Hi B1S2, Jumping in late,but what could possibly make you say such a definitive thing??? Removing the psychological aspect,as far as I can tell there are no stats backing up your very definitive claim.. If you loosened your parameters,you would be onthe right path
Trades that give a trader pause enough to take off some of the trade, are really trades that should be totally taken off.
On the contrary, completely taking off every trade that 'pauses enough to take some off' is a great way to ensure that you never get those relatively few trades that can make your month. Unfortunately, we trade at the hard right edge of the chart and if you try to determine emotionally/psychologically what 'enough of a pause' is, you will never be able to trade consistently. A well planned strategy of accumulation and distribution is better than an all-or-nothing approach. b1s2 has stated that he knows what the 'optimal target' for price is. How he knows this, we have no idea. I sure as hell don't know. taowave, we already asked b1s2 to provide an explanation as to why he thinks that his personal preferences should apply to everyone. We pointed out that there are a lot of different ways to trade. He ignored these suggestions and stuck to his initial assertions. Flexibility and an ability to perceive that the story you once believed in may not be true are the hallmarks of the great trader. Probably the most misguided statement I have heard here that wasn't in the P 'n R forum.
bankable comment.......an axiom dictionary.com states: ax·i·om (âk'sç-əm) Pronunciation Key n. An established rule, principle, or law. A self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof as the basis for argument; a postulate. J
The thing to remember is that optimal targets CAN be found . However you will notice that I never use profit targets. I let winners run in full. Over time this is the correct method. A person who is scaling out is missing the opportunity for the homerun that will make the month's trading. It's difficult for people who are making money scaling out to see that they would be making more by not. It's human nature that people are defensive about themselves and I understand that.
I agree...there IS only one CORRECT way to trade. That is to buy low and sell high. Simple enough. All there is to it. You will be a billionaire by the end of the week. No problem. For the less gifted among us, we need to find a PRACTICAL way that we can trade on a day to day basis. Ooops...got another signal...later!
Trading principles need to be the same for traders with large capital and trader with small capital. No getting around the basic truths that should be a given.
Sometimes scaling out is correct. Some very large and successful traders build up positions that they can not efficiently liquidate with one key stroke so they must scale out. However, no doubt, there are many, many times when scaling out is not correct.