Let your profits run?

[ZaBu]

Has anybody a method of letting profits run?

Yes.

If a trade hits a 1:1 R/R then I take 50% off and let the rest run. Psychologically I have already banked some profit and the remaining trade is no longer risking my capital (assuming stop is break-even).

I trail the stop manually, trying to keep outside of the normal market fluctuations, locking in profits at next support levels. It's not perfect, and I am far from perfect in executing it every time, but in those situations when the trend keeps running it helps keep me in it.

 

[robster970]

Letting them run is important in my opinion. However trade selection and understanding the probability of that set-up running play an important part of what is ostensibly, trade mgmt. Static approaches to trade mgmt limit your exposure to upside.

 

[the hare]

Has anybody a method of letting profits run?

Yes

 

[BeginnerJoe]

Here's an actual case of my running the profits while I slept. I think people think too much and it stops them running the profits. Obviously after running the profit is to take some profits. No need to take all.

 

[WR1]

there's 100s of common indis that can be used for close / get out signals that will give a certain and good amount of profit everytime,
sometimes nr all the profits for the particular (good) trade you ve chosen

just needs quite abit testing and then nerves to then wait before they trigger
(that as will others i'm not always so good at)

 

[15 min tlb]

Here's an actual case of my running the profits while I slept. I think people think too much and it stops them running the profits. Obviously after running the profit is to take some profits. No need to take all.

Joe

Did u really have a short to close?

 

[new_trader]

Has anybody a method of letting profits run?

STOPS....they cut lossers early and allow profits to run...yes, STOPS.

 

[BeginnerJoe]

Joe

Did u really have a short to close?

No, I dont' have a short to close. But have 100's of shorts to close. If I get my way I will have 1000's of shorts to close as I believe I may have a genuine runner finally on the 3rd attempt.

STOPS....they cut lossers early and allow profits to run...yes, STOPS.

I have no stops, yet I clearly have runners. Stop and running is contradictory in my view.

 

[robster970]

I have no stops, yet I clearly have runners. Stop and running is contradictory in my view.

I can't figure out whether there is any genius in your unadulterated madness method joe. Are you just martingaling/averaging your way to untold wealth/oblivion?

 

[BeginnerJoe]

I can't figure out whether there is any genius in your unadulterated madness method joe. Are you just martingaling/averaging your way to untold wealth/oblivion?

Can't tell you more than what I have shown. What I got there is called trading, compared to what you've got of taking pot shots. There is a tiny few here who get the general concept of what I do, although not the specifics. But you are not one of them because you are too set in your ways to see the obvious in my method. In any case, trading is a process. Snap shots of the process, though interesting, is not all that meaningful and I don't mind showing it.

 

[robster970]

But you are not one of them because you are too set in your ways to see the obvious in my method.

Maybe this is true Joe. Can I ask one question?

When would you consider starting to cover some of your open positions?

 

[wackypete2]

Maybe this is true Joe. Can I ask one question?

When would you consider starting to cover some of your open positions?

Here's his exit strategy.

Not sure if trader #7 suggested it or not, I am shorting aud-usd. I barely scanned his post and vaguely had the impression aud was involved.

For anyone who was interested, my previous usd-jpy play was wiped out. It went from +230 to -100. The loose was not from lack of a strategy, rather I chose not to apply it. But with this aud play I will. Here's my customary proof for trading.

1. Martingale on a whim
2. If net position is in profit, get some sleep.
3. Exit at large loss

Peter

 

[VielGeld]

Well, you can allow for a provision to "let profits run". Several on this board such as Flasheart do this to good effect I think, setting a hard target for half the stakes put on, then a second half left to its own devices.

There are pros and cons to this. The cons are you cut your potential profits in half, so either that one runner is larger than all the other cut profits, or you have a good enough hit rate on the runners to make up for the opportunity cost.

Part of this is done to deal with the uncertainty in markets. You can take 1/2 off at a target or point of indecision to preserve some profits should price reverse and it can take care of that pesky emotion of "cutting winners short". So now you can have peace of mind in "letting go" of the remaining stakes to do whatever.

This is admittedly something I'm experimenting with right now, but I can see the appeal of it. I had a trade yesterday in Usd/Cad with a hard target and a runner. My target was hit, and I took 1/2 off and the rest had a stop put at +1 B/E. My stop was promptly hit a while later, so this was a case where the runner would never have taken off, but I still made some profit out of it.

So there's no clear-cut ways of dealing with it, but you can sort of structure your trade for those instances where price just runs and runs like with the Yen right now which can provide outsize profits to greatly boost your account and minimize all those losers along the way.

I guess it all comes down to personal style, preference, and tolerances? *Shrug*

 

[BeginnerJoe]

Here's his exit strategy.




1. Martingale on a whim
2. If net position is in profit, get some sleep.
3. Exit at large loss

Peter

Clueless on a whim is what you got. As for martingale, I won't say anything just to keep the game going. I am sure robseter would love to know but he ain't getting no nothing from me since he never ever gave me anything of use whatsoever.

As for the jpy loss, I let it run until it was clear I wasn't getting 500 pips. I said so as much in one of my posts that it could turn into a hold until loose. Same reason for the cable trade before that. 100, 200 pips are no use to me when I was looking for 500. I am sure many here would die for 100 or 200. Not me, I am slightly more ambitious than that. You might have notice in the past these numbers came to me strangely easily. Anyway I have concluded 500 pips are a rare enough event that aggressively gunning for it in every trade is not very useful. So in my current and third in the series of similar strategy trade, a different exit rule will apply. What might that be ? That would be proprietary info, but it would be something that allows 500 pips should it appear and takes a reasonable bite if it doesn't.

 

[15 min tlb]

In high volatility trending markets with uncertainty , use 100 pip stop with a trailing 100 , it will keep work better in choppy trends and ranging markets , and for low volatility ranging markets use 20 with trailing stop beyond trend channels on tick charts.

 

[15 min tlb]

Some traders trade probabilities, they don't trade trends , as trends as are rare and often trend trading is unprofitable.These traders look for 10 to 30 pip target , on many trades during the day.They do 30 to 40 trades with a target of 10 , with a stop of 20 , 25 trades will give 250 pips average ,5 will be breakeven , 10 will lose they 200, their daily net will be 50 pips ,

For these types of traders , it is not necessary to run profits,

http://www.trade2win.com/boards/discretionary-trading/43106-scalping-system-5.html#post2085792

 

[VielGeld]

^ I'm sorry, but your statements in your two above posts make no sense. On what evidence do you make these claims?

 

[15 min tlb]

^ I'm sorry, but your statements in your two above posts make no sense. On what evidence do you make these claims?

The first statement

I did some back tests ona trending eur/usd , with a 100 pip stop loss and target of 45 pips , it made pips even in the worst market conditions

Same strategy with a 20 pip stop made NOTHING.Profits were made , then given back , re-entries were made and profits were lost .

If you keep your stop far enough , so the market does not take you out , your 100 pip stop trade is likely to still be there on the following day.

Take a look at last thursday and friday , assume you had put on those trades long on thursday whilst ECB meeting at 1.3050 long , stop 100 , target 45 , profit 45.

Take a look at friday , short after nfp at 1.3050 , stop 1.3150 ,target 45 , profit 45.

On another choppy /ranging day you would have survived , but with a 20 stop , you could easily be taken out.

If it was mixed volatility on thursady and friday , with 50 pip retraces in trends , then all stops lower than 50 get taken out.

All these small stop stuff is for amateurs.To win against the market , you have to not let them take pips from you.

 

[15 min tlb]

^ I'm sorry, but your statements in your two above posts make no sense. On what evidence do you make these claims?

The second is based on a method of trading which consistently gives 50 pips a day , it is a discretionary method based on context.It aims for 10 pips only on highest probability set ups on 6 instruments.

 

[FringFX]

In high volatility trending markets with uncertainty , use 100 pip stop with a trailing 100 , it will keep work better in choppy trends and ranging markets , and for low volatility ranging markets use 20 with trailing stop beyond trend channels on tick charts.

100 pips stop is being static in "high volatility trending markets"