HI Erowe,
To address your initial post on this thread;
1st I would forget about the reward to risk ratio. Unless you can predict the future this ratio has no practical value in my opinion. Yes it is important to have targets, but these targets and projections must be based on objective data, from identification of the set up, through the completion of the trade.
2nd I always let the market take me out, usually scaling me out. Again this is based on objective data like a 1 or 2 bar trailing stop, trend line break, etc, not subjective targets. Sometimes the market takes me out early, on occasion I have a nice run lasting much longer than expected, which also goes to my opinion about the reward/risk ratio; you never know how a trade will develop. You will make more money in the long run letting the market take you out. It is difficult to make up for losses taking small or quick profits, and disheartening when you could have made so much more. Adhere to your trading plan.
3rd it is important to identify the move you are trying to get on board in advance. As an example, using Elliott Wave, are you trying to capture waves 1 through 5, or wave 3 of 5, or wave 1 of wave 3? This decision will have a major impact on your exit point, which is a problem for you. Even though the same strategy may be employed for managing each of these example moves, the game plan; the parameters used and your exit strategy may be quite different. The same basic strategy will need to be adjusted differently to allow you to ride out the larger corrections, if you are attempting to capture the majority of a large trend, verses exiting a smaller pullback of a wave of minor degree.
4th it is important identify technically significant areas on which to enter and exit. A moving average cross or crossover may be an indication to enter or exit a trade. The problem is these signals occur all the time, especially with the shorter moving averages. Taking or exiting a trade every time you get one of these signals is going to lead to failure rapidly. The key is to identify a technically significant area where the signal now becomes valid.
5th if you are getting stopped out a lot I suspect you are placing your stops at technically significant areas. When I enter a trade I never move my stops to the breakeven point. The reason is, in my trading plan, my entry point is a technically significant area, and the price is likely to test this area as the trade develops. I try to keep my stops close if possible and away from technically significant areas. Again it depends on what I am trying to accomplish.
6th It sounds like you may need a filtering system in place. Filters are objective parameters, reasons to keep you from taking a trade, based on your trading plan. At a minimum, you must be able to specifically define before entering a trade; what is it I am I trying to accomplish, why, and how. Many traders do not apply the same diligence as to why they should not take a so called “good” trade set up, a major mistake. Filtering will cost you some great trades, but if done correctly will keep you out of many more bad trades. It is not a perfect world. All you can do is try to make the best decision based on the information you have.
All this is easier said than done, but necessary to be successful.
