Why close position after a little gain? Is it also affecting you?

[Oshosondy]

As bitcoin fall to $58040 yesterday, I opened a long position using $250 on an exchange and also using $50 on another exchange. As I gain little amount yesterday, I closed the position before I slept for the $250 which has been a problem for me because any little profit, I will close the position.

I saw the $50 long position gained more today as bitcoin went above $60000 again and it was around $60600 when I later closed the position because I do not know if bitcoin price will fall back.

This has happened to me in the past. Good examples was the time that bitcoin first fall below $60000, it later when above $70000 and even went to almost $83000 but I sold when bitcoin was $62500, it rose far more.

If you are a trader, are you able to successfully be a swing trader or you are like me that will only make small amount positive PnL and close the position?

Many traders are affected like me despite that only little amount of money is used to open the position in a way that I can still be able to average it up to $1000 if the price goes south.

[Zaguru12]

Many traders are affected like me despite that only little amount of money is used to open the position in a way that I can still be able to average it up to $1000 if the price goes south.

I think almost all traders ard either victims of this or where victims of this, personally I have said this is the most common thing that differentiate different traders from each other, like those who make it out big and those who do not. It’s for me a psychological problem, because take from example you’re a very good analysis and have shown that by this analysis and the rest but someone like me wouldn’t be as good as you’re would be earning more profit than you because of having good psychology to be able to hold for long. That’s why to be psychology takes 75% of a trader success.

Personally I have and still get affected by this too, sometimes I will force close early when the market is against me and later I will see it go into my favour or sometimes be like you and close a winning trade early and would be feeling bad later that I could have made more.

Even though little capital been used sometimes doesn’t matter I think it’s actually a case too.

What I do now though in a winning trade is if my entry is $60000 and then the market goes above like $62500 which I emotional to close it there but still believe it might go further up, what I do is to actually set my stop loss at that $62500 and then allow the market run up, this way if the market decides to reverse it will still close at that $62500 and I will still have my little profit

[Cryptmuster]

I haven't traded with leverage for a very long time, these days all of my trading is focused on the spot market. I've also come to prefer taking even small profits, and I especially avoid leaving shortnterm trades open overnight. I'd rather close a trade, lock in the profit, and get a good night's sleep than wake up several times during the night just to check where the price is.

[EarnOnVictor]

Why did I act this way or that way has been as old as the market trading itself, but no one has had any solution to it, and no one will ever have any solution to it. Do you know why? The market is not certain and no trader or any trading system can be perfect at trading it.

The market is too dynamic for any trader to always have that perfect risk/management or settings, which calls for contentment in our trading. Just build your own trading system/pattern and adhere strictly to it. This will not hurt, because you will have the days that it would favour you, just as you would have the days that it will not favour you. With time, the average results would be worth it.

[BitMaxz]

I don't know what strategy or plan you have, but that's a good decision, honestly, to immediately take a profit even below the risk amount because you are against the trend.

I've had similar experiences before; I stopped doing it because the profit target isn't worth it if you're going against the trend, but if it shows a reversal signal and is supported by traders, you might be lucky enough to see the same scenario you described above.
As a trader, I have the discipline to avoid going against the trend with the current price action. I wait for a slight pump and wait for a momentum change before going to entry. What I'm looking for is a short position. As of now I don't see any potential entry; we are approaching the weekend, and Monday is my target because, from what I see here, the market might grab some liquidity first above $60k before it drops again.

Swing traders do not do that; they have a target price or they do trail stops instead of manually closing the position.

[Stalker22]

~

It is totally natural, and believe me, everybody begins just like you have done.  Subconsciously, you were not afraid to lose that $50 since it felt like pocket change and hence you let it breath.  You suffocated the $250 position since it felt "heavy".

Yes, there are people who do swing trading and are really good at it, but it wasnt their instinctive ability that made them so.  They became successful because they came up with hard rules to remove any emotions from the process.eliminate emotions.

[shinratensei_]

I'm sure 95% of traders acts that way and it's normal. Closing position prematurely is pretty common occurrence and I did it too. I might even say, 90% of the time I closed my position was done prematurely because one simple thing, I can't know the future. As long as I'm in profit that's okay for me. Better than losing .

[AVE5]

If you are a trader, are you able to successfully be a swing trader or you are like me that will only make small amount positive PnL and close the position?

Many traders are affected like me despite that only little amount of money is used to open the position in a way that I can still be able to average it up to $1000 if the price goes south.

I can bet that no trader makes profits to the moon were they will satisfied except for when they JUST opted out, sold and their bitcoin with the profits made and suddenly the market went contrary to the direction that they'd had loss their position if they held some but longer.
Such scenario's is usually appreciated because you could testify it that greed would had caused you the loss.
So I think you should find it satisfying with your little profits made and if you can keep going like that consistently you're definitely going to be on huge profits before the end of the day.

[jcojci]

I don't mind closing my trading with small profit because I avoid to be greedy and I feels it is better to take small profits than waiting for big profit while that is uncertainty. That just makes me get in the trap because no one know if the price still increases.

I can search for the entry price and start trading so that will not be a problem. The thing is I can still make a profit and not lose. We can search for profit other time but if we lose, we might difficult to accepts.

[Karl_3000]

I don't mind closing my trading with small profit because I avoid to be greedy and I feels it is better to take small profits than waiting for big profit while that is uncertainty. That just makes me get in the trap because no one know if the price still increases.

There are some traders that are risking much when they are losing than when they are winning. You will see them not closing the position when losing and their fund used for the trading will be liquidated but when they are making profit, they will have little gain and close the position. There are occasion that earning little is good but not all the time. I prefer swing trading among all trading but I will still continue to do what is best which is holding which I consider as the longest position.

[Yorubek]

I don't mind closing my trading with small profit because I avoid to be greedy and I feels it is better to take small profits than waiting for big profit while that is uncertainty. That just makes me get in the trap because no one know if the price still increases.

I can search for the entry price and start trading so that will not be a problem. The thing is I can still make a profit and not lose. We can search for profit other time but if we lose, we might difficult to accepts.

Greed is aroused by making or losing too much money, but those who finally control their greed or emotions and enter and exit the market at the right time are not the only ones who fall prey to the trap. In reality, greed always leads a person to destruction, so if you are excessively greedy while trading, the amount of loss can increase a lot. I think it is better to exit the market with a small profit by trading, as the amount of profit will be less, but the possibility of losing money is less. Therefore, by waiting for a long time in the hope of making more money the possibility of losing money can increase.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

If you are a trader, are you able to successfully be a swing trader or you are like me that will only make small amount positive PnL and close the position?

Many traders are affected like me despite that only little amount of money is used to open the position in a way that I can still be able to average it up to $1000 if the price goes south.

Many people experience this situation, closing a trade when they make a small profit, but they continue to hold on even when they incur large losses. Most of us are ready to hold on to our swings when the market changes direction, but we often become impatient and no longer follow our trading strategy when we see small profits, leading us to close the trade hastily. In some cases, it's not the strategy that's at fault, but rather our psychological issues due to a lack of discipline and a rush to exit a trade.

We also don't consistently set our leverage and constantly change it every time we enter a trade, resulting in more losses than profits. I believe this condition is influenced by a lack of discipline and being too greedy to achieve large profits in trading, when in fact, this is what causes problems in our trading.

[ContentWriter]

Trading demands discipline and discipline in trading comes from training oneself and experience. When you set up a trade, it demands discipline to see it through, although a lot depends on your objectives. Trading with small amounts means that your profit level would be small but drawdowns could be devastating from a psychological point of view. So the right approach should be to have a predetermined entry and exit strategy and never deviate from it. This is the only way to ensure that you're trading according to plan.

Why would you take profit and regret later? - Fear. Why would you not take profit when the opportunity came and regret it? - Greed.

The fact is that there are many people who are trading without a roadmap. So they neither grow their capitals or grow their discipline. Granted, many people are distracted such as with forum posting and offline work, but if you must be a trader, you must train your mind against greed and fear even when there's money to be made of lost.

[Rruchi man]

~

As I said already, when you encounter a lot of losses and winning is not something that you’re very used to, It is very normal for you to quickly always cash out on your wins just so that you can ensure that it is a win.

If you become very sure of your analysis, it may give you the confidence to be able to hold a trade longer than you usually do because you’re sure of the market direction.

Taking profits too quickly is clear evidence of a weak psychology.

[boyptc]

You swing traded and that's okay for you to take that little profit. I think the best mindset here is about thinking like this "profit is profit".

Because not all gets that profit when they swing trade and instead, they're having losses. So if you want to have that thought of little profit and you're not content.

Just take that first and do better on your next trade. Much better to be content of having that small gains than having small loss.

[Lida93]

This why you must have a target of the profit you want to make by deciding it before you take a position so that by the time you would be thinking of closing your trade, you're either at your target profit or very close to it. You don't get to regret anything later on, except for a greedy trader that is never contented with whatever profit he made in any single trade.
For sometimes now I haven't being trading more often again but each time I am able to trade on spot, so long as I close my trade in profit am satisfied with the amount as it's always better than loss.

[YOSHIE]

Many traders are affected like me despite that only little amount of money is used to open the position in a way that I can still be able to average it up to $1000 if the price goes south.

@Oshosondy, I think you definitely know why people trading in the crypto market end their trades, even though they know they will make little profit.

That's the crux of the problem, if in trading a greedy attitude arises that's when destruction comes, in trading activities we really test our patience, the small profits we get really test our sincerity.

Many of us who carry out trading activities are not satisfied with small profits, so they want to get bigger ones, that's when the challenge of facing losses is tested, for me closing small profits is better, rather than suffering big losses.

[Zaguru12]

This why you must have a target of the profit you want to make by deciding it before you take a position so that by the time you would be thinking of closing your trade, you're either at your target profit or very close to it. You don't get to regret anything later on, except for a greedy trader that is never contented with whatever profit he made in any single trade.

Yes profit target is actually a good one but let’s be clear you cannot just blindly take a profit target like maybe you decide that you want to make $100 from a trade or that you want to take profit at particular price. Profit target should be gotten from your analysis, from example in a long position set up, your profit target should be a region where you think that the market has a resistance and will stop at. Or in a sell (short) set up the take profit is where you think will be a support region or price then your take profit will be before that price triggers.

This is actually a great idea though but still Profit target is actually not entirely a solution because most people still do not actually have the psychology to actually hold even if they set profit target, because all this things still actually needs one to be able to hold. And I think that’s the bone of contention that the OP is actually asking about.

[ZAINmalik75]

If you are a trader, are you able to successfully be a swing trader or you are like me that will only make small amount positive PnL and close the position?

Many traders are affected like me despite that only little amount of money is used to open the position in a way that I can still be able to average it up to $1000 if the price goes south.

I think we all have experienced that at some point in our trading journeys, however, if we think positively, it's not a bad thing at all, because at the end of the day, you didn't lose anything but made some profits, and that's a good thing because no one knows where exactly the market is going to go next, so if you are getting some profits, it's better that you secure the profits instead of regretting it later that you should have closed it earlier.

It has happeend to be a lot of times when I wouldn't take the profits I'm already getting with the mindset that the market might go higher than this and then I will get better returns, just like how you are saying, but then the market would take a U-turn, and start going the opposite way, and now instead of profits, my position turns into minus PNL, and then I will have to wait again for the market to go up so that I can close it, sometimes you might even get your position liquidated after that and then you will regret it so badly. This is why it's better to take profits whenever you can.