I am not padutrader but I am an afficionado of Brooks and base some of my trade ideas off his many ways of trading the markets. I will answer the question you posed, from my viewpoint on the matter. For me, constant evaluation is a given. I consider it as “managing the trade.” I have setups that give me signals as to when to enter and they are based upon patterns and PA contexts; immediate and the larger context. That I might say is “static.” That is, it is a given beforehand. Like an H1 or L2 setup to name two. Apart from the static is the dynamic. For me, that involves not just that price “did” something (made a pattern and setup) but also “how” it did it. And “how” it does whatever it does AFTER my entry. So, taken together, the static and dynamic, give me “live” feedback as to how I should manage my trade. I will often adjust SL’s AND PT ‘s as price unfolds after my entry. Since I cannot know “how” price will be made beforehand I have to watch it live after my entry to make any adjustments. Like especially in PT’s. I have an initial PT but “how” price moves as it is moving towards that PT is important info to myself to determine if I should adjust my PT for less profit or for more profit. And as concerns SL’s same thing. Volatility can increase on a dime (and no person can predict when it will do so) and therefore, I may have to widen my SL. I do have a “give up” point where no further adjustment will be made. If after entry price immediately moves in my favor then my actual SL is less than my initial SL and if it is a strong BO that I happened to catch I will adjust my SL to the nearest swing high or swing low that is a major, not a minor, swing high/low depending if the BO is a bull or bear move, in my favor. This said there are times I cannot watch a trade. In such a case I will have a SL and PT set and in place usually accomplished by using bracket orders upon entry and adjusting them to fit the probability of price reaching my profit target before it hits my SL. Then I walk away to do whatever it is I have to do.
i was wondering that but....Brooks is an advocate of fairly tight stops....just beyond the entry bar. brooks also says to get out at 2R.......something i have not done here.....he also advocates closing half at 2R and swinging the rest.........i am considering doing that. brooks gives very specific targets .....some 2 legs some one leg......
i wish Brooks was so organised! you will find gems scattered throughout the book like you find marble masterpieces scattered on the roads of Rome. he does say 'if a H2 triggers after you enter a L2 set up....get out or at least tighten stops.' most of the chapters are interconnected... For example the breakout pull back DB/DT set up described in the chapter named BREAKOUT is also a H2/L2 in a higher time frame than 5 min.
some of his targets have to be monitored.....he says a higher high will go two legs while lower high will go only one leg....now this is tricky. he also says get out in all trades at 2R. so he does leave many things to the traders discretion. this does confuse traders...and Brooks is blamed....but i think trading on a whole is confusing.....mainly because of the conflicting signals that occur all the time....
i am only three days into this project and i will finalise a great many things as time goes on. i would have done better these 3 days if i had set targets at 2R......that is what i have experienced so far. it is clear that that 2R is good conclusion to my trades rather than continuously evaluating the market.....especially since markets often do turn on a dime without giving any sign. maybe fixing targets at a technically significant place...like ema or S&R may be more sensible than arbitrary risk number. i have to decide.
in this H2 long i have placed target at a high.....a resistance, also near a whole number .7700, and 1 R
thank you for your valued comments......your reputation precedes you. Brooks if understood is very valuable and can power up your trading. i started this thread in the hope that it would 'regularise' my reasoning into a consistent trading method with the help of Brooks. this may help many here.....