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I believe the objective of all trading rules is to manage risk. As such, daily targets are important, but only insofar as it helps the trader manage their risk profile. I will state up front, however, that I very firmly believe that a daily targets should not be solely (nor primarily) profit based. On any successful trade, I think we can all agree that you would never completely exit a trade just because you’ve made “too much” money. However, smart trade management tells you that you should scale out of a successful trade to lock in profits and manage downside risk. You should also move your stop-loss point, as appropriate, to avoid profit slippage on any shares you still carry. And eventually, you will exit the trade when the technical indicators dictate…and not(!) based on our achieved P&L. Likewise, I think traders should set a daily target. Not to specifically tell you when to stop trading, but to set a risk parameter that will allow you to reduce downside risk. Personally, here’s how I do it. Before each trading day I set my daily trading target along with my max loss target for the day and my max loss per trade. For illustration, let’s assume those values are as follows: Daily profit target: $500 Max daily loss: $300 Max loss per trade: $100 Minimum per trade risk-to-reward ratio: 1:2 * *(note that this value rarely changes) This tells me that on this day, I cannot, at any point in time, have more than 3 more losing trades than I have winning trades or I will hit my max loss and have to stop trading. The daily max loss is unalterable once set. No exceptions. However, the daily profit target is a guideline only, and here’s the rules I use to manage my risk: 1. Throughout the day (approximately hourly) I self-assess on how tired I am. If at any point I determine I am too tired to be effective, I will force myself to stop trading no matter the time of day or what profit level I am at. This, of course, is much easier said than done. But, through years of practice I have gotten very good at self-regulation and am able to put down my tools and stop trading. 2. Equally, I will also assess how distracted I am. If at any point I determine I have become distracted from the markets for any reason (emails, family, the chatroom, YouTube(!), etc.) and am not “in the zone” for trading, I will take a forced break of a minimum of 10 minutes (up to 2 hours) depending on the situation and time of day. I will then re-assess whether I can, and am willing(!), to re-focus on the markets to make some successful trades. If not, my trading day is done. If I am good to go, I will look at my P&L. If I am over my daily target, then I will not re-enter the market. If I am red but not a max loss, I will stop trading. If I am green but below my target I will consider resuming trading. My reasoning for this is that if I allowed myself to get distracted once today, it’s more likely to happen again if I am over target and feeling comfortable than if I still need to hustle to hit my goal. If I am red and got distracted, then I am obviously not in the game and any continuation of my trading will very likely lead to me hitting max loss. 3. If I am over my target, but not more than 1 loss over (i.e. between $500-600), then I will reduce my trade size by 50% until: a) I have achieved a profit of more than $600 where I can return to full trade size if I like, b) my profit dips below $500 and I must stop trading, or c) I remain between $500-600 through 2 more trades when I will also require myself to stop trading as my trades are obviously not achieving their individual risk-to-reward targets. 4. If I am over my target of $500 but not yet at 2x my target (i.e. $1000 in this example), then I can continue to trade until either: a) I have 2 consecutive losses, or b) I come within 1 loss (i.e. $100) of my $500 initial target. In either case, I must stop trading immediately 5. If I have had an exceptional day and am more than 2x my target, then I allow myself to risk any amount over $1000, if I feel like it. However, note that based on my fixed daily rules, I must still NEVER exceed my maximum loss (risk) per trade of $100. If I slide under $1100 (i.e less that 1 loss away from 2x target), then I must stop trading immediately. The above rules cover most scenarios. I hope this wasn’t too convoluted. It makes perfect sense to me and because I have been applying them for so long I am able to assess the above rules in seconds throughout the day, almost automatically. However, I know they might seem complex, especially when seeing them for the first time. At the outset of this article, I mentioned that I believe targets should not solely be profit based. Embedded in the above rules are my personal ‘targets’ on effectiveness, focus, risk, and fun! Yes, fun! Rule 5 is completely fun based. I allow myself to play with any ‘extra’ money, if I so choose. If that day it feels more fun to keep the money than to trade it, I will. However, if it’ll be more fun to keep trading, I can…as long as I stick within my rules thus limiting my risk exposure. Also note that rules 1 and 2 are done hourly throughout the day, irrespective of my P&L. They precede any consideration for how profitable I am on the day. As a final note, I have the habit of not looking at my daily P&L unless absolutely necessary. I used to stare at it constantly and it led to some bad behaviours. So, now I keep it hidden so as not to distract me or affect my decision making on any given trade. (I do however, look at my P&L on any open trade). So, how do I know my P&L and apply my rules if I can’t see where I’m at? I’ve found that I generally have a pretty good feel for where I’m at. I know if I’ve had a good or a bad day. I’ll usually only check when I’ve either taken a distraction interrupt, if I believe I am near max loss (that one is usually easy), or if I’m not sure if I am just above or below break-even. If I’ve made it to lunch without those happening, then I’ll check before I get up for lunch and apply my rules as appropriate.

I need to stop after hitting a certain "number" - I am not as yet mentally strong enough to overcome FOMO, revenge, boredom trading etc. 3 examples, I went live recently so relevant This week Day 1 - Made great money over $1000, ended at $700 but could have ended at 1000 This week Day 2 - Was up 230 than down to 0 than up to 280 - lots of commissions, should have stopped at net 200 vs the net 100 i made..... This week Day 3 (Today) - Up 120 decided to stop than figured was in wrong DAS instance and in Simulator not live - Revenge Trade it all back and some plus commissions.... So all 3 days, I should have stopped, no need to get into details, this are live examples....

I'm a new trader here and still in the sim. Please forgive me if my example is off in any way. I recently explained the difference between day trading and gambling to a relative of mine. I talked mainly about risk/reward but the example also applies to daily max loss and profit target. Simple put, I explained that there are two basic outcomes: you either lose money or make money. But unlike gambling you have much greater control over those two outcomes. When making a trading or sitting down at your station, you accept these two scenarios: you will loss X amount of money or you will gain X amount of money. (of course you can breakeven, or fall anywhere in the between, but this explanation was for someone who had very little knowledge of trading, so I kept it simple.) These apply to both a single trade as well as the day. Setting a profit target takes away all the uncertainty, stress, and emotion, at least for me. The key is setting a realistic goal based on your skill level. Then all the other pieces such as share size, risk/reward, and strategy can be scaled relative to your goal.

As a new trader, it is a challenge to walk away once the goal is met, and I debated with myself what is the most effective way to learn the market, price behavior, and developing efficient and effective skills. I asked myself, should I be more liberal with my trades, even if this means over-trading? By doing this, I can learn price behavior, recognizing and taking entries through "reps" (the more I trade the more experienced I will be)? Athletes take this approach to fine tune their game. On the other hand, I asked myself, should I be more conservative with my trades, ending my day with a profit goal/loss, even if this means decreasing the exposure I have to the market? In the end I opted for the latter. I believe being more conservative mimics the behavior of trading in a live account, and reduces the likelihood that I will develop bad habits and inconsistencies. I played video games competitively throughout my life, playing in tournaments and leagues for money. I find that there are many similarities that day trading has with competitive gaming and sports. One thing I try to really avoid during competitions and day-trading is stat checking because the more I check my stats, the worse off I am. Mentally, I feel that when I lend my attention to my stats, my performance decreases because I take away attention from the game at hand. Even behaviors such as celebrating and complimenting myself early can impact my performance (conditioning). In the end, I minimize my account window and focus purely on trading as much as I can. As a researcher in psychology, I understand that there are many psychological theories that may explain this. Research has demonstrates the effects of mental load and fatigue, inattentional blindness on performance (Boksem et al., 2005; Hyman et al., 2010). As traders, we are required to process a significant amount information at once that will ultimately inform our decision. We constantly monitor price action, Level 2, historical evidence, indicators, emotions, etc. Processing this much information requires a significant mental load, which our brains can withstand so much of. After analyzing pre-market behavior and technicals, and taking our profits after analyzing opening action, we are mentally fatigued, despite our motivation to continue trading. Once fatigued by our initial trades, we stop perceiving things as clearly. Mix mental fatigue with high emotions (prolonged sympathetic activation), we might be easy to lose sight of details and misinterpret information, resulting in potential drops in performance. While I believe that trades are independent of each other, I don't think our perception and biases are independent. I believe there are carryover effects that leak from one trade to another. We bring our biases from one successful trade, and might apply it to another trade, for better or worse. For example, in one trade, we might have take a trade on a VWAP hold that proves successful. In the next trade, we might see similar VWAP hold pattern, take the trade, and lose. Maybe we didn't perceive the lack of volume in the second trade? Whatever it may be, we may have been highly influenced by the first trade, which may have distorted our perception in the trades, ignoring details that might indicate otherwise. In the end, while I believe that there is a correlation between # of trades and performance, I don't think there is a single factor that contributes to decreases in performance, but, rather, all factors collectively contribute to losses from overtrading. There are other things such as time-of-day, lack of volume, proportions of retail traders vs. institutional later in the day, etc, that may also have an effect. Maybe an internal study could be conducted on this. I'd be happy to volunteer

10 Best Reasons to Quit While Ahead The discussions is whether it is best to stop trading, even very early in the day, if you have made “your money” (whatever that is for you). For me, a relative newbie (just went live 2 weeks ago after 8 months in Sim) the answer is YES - better to stop. Here are my reasons why: Part of Risk Management - right there with setting stops (hard or mental) and putting controls on your account. Don’t let “trading” become an “addiction.” Keep it in moderation in your overall lifestyle. 8. The mathematical laws of probability - even though every trade is independent, odds favor a neutral outcome over a lot of events. Even if the mathematical odds mentioned in 8 are not activated, the psychological knowledge of this likelihood may play on you in the background of your mind. Time of Day - If you have made some money, some time has passed, and the longer you stay in, the more conditions change. So, whatever type of trade you like best will wane as time goes on and you will need to be thinking about a different strategy, which can be challenging and add to likelihood of diminishing returns. 5. If you do stay…. - It is very natural to want to have another good trade, and there is nothing wrong with staying, but if you do, make a change to your rules. For example, only take the very best setups, or for experimenting switch to simulator, or do NOT let yourself give back more than X percent of your gains (I suggest 10%). Then you can still walk away proud and yet have tried to improve on the already good situation. Helps you stay with A+ trades - If you adopt the suggestions in #5, then you only allow yourself to take A+ trades if you do stay because Who wants to give back money? This general concept of cautious selection of trades will spread naturally into the times before you “make your money” - not just after you do it. 3. Minimize self-loathing - If you have not felt this after giving back what you worked so hard to earn, then you are not yet trading - even in Sim. It is universal. But, it does not have to continue to happen. This mistake does not have to be repeated. Try waling away a couple of times with some good early profits and notice how good it feels for the rest of the day. More time to learn - If you love trading, you probably also love reading about trading, watching videos about trading, thinking about trading strategies, etc. So, just because you have stopped trading for the day, does not mean you can not be engaged in other exciting trading activities. Have time and better energy for your journal and other trader improvement activities. AND, the number 1 reason to stop trading after making money is: RESPECT and PROTECT your account and live to trade many more days. Now, if I can only listen to myself….. Regards, Emily

Hello Fellow Traders, I completely agree with Andrew's philosophy of shutting down after reaching profit goal. I, just like many others have kept on trading after meeting my goal and ended up losing money. I think it's human nature to continue doing something that you are doing good at. This stands for many things like a game, or solving a problem, you just want to keep doing it. It's not always your mind that is driving you to keep going, it's the adrenaline, the thought of making more money and exceeding your goal, and that is all at your fingertips. This is why I feel Andrew is on the leading edge teaching. This career is one that requires calmness and clear thinking, not inspirational decisions based on emotion. Only those who can stay in a calm state of mind and base their decisions on data and what they can have reason for will be successful at this career (you should treat it as one in order to be serious about it). I could be the poster child for this subject. I had lost a lot of money making inspirational decisions. Not proud of it but I lost over $22k on IQ, it's why I call it the DEVIL. I was a stubborn one and couldn't believe that it took me so long to learn my lesson, to shut down after I met my goal. Since I have put the practice into action, my trading has been so much better and I have recouped my $22k little by little. I know some lessons have to be experienced to believe. Don't do that with this one. Just think if we all did what we were told without experimenting and finding out on our own. We, or at least, I would be so much better off. Cheers, Gary Scicluna

Toan, try changing the Global Default Order Configuration: Go to Setup > Order Templates For Q---Nasdaq, change Account in drop down Hit Apply For N---NYSE, change Account in drop down Hit "Apply to all exchanges" Hit "Apply" If that still doesn't work, for each Montage: Right-click the order entry area > Order Template Check Use Global Default