Exit criterion

[harshakns]

Hi,
I am a day trader, i have a strategy in place which makes decent return and i am happy with it but.... a lot of times i feel like i am leaving the money on the table when my supposedly profitable trade turns into a breakeven or loser. I feel like bad that i haven't squeezed that money from the market.

I tried taking a portion of profit or trailing sl but none of those on longer run produce satisfactory results as all out after reaching profit target. Do i need to assume that this is part of the game and leave it and move on or do you have any suggestions??

 

[nooby_mcnoob]

Take half off at profit target, let rest run trailing stop ~ breakeven. Method from Trading In The Zone.

 

[SimpleMeLike]

Hi,
I am a day trader, i have a strategy in place which makes decent return and i am happy with it but.... a lot of times i feel like i am leaving the money on the table when my supposedly profitable trade turns into a breakeven or loser. I feel like bad that i haven't squeezed that money from the market.

I tried taking a portion of profit or trailing sl but none of those on longer run produce satisfactory results as all out after reaching profit target. Do i need to assume that this is part of the game and leave it and move on or do you have any suggestions??

harshakns,

Good poll.

I struggle with this as well. In addition, I trade one contract which makes the struggle twice as challenging.

I try to calm my thinking on exiting a trade, by being objective and logical about my exiting. I always have a predefined profit target level pending with a limit order. Since I know I struggle with being patient waiting on profit target to hit, I have trade management rules that start trailing after X amount of ticks. This way, if price reversers, I exit the trade with a profit. In addition, I journal the profit I would have made, had I just let the trade exit at predefined target.

All I can say is think of ways you want to exit and start journal or tracking it, and see which ways is comfortable and profitable for you. Let the stats do the talking. Tedious, but its an option.

 

[CrashProof]

I have live videos in the trading Journal forum " Live video of my Day Trading" that shows my trading and you can see in the videos how I trail my stop up on positions to try to capture a majority of a move. Many times you might get stopped out for break evens but the few trades that do make large runs, you are able to capture those.

 

[qlai]

If you exit at first sign of trouble and then re-enter when the trouble does not materialize, is it still considered exiting?

 

[harshakns]

harshakns,

Good poll.

I struggle with this as well. In addition, I trade one contract which makes the struggle twice as challenging.

I try to calm my thinking on exiting a trade, by being objective and logical about my exiting. I always have a predefined profit target level pending with a limit order. Since I know I struggle with being patient waiting on profit target to hit, I have trade management rules that start trailing after X amount of ticks. This way, if price reversers, I exit the trade with a profit. In addition, I journal the profit I would have made, had I just let the trade exit at predefined target.

All I can say is think of ways you want to exit and start journal or tracking it, and see which ways is comfortable and profitable for you. Let the stats do the talking. Tedious, but its an option.

I am doing the same but was not finding much of a difference. so for the time being i will stick with the classic "all in all out " method

 

[harshakns]

If you exit at first sign of trouble and then re-enter when the trouble does not materialize, is it still considered exiting?

i idea that one can smell all signs of trouble is very difficult concept for me to digest. When i am in a trade, i don't touch the trade till it reaches the profit target, on longer run, it has made me profitable. so i am going to stick with my classic method of "all in all out".

 

[CrashProof]

If you exit at first sign of trouble and then re-enter when the trouble does not materialize, is it still considered exiting?

If you take on a position and then take it off, that is technically an exit. Then you enter the position again, you have to treat it as a new trade, which you will have to eventually exit as well. I look at that scenario as two trades.

 

[SimpleMeLike]

I am doing the same but was not finding much of a difference. so for the time being i will stick with the classic "all in all out " method

Harshakns,

I like the all in all out method too.

 

[CrashProof]

When i am in a trade, i don't touch the trade till it reaches the profit target, on longer run, it has made me profitable. so i am going to stick with my classic method of "all in all out".

Didn't Jesse Livermore state that he added to his winners?? I think there is something to be learned there.