Be very interesting to see a summary of the various Polls. My stop loss strategy is dynamic. I factor in volatility, major S/R, recent HH/LL, gaps, risk/reward greater than 2, avoid wide stops, trailing stops set to strategic support as opposed to set % or $ amount. Usually place stops a few ticks below/above the referenced stop points and below/above whole numbers and obvious S/R. The one constant is that I never loosen a stop, but will tighten.
As opposed to a trailing stoploss. The trader puts in a fixed stoploss, but the amount depends on recent volatility or other factors.
Why would someone be worried that others learned they he uses a trailing or mental stop...? If that is his secret, then he is in serious trouble...
5-6 minutes. but it's also bracketed to stop at 2 points on ES. in most cases, the time stop kicks in and i get out.
Stops drive me nuts. No matter what you decide on it only works part of the time. Some days targets work great, other days trailing behind the last swing hi/lo works great, on an on, but nothing works all the time. Yet you cannot keep changing your strategy as that doesnt work either. It seems to me you have to select an exit method that suits you psycholically and accept the fact that all exit methods are a compromise and that you will end up leaving a lot of money on the table no matter what you do. If youre winners are averaging out bigger than your losers, be happy.
My stop strategy is to avoid using them as much as possible. If I buy something I'm confident in at one price, and its suddenly cheaper, I should be buying more lower not exiting the position, since its an even better buy. However if I'm not confident in a position, I try not to use stops and simply start trying to liquidate it with limit offers. I have painfully had to say uncle numerous times and as a result give up a chunk of change, but those situations just remind me that I need to be more accurate getting into a position, not more aggressive getting out of one.
Just an observation. If you have "given up a chunk of change," then perhaps your confidence in positions has been misplaced. At least to the extent that you did not have an exit strategy, but rather one that actually sought to increase exposure at a point when your timing was demonstrably flawed. You concluded that such situations remind you to be more accurate getting in rather than being aggressive getting out. But if you were more accurate getting in, then you would not have to average down in the first place. The fact that you are averaging down should tell you that your accuracy is already lacking. How, then, is adding to a poorly timed entry a remedial action rather than a compounding one?