Stops

Quote from Thom Hartle:

One purpose for using stops is to limit the loss on a trade. But, consider the question of once you are in a trade, and going forward, are you still seeing technical evidence to stay with the trade. In other words, just because you have an initial setup that signals the trade, you don’t have to wait for market to reach your stop point and take the loss. It might be there was early evidence the trade was not working and waiting for your stop to be hit was a mistake. This is why collecting and analyzing market behavior (back testing) following an entry pattern can be helpful for better management of the trade then just taking the signal and watching the market move to your stop loss point.
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Good point! Regarding my trading it depends on the timeframe. For fast scalps (1 to 30 minutes in my case) the stop stays just in place, but sometimes the trade will be scratched. If I am on a longer timeframe I adjust the stop after I have seen new pivot points. But my rule is to always put a stop in place and never loosen it. A stop is allowed to move but in just one direction, i.e. closer to the price.
 
Quote from me1969:

Good point! Regarding my trading it depends on the timeframe. For fast scalps (1 to 30 minutes in my case) the stop stays just in place, but sometimes the trade will be scratched. If I am on a longer timeframe I adjust the stop after I have seen new pivot points. But my rule is to always put a stop in place and never loosen it. A stop is allowed to move but in just one direction, i.e. closer to the price.
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Sounds appropriate to me. I still try to scratch trades on the very short-term time frame because I can see the actual execution of trades at the ask price or into the bid price using TradeFlow charts. If I was long, I’ll stay long unless I see a sudden shift by market participants suddenly hitting bids relative to the numbers I was seeing of trades going off at the ask price, then I try to scratch the trade.
 
Here is a good example of where a stop should be used.

You have a day job and have a stock you purchased at 15 dollars. The stock has advanced to 20 dollars. Your job doesnt permit you to constantly monitor your portfolio. At twenty dollars, you should probably set a trailing stop for 10-15%.
 
In order to have this conversation you must first
1 determine the time frame.
2 determine the instrument and it´s fill rate.
3 determine your trading style.

I imagine after this you have pretty much answered your own question.
 
Quote from Buy1Sell2:

Stops are for highly leveraged traders. Don't use so much leverage and you will be able to place your stop outside reaction highs/lows which is where they should be. Your stops are misplaced if they are getting hit that frequently.
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This is the absolute and basic truth that most don't seem to get!

You will see this particularly in the Forex where people with a couple of grand are borrowing 100k and start crapping themselves when it goes against them by a few points.
 
Quote from johnk49:

This is the absolute and basic truth that most don't seem to get!

You will see this particularly in the Forex where people with a couple of grand are borrowing 100k and start crapping themselves when it goes against them by a few points.
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Bingo! Anything inside reaction highs/lows is noise. The underleveraged trader just relaxes.
 
Quote from OddTrader:

Said by:
1. beginners
2. the unwary
3. the unskilled. :D
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Hi OD.
I think you forgot number 4. ( on holiday by the sea ? )
 
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