But direction is not always a trend.i agree. but once you are in then you expect price to move/trend in the direction of the trade.
cheers
toucan
Add a ZigZag indicator to a chart and see what I mean.
But direction is not always a trend.i agree. but once you are in then you expect price to move/trend in the direction of the trade.
cheers
toucan
All traders have their own trading process, but after they enter a trade they “expect” price to move/trend in the direction of their trade. they could expect price to trend just a few ticks if they are scalping. They could expect price to trend minutes or hours if they are a day trader. Or they could expect price to trend for days if they are a swing trader.
Each trader’s process must answer the following questions before they enter a trade:
1. what is the trend direction they are going to trade?
2. Where is the beginning of that trend?
3. How long do they expect that trend to last?
How do each of you answer these questions before you enter a trade?
thanks
toucan
define trend trading. What are the inputs
Hey Toucan! Before I trade, here’s my quick checklist:
How do you all prep for your trades?
- Trend Direction: I check if it’s going up or down.
- Trend Start: I spot where the movement began.
- Trend Duration: I decide how long I’ll stay based on my trading style.
But direction is not always a trend.
Add a ZigZag indicator to a chart and see what I mean.

You are correct, those scalping don't trade trend.Coin flipper traders would disagree
%%All traders have their own trading process, but after they enter a trade they “expect” price to move/trend in the direction of their trade. they could expect price to trend just a few ticks if they are scalping. They could expect price to trend minutes or hours if they are a day trader. Or they could expect price to trend for days if they are a swing trader.
Each trader’s process must answer the following questions before they enter a trade:
1. what is the trend direction they are going to trade?
2. Where is the beginning of that trend?
3. How long do they expect that trend to last?
How do each of you answer these questions before you enter a trade?
thanks
toucan
That's all good. You should know all 3 before you even jump into a trade. Obviously, first and foremost, you need to know the current trend in play. But more importantly, you need to know if there's still any life left in the trend, since you don't wanna get in at the top. So detecting both the trend start and trend end is necessary to a successful outcome. And if you know those two, you will have a good sense of how long the duration will be. However, the trend doesn't always move straight up or down. There will be pullbacks along the way. So it's best to consider how many pullbacks you will likely encounter (or how many are still left) in the trend.Here’s my quick checklist:
How do you all prep for your trades?
- Trend Direction: I check if it’s going up or down.
- Trend Start: I spot where the movement began.
- Trend Duration: I decide how long I’ll stay based on my trading style.
Good Morning wrbtrader,Profit targets should be based upon the performance of your trade strategy...not calling a turn in advance.
For example, if your trade strategy averages about +5 points (your destination)...why would a trader set a profit target of +20 points in hopes of catching a trend ?
A profit target doesn't imply you must exit at + 5 points or any other target your strategy has identified but it does imply when you reach that target...you need to do another assessment to determine whether to take that profit or stay in the trade because of something had showed up between point A (departure) and point B (destination) that would merit staying in the trade a little longer beyond the profit target (destination).
wrbtrader