UPDATE: I just have to have the exit as an order on my trading platform. For whatever reason I just cannot hit the exit button and many winners turn into break even trades and I do not have to sit there with my hand on the mouse ready to click. Just works for me.
Entire position should be put on at outset and then all taken off in unison. This is the optimal technique over the long haul.
yes yes yes,,,, that just works for my mental makeup. I have learned this over time and the HARRDDD WAYYY
I agree with treating the trade as an indivisible whole - at least for private retail trading with our level of capitalisation. e.g. If your long position has a 75% probability of price rising, then that's 75% for all of it, not 100% for this bit here and 50% for that bit there. Get in or get out.
yes I completely agree.. while getting out say 1/2 at some level and the other 1/2 at another sounds great on paper, in real life trading it is mentally hard to do. I cannot stress enough how mental this whole trading thing is. For me,,, all in,,, all out on bracket orders, once I am in the stop and exit are also live orders and the biggest challenge for me is to leave them alone
There is no one size fits all, you have to find what works for you. I go all in and all out with a target based on average maximum favorable excursion. Stops and targets are triggered on entry by my ATM. It keeps things simple and I like simple. Most extended moves will give additional entries but if one doesn't then it doesn't....that's trading.
went back yesterday to strict stop and target exit... 3:1 ratio.. it is so much less stressful, just put in the entry order and let the system take care of the rest. sure, I will miss some humongous runner, but I do not care. This exit strategy works for me.