Why I Stopped Using a Fixed Take Profit — And Saw My Average Winner Jump 40%

Every trading book, course, and guru says the same thing: define your target before you enter. Pick your ratio—1.5R, 2R, whatever—set your limit order, and walk away.

It's sensible advice. It removes emotion from the equation. It gives you a clear exit plan.

But what if that fixed target is actually capping your potential?

A trader on r/Daytrading recently shared something that challenged conventional wisdom. After 18 months of religiously setting fixed 1.5R targets, they tried something that felt completely wrong: they stopped using take profit targets entirely for 30 days.

The results were surprising.

The Frustrating Week That Changed Everything

The turning point came during a particularly frustrating week. Three separate trades hit the fixed 1.5R target to the tick—and then reversed hard in the trader's favor.

Not occasionally. Three times in one week.

Each time, they'd closed at 1.5R and watched another 3R of profit sit there, unclaimed.

Sound familiar?

If you've been trading for any length of time, you've probably experienced this. You set your target, it gets hit, you pat yourself on the back for following your plan—and then watch the trade continue without you.

The 30-Day Experiment

So this trader tried something different. Instead of fixed targets, they:

• Stayed in the trade longer
• Trailed their stop manually
• Closed when momentum clearly stalled rather than at a predetermined level

The reality? The exact opposite.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Here's what the data showed after three months:

And the monthly P&L? More than doubled.

The fixed target had been cutting off trades that had momentum and could run. By focusing so heavily on "taking profits consistently," they'd built a ceiling into their strategy that didn't need to be there.

Why Fixed Targets Can Hurt You

The logic behind fixed targets makes sense in theory. You know exactly where you're getting out. You can calculate your expected value. You remove the decision-making from the exit.

But markets don't move in neat R-multiples.

The Problem with Arbitrary Levels

When you set a 1.5R or 2R target, you're essentially saying: "I predict the market will move exactly this far, and then I should exit."

But how often does price actually stop at your arbitrary level?

What actually happens is one of three scenarios:

• Price hits your target and keeps going — You left money on the table
• Price reverses before your target — You give back open profit
• Price hits your target exactly — Congratulations, you predicted the future (rarely)

The Psychology of "Taking Profits"

There's also a psychological trap in the fixed target approach.

When you set a target, you're focused on reaching it. But reaching 1.5R isn't actually the goal of trading—maximizing expectancy is.

A system that captures 2R on some trades and 5R on others when momentum is strong will outperform a system that always exits at 1.5R, even if the win rate is identical.

When Trailing Stops Work Best

This approach isn't universal. Here's when letting winners run makes sense:

Good Candidates for Trailing Stops

• Momentum-based setups — Breakouts, trend continuations, ICT displacement plays
• Higher timeframe trades — Swing trades or trades held beyond the first impulse
• Low-frequency strategies — When you're not taking 10+ trades per day
• Trending market conditions — When the market is actually moving directionally

When Fixed Targets Still Make Sense

• Scalping — When you're in and out in seconds or minutes
• News trading — When you're capturing a specific reaction
• Range-bound markets — When there's a clear ceiling/floor
• High-frequency strategies — When you need consistent, repeatable exits

How to Implement Trailing Stop Exits

If you want to try this approach, here's a practical framework:

Option 1: Structure-Based Trailing

Move your stop to protect profit when price creates new structure:

• Enter your trade with your normal stop loss
• When price breaks a significant swing high/low, move your stop to just beyond the previous swing
• Continue trailing as new structure forms
• Exit when your trailing stop gets hit

Option 2: ATR-Based Trailing

Use Average True Range to trail your stop dynamically:

• Set your initial stop at 2-3 ATR from entry
• As price moves in your favor, move your stop to stay 2-3 ATR behind current price
• Never move your stop further away, only closer

Option 3: Time-Based Exit with Trailing

Combine time and price:

• Hold for a minimum time (e.g., 30 minutes)
• After the minimum hold, begin trailing your stop
• If momentum stalls before minimum time, exit manually

The Hardest Part: Watching Profit Disappear

Here's what nobody tells you about trailing stops: you will give back open profit. A lot of it.

You'll watch a trade go +$300, trail your stop, and get stopped out at +$150.

This feels terrible.

Your brain will scream at you: "You should have just taken profit at +$300!"

But here's what your brain doesn't remember: all the times that +$300 turned into +$500 or +$800 because you let it run.

The math works out in your favor over time, even though individual trades will feel like you left money on the table.

What About Prop Firm Rules?

If you're trading a prop firm account, you might be thinking: "I can't afford to give back profit. I need to hit my target and protect my drawdown."

Fair point. But consider this:

If your average winner increases by 40%, you need roughly 30% fewer winners to make the same monthly profit. That's fewer trades, fewer commissions, and less exposure to the market.

For prop firm traders, this can actually reduce risk because you're in the market less often.

The Prop Firm Trailing Protocol

Here's how to adapt trailing stops for prop firm accounts:

• Set a break-even trigger — Once at 1R profit, move stop to break-even
• Trail after break-even — Now you're playing with house money
• Use structure as your guide — Trail behind swing points, not arbitrary levels

The Automation Advantage

One reason traders struggle with letting winners run is the emotional toll.

Watching profit evaporate is psychologically painful. Your finger hovers over the close button. You second-guess yourself.

This is where automation becomes invaluable.

An automated strategy doesn't feel the anxiety of watching a +$400 trade become a +$200 trade. It doesn't panic when momentum slows. It just follows the rules.

Whether you're using a trailing stop algorithm or a fully automated system like StealthScalp, removing yourself from the exit decision is often the key to actually capturing those extended moves.

→ See how StealthScalp automates exits without the psychological drama

The Ceiling You Didn't Know You Built

Here's the uncomfortable truth:

If you've been trading profitably with fixed targets, you might never know how much money you're leaving on the table.

Your strategy "works." You're green most months. Everything seems fine.

But underneath that success is a ceiling—an invisible barrier you've created by telling the market exactly when you're getting out.

The trader from Reddit spent 18 months following the conventional advice. They were profitable. But they were leaving 40% of their potential winners behind.

Should You Ditch Fixed Targets?

This isn't a blanket recommendation. Fixed targets work for many traders and many strategies.

But if any of these apply to you, it might be worth experimenting:

• Your win rate is solid but your P&L feels capped
• You often watch trades continue significantly after your exit
• You trade momentum or trend-based setups
• Your strategy has a natural tendency for extended moves

You might discover, like the Reddit trader did, that the "right" advice was actually holding you back.

The Uncomfortable Truth About "Taking Profits"

"Take profits" sounds responsible. "Let winners run" sounds greedy.

But mathematically, they can mean the same thing.

Taking profits at 1.5R when the trade could have gone to 4R is leaving money on the table.

Letting a winner run to 4R and getting stopped out at 2.5R is taking profits—just not at the first opportunity.

The question isn't whether to take profits. It's when.

And for many traders, the answer might be: later than you think.

• Fixed take profit targets can create an artificial ceiling on your potential
• One trader saw a 40% increase in average winners by switching to trailing stops
• Monthly P&L more than doubled with almost identical win rate
• Trailing stops work best for momentum-based, trend-following strategies
• The psychological challenge is watching open profit disappear
• Automation removes the emotional burden of exit decisions