The never ending question for a trader… when one hits / exceeds their daily ideal quota … does that individual press on?
Only Cherries for the afternoon session!
It's an interesting question.
I would first like to ask what you consider a daily ideal quota? Is it a dollar figure, i.e., a % of your account? Or is it related to the metrics of the market, i.e., a certain % of the daily range in points?
In my view, if you have a mechanical system with a positive expectancy you'd just trade it indefinitely and take every signal you get. It may very well be automated or semi-automated. There's no reason to stop trading because you're ahead on the day as that's a mentality saying you got lucky and have to call it a day in order to not lose it.
Discretionary day trading on the other hand, is however a performance activity and like any other activity you can't maintain peak performance and focus indefinitely.
Further, the stress/fatigue you experience as a discretionary day trader I'd say is highly correlated to the degree of discretion and/or risk profile.
So, a trader that's highly discretionary and finds himself guessing (What the hell is the market doing here? Is this a bottom? Is this a top? Is this an IHS?) a lot while taking huge risks should experience a high level of stress and burn his fuses quickly.
At the other hand of the spectrum you may have an expert trader with a well defined process that's not very discretionary and who knows very well what he's doing at all times (including knowing when to stay out of the market and waiting for the right time to participate) and is also trading with a low risk profile using money he can easily afford to lose. This individual should experience a very low level of stress and can sustain his performance far longer.
For me, personally, I don't have a set daily target these days, but I have a few guidelines and principles that I generally follow:
- If the market already made a large move or hit my predicted targets/scenario for the day, I will usually call it a day as I consider the rest of the day more difficult/uncertain and I already extracted the easy profits. If I'm in drawdown at that point I may continue trading.
- If I'm up well above my average profitable day, I may call it a day or allow myself one final trade after which I will call it a day. I will NEVER let a very profitable day turn into a losing day.
- If I still want to continue trading I may scale down my size as an alternative to calling it a day completely.
I'm answering to this post because it's an interesting question. I have at times in the past worked with a daily target and I still thinks this holds some attraction as it encourages daily consistency and gives a good feeling when you hit your target. Instead of trying to squeeze everything you can out of the market, you're treating the market as a vehicle where you can safely extract a few safe points and can call it a day after that.
Thoughts and comments are welcome.