It's always better in the long run to trade all in , all out. Doesn't matter whether it's on a one minute chart or a monthly chart. The math is the same. Scaling out is an emotional crutch that traders who are wildly overextended use to make themselves feel good-- Ishmael
I dismiss views that I know to be wrong. I would be foolish to accept views that I know to be wrong. =====As far as whether or not I am considering the emotional factor, you are showing that you have not read much of the material ensconced within these margins. Had you done so, you would know that the emotional factor is perhaps the main tenet of my presentation and postulate. --Ishmael
You are correct in this. The problem is that the vast majority of people who scale out are doing so for that very reason==== in order to "feel comfortable". Ishmael
And here you are, repeating over and over again what makes you feel comfortable, ad infinitum ad nauseam. When will it be enough for you to be convinced? Will it ever be enough?
Personally I loved it when Charlton Heston "Moses" came down from the mountain with his commandments, silver in his hair and all that crap..... So lets finish this once and for all If in fact scaling out is "inferior", by extension, one must agree that adding to positions is a "superior" strategy....Clearly if one adds to positions, he or she is going to profit more than if they simply hold an existing position to some predetermined profit target.. After all if we agree with the original poster's "prounouncements" then it must be correct, since adding to positions is clearly more stressful and the math cannot be contested (adding to positions means potentially more profit). According to the original poster, these are two "signs" (from on high) that "we" are using a superior strategy when we add to existing positions. From that point of view, clearly just holding a position without adding to it is "inferior". I am afraid I will have to "dismiss" those of you who don't add to your existing positions lol. Excuse me while I go "part the waters" in my hottub
The OP strikes me as a person trapped between possessing the intellectual knowledge of trading, and the lack of courage to put this knowledge to work in the markets. sosueme
Regarding the "intellectual knowledge of trading," I remain unconvinced because it smells a lot more like dogma to me. As for the remainder of your observation, I think you may be on to something.
Probably, but ET brings out the soft side of my nature and I couldn't be as harsh as you can TD. If anyone doesn't like anything I write, the answer lies in my username. sosueme
Exactly. To the OP. This is the most close-minded thing i've seen. Get real. You position trade (probably long-term hold). Sure in your case yeah, BUT there's plenty of cases where not scaling out is going to reduce potential rewards. (This being intra-day. ) Your making a blanket statement covering multiple time-frames....? Seriously? Scaling out is such a broad term. Are you saying right away, or after the position has run for a while?? How is the scaling out done? In 1/2's or 1/3's? What's the time-frame for this?
This is a very very silly thread,and the OP should know much better assuming he has traded for more than 5 minutes of his life.. Step 1.. Come up with a strategy/system one would like to employ..Backtest it over 10 years plus and diverse market conditions.Test it across non correlated assets...Use simple rules to enter and exit(100% as the OP "suggests")...If the strategy passes the litmus test,proceed.. Step 2 Running the same strategy/system,look at stops,profit targets,and scaling out..Beware of curve fitting,or at a minimum be aware you are increasing the likelyhoood Step 3 Compare the results of Step 1 vs Step 2..Most likely there will be some sort of tradeoff between risk and return...It will be highly unlikely that you get consistently better returns with reduced volatility..If you do,beware,you have most likely curve fit and Mr Market is just waiting to take a chunk of skin from your ass... Step 4... Should you find a system/strategy that has higher returns with 100% exit and entrys vs one with scaling out,the discussion doesnt end there as the OP would have you believe... It is time to take a peek at those simulated risk adjusted returns and decide if you have the gonads to leverage up to compare apples to apples.... Then and only then will you have a guesstimate at to whether one should scale or not...