Trading Strategies

How I manage Gold trades: minimum SL, partial TPs in R:R, break-even and trailing

12 November 2026, 09:55
Istvan Gyarfas
Istvan Gyarfas
0
16

Most traders spend a lot of time on entries – and then manage the open trade by feeling. On XAUUSD this is expensive: a missing stop loss, a take profit that is never hit, or a stop that is moved too late can turn a good entry into a loss.

Here is the management logic I use, step by step. It works the same whether the trade was opened manually, on the phone or by another Expert Advisor.

1. Always a minimum stop loss
Every position gets a stop loss of at least 80 pips on Gold (1 pip = 0.10). If a trade has no SL or a tighter one, it is widened to the minimum. This distance defines the risk "R" of the trade.

2. Partial take-profits in R:R
Instead of one fixed TP, the position is closed in parts:

  • TP1 at 1:1 – close part of the position
  • TP2 at 1:2 – close the next part
  • TP3 at 1:3 – final target (also placed as broker TP, so it works even if the terminal is offline)

3. Break-even after TP1
As soon as TP1 is reached, the stop loss moves to entry plus a small buffer. From this point the remaining position is risk-free.

4. Trailing stop
After a defined profit in pips, the stop follows the price at a fixed distance (alternatively ATR, swing or candle high/low). Strong moves are not cut off too early.

5. Tests
I tested this on a demo account with real ticks. Important: trade management does not create an edge by itself – the result still depends on the entries. But it makes risk consistent and removes emotional decisions.

I built this logic into an on-chart tool for MetaTrader 5 with a clickable dashboard (every function can be switched ON/OFF and adjusted with -/+). Details are on my MQL5 profile.

Questions or ideas on how you manage your trades? Feel free to comment below.

#xauusd, trailing stop, Risk Reward, Trade Management, break even