Disliked{quote} i know everyone says to use real money atleast once, but idk i feel like it also depends on the person’s mindset and what they want. For example, i was backtesting for 3 months and now live trading with fake money for 2 months, and i used to get mad and wanted to hit my head in a wall everytime market reversed on me be it the backtesting with no money or live with paper money. so it will carry on the same way when i enter with real money which would be ofc more most traders prop firms as they have no capital themselves. So imo if you learn...Ignored
- #54,642
- Jun 4, 3:16am (3 hr ago) Jun 4, 3:16am (3 hr ago)
- Joined Jul 2011 | Status: Gold Again | 10,560 Posts
i have bought gold at 4478 level can anyone suggest the sl
Works for me!
YMMV
Gold now 4,462
It takes a lot for me to IGNORE you, but you can try.
- #54,645
- Jun 4, 3:19am (3 hr ago) Jun 4, 3:19am (3 hr ago)
- Joined Apr 2025 | Status: Trader | 1,195 Posts | Online Now
- #54,646
- Jun 4, 3:22am (3 hr ago) Jun 4, 3:22am (3 hr ago)
- Joined Apr 2020 | Status: Trader | 399 Posts | Online Now
{quote} Re-entry taken. Let's hope for the best. {image}
Positioning is more important than ego imho.
- #54,653
- Jun 4, 3:34am (3 hr ago) Jun 4, 3:34am (3 hr ago)
{quote} You're buying mid range, bub. Risky. You could be right but it could still drop to 50 and wipe you out. Positioning is more important than ego imho.
- #54,658
- Jun 4, 3:52am (3 hr ago) Jun 4, 3:52am (3 hr ago)
- Joined Jul 2011 | Status: Gold Again | 10,560 Posts
I need some opinions on trailing SL, anyone who has time to reply and use trailing SL. Are trailing SL just a myth and it doesn’t really matter because if you are right price won’t touch your trailed second SL and if you are wrong then yes you saved few pips but at the end the entry of the trade was wrong and now instead of exiting on some profit pips you lost few pips due to your trailed SL. Because in markets like last month and current lots of wicking actually tests same tested price again and again so ultimately your trailed SL is never same....
Go over there and do this: enough reading for a month, good luck.
Answer for Rocky (research‑supported, trader‑friendly)
There’s actually quite a bit of research on trailing stops, and the short version is this:
Trailing SLs don’t improve win‑rate, but they can improve risk‑adjusted returns — depending on market conditions and the trailing method. They’re not a myth, but they’re also not a magic tool.
Here are the key points backed by studies and large‑sample back tests:
1. Trailing stops reduce drawdowns, but often cut winners short
Multiple academic back tests (e.g., Kaminski & Lo, MIT, 2014) show that:
- Trailing stops lower maximum drawdown
- But they also reduce average trade profit
- And they don’t fix bad entries (your point is correct)
In choppy or mean‑reverting markets (like the last 1–2 months), trailing stops get hit constantly because price keeps retesting the same levels.
So yes — in these conditions, a trailing SL behaves almost like a volatility tax.
2. Trailing stops only work well in trending environments
Trend‑following research (e.g., Dunn Capital, Mulvey 2019) shows:
- Trailing stops improve returns only when volatility expands and price trends cleanly
- In sideways markets, they perform worse than fixed stops
So, the effectiveness of a trailing SL is regime‑dependent, not universal.
3. The “myth” part comes from using fixed‑distance trails
Most retail traders use:
- 10 pip trail
- 20 pip trail
- break‑even + X pips
These almost always get hit because they ignore volatility.
Research shows that ATR‑based trailing stops (1.5× to 3× ATR) perform significantly better because they adapt to market noise.
Fixed pip trails = almost guaranteed to get wicked out.
4. Your logic is correct: if the direction is right, price often retests
FX is a mean‑reverting, liquidity‑hunting market. Wicks are literally the market testing liquidity pools.
So yes:
- If your direction is correct, price often comes back
- A tight trailing SL gets hit
- You miss the real move
This is why many institutional models don’t trail at all — they scale out or use time‑based exits instead.
5. What the data actually says
Across multiple studies and large‑sample back tests:
- Trailing stops reduce risk
- Trailing stops reduce average profit per trade
- Trailing stops increase the number of trades closed early
- Trailing stops do NOT improve win‑rate
- Trailing stops help only in strong trends
So, they’re not a myth — they just have a very narrow use‑case.
Bottom line (the part Rocky will understand immediately)
Trailing SLs don’t fix bad entries, and in wicky markets they do more harm than good. They only shine in clean trends, and only when volatility‑based trailing is used.
If you’re trading a market that keeps retesting levels (like the last month), a trailing SL will almost always get tagged.
It takes a lot for me to IGNORE you, but you can try.
- #54,659
- Jun 4, 4:02am (2 hr 56 min ago) Jun 4, 4:02am (2 hr 56 min ago)
- Joined Nov 2024 | Status: Trader | 5,211 Posts
