When do you exit it a profitable Support Resistance Level Trade?

[tommyfx]

Hi

I have always got good entries when trading S/R levels (thats half the battle right?) however i never know when to exit. I am an intraday trader usually trade S/R levels off a 5 min chart like i said i get the entries just right however when im up 5 pips ( a decent price target on a 5 min chart i feel considering i get several entries a day) however there is no professional/technical reason for me closing my position except i have some profit in the bag. This isn't a good way of trading because i miss out on some nice big bounces.
Any advice?

Thanks

[Qazpur]

hi tommy

with just 5 pips profit you have to ask yourself if the risk/reward ratio is worth the trade - i assume you're using very tight stops on that which means that the market may at times "sneeze" past your stops fly easily.
if your entrypoints are spot-on you're basing them on SR levels why not use the same technique on your exits (e.g enter long at support exit at resistance)? that way you have less probability of leaving pips on the table.

personally i try to use multiple lots / units even multiple entrypoints. This keeps me in a move whilst being able to take profits along the way. I find emotion is always a tough one when a trade is in profit - good to be able to appease the beast by taking partial profits

qazpur

[TryingHard]

Hi Tommy

I used to have a similar problem. Sometimes I got out too early others too late. So I spend a week or two considering how to fix it.

After entering I divided the trade in z according the loss or profit.

First zone is loss (I'll assume a buy) I follow the price (bid) using 1.2 x ATR (average true range) changing the stop loss un up direction only for a buy. I use an 14 periods ATR the rule is here because I believe if the price goes against the trade more than 1.2 ATR it's time to get out.

My second zone is at 10 pips potential profit (bid - entering price). At this point I set the stop 1 pip above the entering price what give me the breakeven plus 1 pip. For me 10 pips is a huge amount so I don't like the feeling of being 10 pips right end up with a loss.

The 3rd region ends at 20 pips potential profit I follow the price at 1.5 x ATR. Here I start to give more room to the trade.

In the 4th the potential profit is more than 20 pips I reserve half the profit.

In the last zone I follow the bid with 30 pips difference. It either could be a technical level or just doesn't exist at all. But I feel confortable follow the trade at that distance.

hope it helps
[]s