How many pips stop do you use?

uninvited_guest · Jun 3, 2005

When I first started trading Forex I would go with a 12 pip stop loss. I learned very fast this is no good so I now go with 50 - 100 pips on the EUR/USD.

50 has worked well but I did get burned once and got closed out early on a trade that would have been profitable, so I might stick with a 100 pip stop.

How many pips stop do you guys use? Thanks

bundlemaker · Jun 3, 2005

This question is completely meaningless without knowing what timeframe you're trading, what you're profit targets are and how they are derived, and what the trading strategy is. You're question implies a desire to know what is best, and there is no best. THere is only what works and what is useful for a given situation.

uninvited_guest · Jun 4, 2005

Quote from bundlemaker:

This question is completely meaningless without knowing what timeframe you're trading, what you're profit targets are and how they are derived, and what the trading strategy is. You're question implies a desire to know what is best, and there is no best. THere is only what works and what is useful for a given situation.

Good point, I never thought of it that way.

My profit would be also 50 -100 pips and time frame 1 day. Trade is based on 1 week trend. Leverage at 200:1 on 1 lot trades ($50.00) with $1000 in Refcofx mini-account.

Nana Trader · Jun 4, 2005

Quote from uninvited_guest:

When I first started trading Forex I would go with a 12 pip stop loss. I learned very fast this is no good so I now go with 50 - 100 pips on the EUR/USD.

50 has worked well but I did get burned once and got closed out early on a trade that would have been profitable, so I might stick with a 100 pip stop.

How many pips stop do you guys use? Thanks

12 pip stop wasn't a bad idea, but doesn't work with
Spot forex, it works much better in futures.

Let say you are trading biggest mover which is GBP/USD
and it spread 8 pips during news and 4 ticks against you
will stop you out. Globex GBP has maximum of 3-4 pips
spread during news and it' value is about 6 mini-lot of
GBP/USD.

European session and overlap times is 1-2 spread for
GBP, while GBP/USD is 4 pips, tell me how it's possibe to scalp?

bundlemaker · Jun 4, 2005

Quote from uninvited_guest:

Good point, I never thought of it that way.

My profit would be also 50 -100 pips and time frame 1 day. Trade is based on 1 week trend. Leverage at 200:1 on 1 lot trades ($50.00) with $1000 in Refcofx mini-account.

Then the question becomes, what is your batting average? If you're 50% accurate on trades, and win $ = loss $, the whole game is for nothing.

Never lose sight that trading is a game of numbers and probabitlity. It is NOT about prediction. All of technical analysis is to serve one master, reduction of risk.

ozzy · Jun 4, 2005

I trade fx futures.

Scalp - 5 Point Stop
Short Term trade (5-10 Minutes) - 10 Point Stop
Mid-Term trade (30-60 Minutes) - 12 Point Stop

Mind you I don't blink when I trade fx and I will try to get out ASAP if its not going my way right away. Stop's are just there for the worst case scenario, I'm usually out before they hit.

ozzy

Sarasota · Jun 4, 2005

Quote from ozzy:

I trade fx futures.

Scalp - 5 Point Stop
Short Term trade (5-10 Minutes) - 10 Point Stop
Mid-Term trade (30-60 Minutes) - 12 Point Stop

Mind you I don't blink when I trade fx and I will try to get out ASAP if its not going my way right away. Stop's are just there for the worst case scenario, I'm usually out before they hit.

ozzy

Dude...don't you just love the 6E? Soooooooo much better than spot.

I use a 5 or 6 tick stop and go for 10 to 15 ticks depending on the time of day and how fast the market is moving.

ozzy · Jun 4, 2005

How would American's put it........

It's the shizznaaaaaaaaaaa. I'm planning to exclusively trade the fx futures. Trading options/futures/fx has thrown me off a little. Gonna concentrate solely on my baby the fx market (and maybe some options here and there to get my fix in).

ozzy

Quote from Sarasota:

Dude...don't you just love the 6E? Soooooooo much better than spot.

I use a 5 or 6 tick stop and go for 10 to 15 ticks depending on the time of day and how fast the market is moving.

dally25 · Jun 4, 2005

The stop loss is directly proportional to your trading time fram...
If you scalp, you can use 5-10 pips sl
Medium term 30-80 pips
Long term 100-150 pips

uninvited_guest · Jun 4, 2005

Quote from dally25:

The stop loss is directly proportional to your trading time fram...
If you scalp, you can use 5-10 pips sl
Medium term 30-80 pips
Long term 100-150 pips

thanks dally25, from my few trades with Forex thats what I figured with the EUR/USD.