Huh? And your momma dresses *you* funny *too*! Did I upset you somehow? LOL. I may be trading small trades because of the LS platform crashes, but it is live. How large of a FAS position would *you* take if you don't know whether your client will crash on the next rally? I also daytrade futures and options with a company who doesn't have a sim. Dang, that was a nice reply... trading went well today, huh? Maybe you should try scaling out next time.... ROFL! Just kidding, but it was funny. While it doesn't necessarily reflect on my skill, I was trading 10 lots 200 times a day before they invented ETF's, before it was practical to do it over the internet, when Island was a cool new thing! Dang, I feel old... Doh!
whilst we are trying to improve our avg correct percentage on market calling,at 50% , scaling out is mandatory, 60%/70% now it becomes a matter of ego ,confidence and greed,above that ,you would be a fool to scale out, who is that good at calling the market, very few who do not have insider info
Ascertaining position size is something that one does prior to entering a trade. Once the trade is entered, it is to be left on fully to the exit.
And that shows why the scaler will still make more money overall as they would be locking in profit on trades that you let turn into losers because you were trying for homeruns with 100 point stops on every one. Also the scaler has the opportunity to capture many more trades for smaller gains as you sit and watch your paper profit go up in smoke. Your assumption is still flawed. Perhaps the scaler's strategy is to exit half at 50 points profit and the remainder at 100 if it comes or maybe 1/2 at 50,100, or 150 and trail the rest and you are trying to distort the facts by making the scaler a daytrading scalper.
I have not read this whole thread so hopefully in 250 pages, some of this may have already been said; 1. Multiple exits is in fact a multiple systems. Each exit must stand on its own merit. Hence if buying 5 and selling 1 to cover costs, that one lot has to stand on its own as a system. Of course under this scenario it will be a 90% winner but a lousy system. 2, When using multiple exits you are optimizing for different parameters, a perfectly logical thing to do. Each exit will stress something different and be best at that but less optimal at something else. ie The highest Total Profit system, will not be the lowest drawdown or the highest percent of winners. Nothing wrong with optimixzing for each the parameter that the trader thinks is important. Again as long as each system stands on its own. AS a footnote I know of no systems that a trailing stop is the best exit, on trades the average retail client can afford to be involved in --- less then a week duration, and no crazy drawdown parameters. However obviously I don't know all systems, so if you have one I bow to that expertise. But nothing I have ever tested works best with a trailing stop.
That is how *you* do it. We are happy for you, and it *is* interesting to see how different people trade. Can anyone claim there is only one *right* way to do this? If everybody starts trading the *right* way, some adaptive person will come along and break those "right" rules and clean house. Market conditions change all the time. How can we *not* change? It is interesting to hear dogma in a trading forum. I wouldn't think that ego would mix very well with trading. No matter. I know that everyone on the planet is going to disagree with me on this, and that is fine. A huge part of trading is dealing with yourself psychologically. And everybody is different, so we deal with it in different ways. Personally, I like it when I take a profit. I don't like it when I leave too much on the table over and over. And I really hate waiting around watching a winner turn into a loser. I think everyone would agree that if you are trying something you are new at, you should do it with small shares to see how it works. Soo..... If leaving too much money on the table bothers you and you don't have 'nads of steel like our friend here, sell a bunch of it. You will feel better. If you find yourself on a real rocket ride and you think it might keep going, sell a bunch more. Heck, only keep a single lot! It is fun to see that 100 shares go thru the roof. No, you didn't make a huge profit, tho it may surprise you how much you actually did make. But you won't feel like you left it all on the table, and you didn't risk much. And if you liked how it worked, next time don't shed so much. Trading is hard work and has enuf stress without inventing ways to increase it. If you don't enjoy what you do, is it really worth it?
Each entry should be held to maturity. This has long ago been proven in this thread and is now a "given"--Ishmael
Even if it is a winning trade that being greedy, let the trader give up 50% of the gain they previous had?
If their system says so. All in All out benefits every system over the long haul. A system that would give back 50% should also be one that lets profits ride tremendously as well