How to Let Your Profits Run in Forex // Ep. 16

In This Episode

• Why you need to know yourself first
• Things you need to deal with to figure out how to maximize profits
• Why traders have trouble getting back into a trade

Tips on How to Let Your Winners Run in Trading

If you're having difficulty sticking with winning trades, you're not alone. This is by far, one of the hardest things to do in trading.

So in this episode, we dig into why that is and solutions to stop that from happening.

Read the Transcript:

Hugh: Hi, Walter. Today we are going to talk about patience. Johnny wrote in and he asked, “I am having trouble sticking with profitable trades.” He made profits in some but I think he is really dealing with cutting his trades too short.

He feels he is cutting his trades too short, his profits too short and he is getting out a little too early. So, what would you say to that and what kind of tips would you have for him?

Walter: That is a common one. I’ll tell you a story. So I have a friend who’s a scalper and he trades the three-minute charts. He would trade the New York open. There’ll be plenty of days when he would be kicking himself because he would literally get in on the double top on a three-minute chart up the day.

What I said, “Dude, that is not your strategy. Your strategy is to make fifteen pips. That is how you’re trading.” It’s a missed opportunity, one of the biggest things for trading. I missed one last week.

I had a Swissy trade. All setup. I put in everything perfectly, my order and everything and it didn’t retrace enough. It was a sell limit. It didn’t retrace enough to get me in the Swissy and I watched it go literally in the next twenty-four hours. That’s the hard thing about trading.

I think you just needed to decide who you are going to be. If you are going to be the type of trader who bags those really big wins and that is what you are looking out on the charts and going, “Wow, I missed that” then you need to build that into your strategy.

If you are a three-minute chart trader and you want to occasionally get those big wins, maybe you take like two-thirds of your trade off when you hit the twenty pip target and then you trail the rest.

One out of every eight, you’ll get a nice big, fat win and that’ll pump up your average R. Trading is dealing with the missed opportunities; dealing with the emotions. Dealing with figuring out why you do certain things when you know you shouldn’t which is all psychology. Which we are talking about. Either build it in or just let it go. That’s what I would say.

Hugh: Hey there! I hope you find this episode useful. I just want to let you know that Walter and I give away something valuable every month that helps traders improve their skills. You can enter to win by simply leaving an iTunes review and leaving a comment on our YouTube videos.

At the end of each month, we'll look at the comments and reviews from the month and we'll pick a winner at random. Each comment and each review counts for one entry during the month that it's pitted.

So, if you're interested in that, be sure to enter after this podcast is over. Alright, back to the episode.

Hugh: I think a lot of that is also, you don’t think of another good opportunity will come along again. If you just keep in mind that there’s going to be another opportunity out there; there’s going to be another chance to make some money then you can just let this one go and take whatever you make. One R, two R or whatever your plan was and then not really obsessed about missing this one trade.

Walter: It’s so true. To follow up on that Swissy. The next couple of days, I had a New Zealand, Yen trade and I got in within two or three pips of the high of the day and sold. One of them went to where I wanted it to get in. The other one didn’t. It didn’t retrace enough.

So, that is exactly it. That is one of things I learned from my friend who was doing the three-minute scalping stuff. He would say that all the time. He would go, “There is always going to be another trade”. He’s really good about that. I guess that is easier when you are trading the three-minute charts.

Hugh: It’s true.

Walter: But trading the daily charts, you get eight signals a month or whatever and you’re like, “Well, there will be another one” to be or in another week or two weeks.

Hugh: In two weeks.

Walter: Yeah, exactly.

Hugh: That’s true. I think it also blinds you. If you get too down on it that you missed a trade, it also blinds you to another trade setup that could be happening on that same pair. That will really bring down your psychology and your profitability too.

Walter: You are right. That is a great point. It is also why when you think about it, I learned this from an old trader. He was saying that when you are in a trade and then you’re riding it out and then you finally get completely out of the trade, if you think about it, why did you get out of that trade?

For example, you bought the Pound and it went up and then you’ve got your signals and they all got you out of the trade, why won’t you just go short? Is there a difference between an exit signal and an entry signal? For some systems, there isn’t.

So he would say that the reason why traders have a hard time getting right back in is because they spent all their psychological energy on the trade and they kind of want to rest. I totally identify with that and I was like, “Well, that makes a lot sense.” I think that is what you are getting at. It’s kind of like part of that thing.

Hugh: You’re tired and you just want to take a break.

Walter: You don’t want to deal. Exactly.

Hugh: That’s a good point. Thanks, Walter.

Walter: Thanks.

Hugh: All the information in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not trading or investment advice.

Enter the Monthly Contest

We give away a trading prize every month, so be sure to enter to win.

You can win by doing one or more of the following:

• Leave a comment on YouTube
• Leave a review on iTunes

Each action counts for one entry in the month that it was posted. We will pick a winner at random from the entries that month.

The giveaways can include books, coaching sessions, trading tools, or surprise gifts.

It will usually be something that will help you improve your trading psychology. 

Listen to the Audio Version

Click the play button below to hear the audio-only version. You can also download the mp3 file below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

How to Get New Episodes of The Think Profit Podcast

You can get notified of new episodes of the podcast by subscribing to our email list, or subscribing via any of the major podcast platforms that can be found here.

If you enjoyed this episode, a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform is always greatly appreciated!

Thanks for listening and we hope that your trading is going well!