Help with Stops

[cable]

I think your stops are a bit too tight. Cut the percentage you're risking on each trade and that will let you have a wider stop.

[Bam-Bam]

Hi Cable,

Thanks for the input. On the one hand I agree that the stop in question may have been a little tight. On the other hand, I had good rationale for selecting it. It was based on 1) market generated resistance-- pivot level, and 2) ~2.00 pt. "standard" hard stop on ES--it was actually 1.75 pt.

In the past, I've tried loosening my stops. Then I am usually taken out on larger spikes that reverse as soon as my stop kicks, so the only benefit I receive from larger stops are usually larger loses that are proportionally more frustrating.

Blowfish's recommendation to use a volatility based method makes a lot of sense to me. That way one can customize the stop level to the setup and timeframe that one is trading based on the ATR.

In my case, risk management in the sense of stop placement has been more detrimental to my trading success than entry decisions. It's a matter of trying to do the right thing but just not doing it right.


Thank you for the input,

Bam-Bam

* Not a newbie, I just trade like one.

[ItalianSharp]

I think you should place your stops MANY ticks above/below the prior swing point.

There are different scenarios that may occur:

1) The swing point isn't breached and your position is safe

2) Stop running occurs and your stop should be safe unless it's placed 1-2 ticks above/below the swing point.

3) Your stop is hit and that means the breakout might be for real.

I agree that waiting for the interval to close might be the better option...but we just never know how far it'll close...that's the problem.

In extremely volatile days, waiting for the close may turn out very costly.