Which of the options most closely resembles your entries and exits for your "ideal" kind of trade that profitably plays out to the script of your gameplan... I concede, in advance of criticism, that options 1-4 fail to encapsulate all possibilities... if you fall into category 5 (people using profit targets, time stops or a complex combination of options 1-4 should vote for option 5), feel free to elaborate in general terms...
As a trader, I would like to accomplish a kinda' transparancy to trading methodologies. Being that, when I find a set up that works now, but did not work last year. This is troubling and I find this challenging and a reminder to not get "set" into a style. I prefer to be a "neutral trader" trading a system. I am studying another methodology with another trader that involves trade management and discretion, which proves to be rather challenging and opposite of how I am used to making entries and exits. It buys into strength's and trails with stops. I have "favorite" ways to trade, but am quickly learning to be able to change character and recognize "when the market changes" plays an important part in todays trading environment. This poll is thought provoking and I hope I am not missing its purpose for the author. My answer to this poll is all of the above choices that the poll presents depending on the strategy, methodology, instrument, liquidity, timing of the signal and time frame used. There are a few choices missing such as scaling in and out. The "timing" of an entry and exit is dependant on so many other factors. Trending verses breakout or reversing strategies could implore 3 different techniques listed in the poll. If the author puts an importance to the results of this poll, I suggests a request to define these points I am making before adapting the results to his trade timing. Michael B.
i like to enter where price doesn't have to move much to know that i'm wrong. i use the 34ema in multiple (1,2,5 min charts) time frames for setups. therefore, if i'm going long, i enter just above the 34ema....this gives me greater reward/risk. i have found out that the way to make money is to find a way to 'know you're wrong' as quickly as possible in the trade. ironic, but true. i'm still debating whether or not i should start scaling out at various points along the way, but generally i exit as momentum slows down. while entries and exits are both equally important to your bottom line, entries make the difference between good traders and great traders.