Taking profits early...

[Chagi]

Hopefully this question hasn't been covered already in too much detail, my apologies if it has.

I am currently seeing some success with my trading, i.e. good control of risk, good entries, and ability to increase the scale of my trading to higher quantities of shares. That said, I have identified a key problem area - the tendency to take profits too early. For example, I was trading a stock today with clear selling pressure, and did a number of smaller successful trades, as opposed to holding/scaling up for a longer holding period.

To be more specific, can anyone who has encountered this particular issue share what they did to combat this? I should mention that I have done quite a bit of reading, so I'm hoping for some personal responses. For example, I have now written out a new rule for myself, something along the lines of "wait for clear reason to sell."

Thanks!

 

[mad_badger]

Have you considered scaling out or covering/selling half as it moves your way?

Waiting for a violation or "clear reason to sell" along with scaling out as it moves along is what I (try to) do.

 

[DrEvil]

Have you considered that taking picking off several smaller trades from a larger move increases your trading opportunity. Increasing opportunity is another way to grow your account assuming that you have a net positive expectancy.