I have this same experience and I have not found a quantifiable answer because "some" trades do require patience before they end up being profitable. I know some traders that do use time stops but personally I have found them in effective for my style. Just another dichotomy of trading
Confused - perhaps the other posts in this thread will show that that this thread has some merit & that perhaps you were a little too quick on the gun and a tad confused. I find that when a trades moves in my direction shortly after entering that most times I will exit with a profit. When it studders, then my results have shown to be 50/50 - basically you are just playing the odds that it might go in your direction. Ultimately it really depends on YOU & YOUR TRADING STYLE. There are plenty of traders that are willing to give a trade plenty of time and space to work and there are traders like myself that want to see it move fairly quickly or I cut ties with the trade. There is no right way here, it depends on YOU. So, if the starter of the thread has found that when he trades and he has found that the majority of his trades that are profitable are ones that move quickly after entry, then use use that to your advantage.
Care to explan that Jayford? Not sure I follow... if your position immediately goes in your favor you are just a 'chaser'? But, if the position goes negative first or just studders around break-even you are in a good trade? I guess by saying chasing the market that I am reading that as a negative thing. Usually when someone says chasing, that means they are late to the party after all the pro's were already there.
It is called getting the right SETUPS early. They are not there everyday so you might have to pass or change tactics. Trade like you are the General in charge of the battle at hand. Have your battle plan pre-planned and let the mkt come to you and strike when the mkt is properly setup (trading off the opening range has limited possibilities but indeed many can make the day EARLY ). "Be the early worm that gets the bird" Do not be the early worm that sticks head up and gets swallowed from the normal doings of the birds. THINK OUT OF THE BOX. Myself i make approx 80 % of the bacon before noon. Setups are more pure in mornings as the pits are loaded with early locals and the institutional bigs are out in full force on openings.....THUS the game is more defendable and transparent. back to USC game......
Disagree strongly. What your trades do in the first xx units of time is dependent on your entry conditions, as brownsfan has said.
I would think any trader worth his salt would want his entries to be significant -- after all, timing is the name of the game no matter what time frame you are talking about. If you don't care about what happens to your position during the next several bars upon entry, it's hard to believe you've tried very hard to improve those entries in the first place.
Red cars go faster, too. Surely, its a sort of optical illusion? The real difference would be in how quickly you can re-use the profits, right-a psychological time factor?