 5min chart watch the same parameter setup on the 10min. It can keep you in thru the wiggles and make trends more obvious. Test it to see if it would have worked for you. If you are a scalper using brackets etc. set the exit bracket further away if it looks to be trending.
I always scale out of my trades. (Unless I get a windfall profit right away, then I close the position all at once)
daytradepete, u need to detach from the trade. If u think u sold too soon, buy it back. Been a big difference for me for the last 2 years. would that turn u into a scalper????
There is usually a compromise. If you allow yourself to hold a trade longer, you might ended up having less winning trades. Its really up to yourself. But i personnally feel that taking smaller profit with a higher winning ratio tends to produce lower drawdown, i feel more comfortable with it