Where should I place my stop loss?

Ethan Walker Asked 12 days ago 3.1K views

I either place my stop too close and get stopped out, or too far and lose too much. How do I decide?

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For education only. This is not financial advice. Trading carries a high risk of loss.

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Best answer

Place the stop where your trade idea is proven wrong, not where you want to limit the loss to a certain amount.

  • Use market structure: beyond a recent swing low for a buy, or above a swing high for a sell.
  • Add some room using ATR, so normal noise does not stop you out.
  • Avoid placing it exactly on an obvious round number.

Then change the position size to fit that stop, not the other way around. And never move a stop further away after you enter. You can move it to reduce risk, but widening it is how small losses become large ones.

Ayesha RahmanRisk Management Answered 12 days ago
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ATR is a good helper. A common approach is to put the stop 1.5 to 2 times the ATR of your chart timeframe away from the entry, then adjust it to the nearest structure level.

Rahul VermaTechnical Analysis Answered 12 days ago
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