Scaling in position sizing

[Dua Yong Rew]

Anyone coded this type before?

Adding position till not exceeding maybe 2% risk of your capital

[Dua Yong Rew]

Scaling in – Not Averaging Down

Although fading the trend may not be the rule most retail traders wish to follow, it is the dealers’ second trick that can be of tremendous help to retail speculators. In his very informative book, The Market Makers Edge, Josh Lukeman writes, “Successful market makers have controlled the ego-based need to be absolutely correct. Because markets are constantly in motion, it is almost impossible to be exactly right on (in your entries).” Such a probative approach to the markets is at the heart of most successful professional trading. Dealers know full well that their first foray into the trade is often wrong. They rarely commit the full position amount on the first try.

One of the key differences between professionals and amateurs is that professionals scale into trades while amateurs average down. This statement may seem like clever wordplay, but it’s not. Let’s assume that both the professional and the amateur decide to risk two percent of their capital account on a particular trade. The professional knows full well that he will not be able to hit the exact entry point on his first attempt. Therefore, he may allocate only 0.3% of his capital to the first entry, 0.6% on the second and 1.2% to the third – and stop himself out at -2.7% away from original entry price (-2% risk).

On the other hand, the amateur will plow in with a full two-percent position, and then when the trade goes against him, he may decide to “double down again” and then average in yet a third time. At this point, the amateur has committed six percent of his capital to the trade, and if the trade continues to move against him, he will throw in his towel with a massive -12% loss (sum of -6%,-4% and -2% losses). Five disasters like that and the amateur loses 60 percent of his account. In a zero-sum game, he has just moved much closer to zero.