Profit target
A profit target is the price where you plan to take the trade off. You set it before you enter, from the next level on the chart.
In depth
The target comes from the chart, not from a wish. Find the next obstacle above your entry: a prior high, a gap, a merged band. That is where sellers are waiting, and that is where you get paid.
Buy at 100 with a stop at 99. If the next resistance is 102.50, you risk 1 to make 2.50. If the next level is 100.50 instead, the trade is not worth taking. Skip it. Many traders also carry a target for the whole day. A common one is a fifth of the money they put at risk.
Why it matters
Without a target you exit on feeling, which usually means small winners and big losers. A target set in advance also tells you whether the trade is worth taking at all. If the next level is closer than your stop, there is nothing to enter.
TraderLog shows whether your exits paid. The stats page reports average winner against average loser, profit factor and expectancy. Automatic tags flag the trades where you gave back an open profit. That is what a missed exit looks like.
Frequently asked questions
Only for a reason on the chart. Moving it because the trade feels good turns a plan into a guess.
It happens. Some traders take part off a little early, near the level rather than exactly at it.
Keep your Profit target trades on the record in TraderLog
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