Struggle taking profits

[Businessman]

You have a trading plan, which your wrote and refined during many years of trading experience.

In the plan it says how to set your stops and profit exits.

Then you follow your plan.

I will admit that its easier said than done during long losing streaks and drawdowns.

 

[SunTrader]

Price doesn't care about silly r/r's or where you entered or where you target might be.

I trail my stop (Chandelier type) based on PA and how I define trend. Certainty not on what a MA does or 1x1, 2x1 or 3x1 so-called risk.

 

[schizo]

Price doesn't care about silly r/r's or where you entered or where you target might be.

That's the dumbest thing I heard coming from you. And you've been trading for what, 25 years??

1) Most important rule in trading is to go for trades with the highest reward and lowest risk.
2) With that in mind, you should have calculated how much to make and how much to lose in a given trade ahead of time.
3) Based on that calculation, you should know EXACTLY where to enter and where to exit.

I'm usually forgiving when noobs make these silly-ass comments, but when self-proclaimed "veterans" make these foolish remarks ... it's time to bring out the firing squad.

 

[Ethan.ishere]

Yes, we have all heard "let your profits run" BUT I just do not exit. Then I see my trades go to Zero profit and I am out with nothing. The only solution I have come up with is Limit sell orders. The hard part is where to set that profit order. By doing this I let the computer do the work for me.

Anyone else struggle to exit? What solutions have you come up with?

That's basically like letting your profits run away. You need to have an exit strategy and point as well, set a TP and problem solved.

 

[BKR88]

you should know EXACTLY where to enter and where to exit.

"Cut the losers, TRAIL the winners."

You should know where the initial SL is but knowing the exit location isn't required if you always use a trailing SL.
Nothing wrong with trailing every trade with no target IMO.
Focus on good entries & let the trailing SL determine exits.
Without knowing the exit, it's not possible to calculate the R:R.

 

[schizo]

You should know where the initial SL is but knowing the exit location isn't required if you always use a trailing SL.

Without knowing the exit, it's not possible to calculate the R:R.

Are you aware that you're contradicting yourself. So without knowing the exit, how the hell am I suppose to know if it's a "low risk / high reward" trade?

 

[BKR88]

how the hell am I suppose to know if it's a "low risk / high reward" trade?

You don't know if it's high risk/reward.
Where did I say that?
What did I contradict?

You don't need to know the exit.
You don't need to know the R:R.

 

[volpri]

Are you aware that you're contradicting yourself. So without knowing the exit, how the hell am I suppose to know if it's a "low risk / high reward" trade?

Most all my scalps are high initial risk and low reward. But as the trade develops often that changes and it ends up not getting very close to my initial SL. So my actual SL ends up flipping everything and the trade ends up being high reward low risk.

 

[volpri]

There are many ways to make 10 points:

1. Straight up 10 points (hardest)
2. 5 + 5 = 10
3. 4 + 4 + 2 = 10
4. 3 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 10
5. 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10 (likely the easiest)

Sometimes, it's a lot easier to go for singles than homeruns.

As a scalper
I have preached over and over on ET. Grab those profits! You can simply get back in if price continues in your favor. Too often we try to hold on for more (greed kicking in) and price goes right back to our entry the doesn’t recover or takes way too long to recover and can even very often end up in a loss.

 

[taowave]

I have the exact opposite problem as you fine folk