Decades of experience ( and simple math) tell me which is better and it is staying in trades until reversal/maturity.
<i>"Finally, the voice of reason. Nothing in trading is black or white."</i> I may have said this +/- 50 pages ago here, but bears repeating. There is a very important factor in "emotional comfort" when it comes to real-time profitable trading. If a trader has good reason to manage trades in less than optimal way BUT still profitable expectancy, that will have better real-time results than trying to do something too uncomfortable to manage. In other words, holding for the gold in a trade may work out much better thru time on paper, but if a trader can make 1/2 the total gains with partial exits AND is much more comfortable with that style, do it. I've written enough mechanical systems to know that varying the exit strategy creates many different profitable results. Key word is "profitable". Whatever it takes to make that happen in the real world, so be it. Once that part is mastered, traders who desire to seek maximum efficiency of trade management can explore & adjust from there. What is most optimal over time on the scale does not always equate to what is most possible for real traders to execute in real time, with real money.
There is a fairly neat part of this discussion and that involves resolution to questions that I had had in my younger years. --I used to sit and look at charts and wonder the following--"Why would I be able to make money when everyone is looking at the same charts"-- I finally decided not to worry about that and just continue with my method. Over time, I have been able to see why I am able to do this. Most people are not able to get trading down to it's bare simplicity which is to cut losses short and ride the winners for as long as they can. When presented with this idea, they are reluctant to go along with it. This is probably due to ideas that you have to be smart or it can't be that simple etc. It is at this juncture that the crux of trading lies. Emotional attachment to trades etc. or to being "right" or greedy, by trying to catch every turn-- Or by being greedy and overextending to where you have to feel an emotional lift and take profits are flaws. My ability to avoid these pitfalls is the reason that I am successful and will continue to be for a very long time. I am one of the few that can reap the full benefits of the markets over a long period of time and get trading right down to it's simplest, which is where it should have always been.
I agree completely with what you wrote here. In fact I find that I can mentally handle a larger trade size if I utilize a non-optimal scaling out strategy, so if you factor in my imperfections then scaling out actually is optimal for me. However if I were a trading machine (without any emotion) I am quite sure that I would never scale out because it is the logical decision.
Agree with most of this----Didn't say you couldn't make money scaling out, I just said it's inferior to not scaling out. It is not the correct way to trade, but can be profitable. Thank you for your contribution! --Again the word comfortable (emotion--scared etc).