Quick Poll : Targets

A place to discuss anything.

Should your profit target be set ...

Daily
7
9%
Weekly
9
12%
Monthly
13
17%
Biannually
1
1%
Annually
4
5%
No target
35
47%
Undecided
4
5%
This thread informed my choice or changed my mind
2
3%
 
Total votes: 75
Kalumpus
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:04 pm

I've a daily mark, in relation to how many markets there are. Above that mark I feel I've done well & below not so well. After 100,000+ markets doing the same thing there are not many surprises.
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Kafkaesque
Posts: 886
Joined: Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:20 am

Euler wrote:
Wed May 09, 2018 2:55 pm
Say you need to make £100 a day and you are on £10 with two races left?

Setting a target can force your hand psychologically. If the markets are rubbish, there is no way you can magically make them better. So trying to 'catch up' is a nightmare scenario and can put a lot of pressure on just at the moment you don't need it.

Conversely, if you having a great day and are really in zone, then stopping when you have hit your target is a perverse idea.

Longer term, to take pressure off your trading. Set a target over the longest time period possible. Say you need to make £1000. £1000 a day is unrealistic apart from an elite trader. £1000 a month on 1000 races is much more realistic at £1 a race. So the timescale can have a massive impact on your mentality and target.
Great subject to bring up, and some good shouts already. Some of the comments so far are at odds what how I would think of and define target, with the above being the best example, even if it's otherwise sound advice.

Thus, just to make sure we aren't talking about different things, without confused souls such as myself realizing it, can we quickly define it. Is it.....

a) A set amount which you will "chase" to reach, especially towards the end of days, and perhaps even stop once reached to avoid dipping below.
b) A set amount which you deem to be realistically achieveable, if you keep your workload and disciplin up, but can be adjusted if they turn out to be unrealistic for whatever reason (not counting lack of work ethic and disciplin).

I use targets a lot and always have, but only, only, only in terms of "b)" and never "a)". Maybe it's just the language barrier and/or trading lingo that's got me in a tangle here, and you guys would define b) as something other than target?
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Derek27
Posts: 23471
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:44 am
Location: UK

... or c) a measurement of success but nothing you will chase or allow to affect your trading.
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Kafkaesque
Posts: 886
Joined: Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:20 am

Derek27 wrote:
Wed May 09, 2018 10:51 pm
... or c) a measurement of success but nothing you will chase or allow to affect your trading.
That's something different entirely though isn't it, as what you're suggesting as post-trade, rather than pre-trade. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean by measurement?
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Derek27
Posts: 23471
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:44 am
Location: UK

By measurement of success I mean if you achieve your predefined target you have succeeded and if you don't you've failed.
Nero Tulip
Posts: 686
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:29 pm

Kafkaesque wrote:
Wed May 09, 2018 10:19 pm


b) A set amount which you deem to be realistically achieveable, if you keep your workload and disciplin up, but can be adjusted if they turn out to be unrealistic for whatever reason (not counting lack of work ethic and disciplin).

I use targets a lot and always have, but only, only, only in terms of "b)" and never "a)". Maybe it's just the language barrier and/or trading lingo that's got me in a tangle here, and you guys would define b) as something other than target?

b) is more akin to what I mentioned as a more sensible way of having a target, if you feel it serves to motivate you in a positive way towards making right decisions, I think it's all good. Peter's post you quoted said exactly what I was trying to get at, when the target begins to outrank the decision making process, that's trouble. I don't think b) is that..

I can sometimes do similar, say I *hope to make x amount for the year, but will let my strategy play out and deliver whatever it delivers... the real trouble normally begins when I'm on a good run, and I extrapolate what my current profit rate might equate to at end of year, it never fails to initiate a harsh downturn...It's human nature in many ways, it's a hard game, and I think probably, it's our old friend dopamine that loves setting up targets of all different kinds. Which is why I try to reinforce healthy targets related to doing things technically correct, or working on being focused etc.
FrogThimble
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:26 pm

I've started to set myself a daily target now. The purpose isn't to say that I should gain that amount each day but more to say that *if* I do happen to win that amount on any day then I can stop trading for that day at that point and go and do something else. On days when the target is reached it's quite satisfying to just turn off the computer and go for a nice long walk or something instead of hanging about trying to trade into the evening... and has the added benefit of extra time to mentally prepare for the next day. Sometimes it's better to walk away early even without the target being reached too.

It might sound crazy but I'd rather gain x amount in half a day's trading than gain x plus a bit more in a full day's trading (or risk losing some of x because of being far too long at the screen and losing concentration).
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Dallas
Posts: 22673
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 10:57 pm
Location: Working From Home

What about when the days go so well you hit your target in an hour and by sticking it out while the market conditions suit you would have hit the target 5 times over?

I can understand ppl stopping when they are having a slow or bad day but to stop when things are going well is counterproductive in the long run
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brimson25
Posts: 504
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 11:42 am

Isn't some of the motivation for setting targets to "force" you to trade when you feel like watching the football and having a beer?

It's really quite hard to impose a structure on yourself for some people. Maybe an hour target or number of races target is more beneficial
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Derek27
Posts: 23471
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:44 am
Location: UK

A trading duration target would be far more appropriate than profit - you could find yourself having a very long day making up losses when you could just as easily to it the next days, perhaps when the markets are better.

I actually need to discipline myself to take time off trading and do other things!

Looking at the poll again, if there's a biannual selection there should also be a quarterly and half-annual choice. I love comparing my quarterly profits with that of a large failing company. :lol:
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ShaunWhite
Posts: 9731
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2016 3:42 am

brimson25 wrote:
Thu Jul 12, 2018 10:45 am
Isn't some of the motivation for setting targets to "force" you to trade when you feel like watching the football and having a beer?
I find the morgage bill to be motivation enough.
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LeTiss
Posts: 5386
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 6:04 pm

Interesting that the biggest response is 'NO Target'

I struggle with that concept as a full-timer, because I am naturally lazy. If there was a world championship for procrastination, I'd be worth backing at fairly short odds. Therefore, I need targets to keep me focused, otherwise I'd happily do nothing each day
stueytrader
Posts: 863
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2015 6:47 pm

I don't have any specific numerical target, but I do use a more general target of 'progress' in mind - i.e. I do like to see progress financially, whether thats a day or week or months. But it is not a specific amount, rather simply that I can see profits and judge my activity to be positive overall.

I would like to add an interesting related point - a couple have mentioned that it is silly to stop during a specific day if reaching a 'target' for profit. Funnily, I partly disagree - not meaning a specific amount, but I do think there's something useful for having a good night's sleep each day, and if you know you've done well for that day can be worth considering whether it's worth simply 'banking' for that day, and giving yourself the night off.
FrogThimble
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:26 pm

Dallas wrote:
Thu Jul 12, 2018 9:49 am
What about when the days go so well you hit your target in an hour and by sticking it out while the market conditions suit you would have hit the target 5 times over?

I can understand ppl stopping when they are having a slow or bad day but to stop when things are going well is counterproductive in the long run
My system will never hit my target 5 times over in a day even if I trade every race. :lol: I'm really just talking about the difference between trading just the afternoon races versus trading the afternoon and then evening races too. Quit after 3 hours or push on for 6 or 7?

I'm not using a target to measure what I want to win so much as to measure how much time I want to spend at the computer.

That said... I stayed on all through today as I had a bad afternoon and wanted to claw a bit back from the evening.
FrogThimble
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:26 pm

stueytrader wrote:
Thu Jul 12, 2018 8:19 pm


I would like to add an interesting related point - a couple have mentioned that it is silly to stop during a specific day if reaching a 'target' for profit. Funnily, I partly disagree - not meaning a specific amount, but I do think there's something useful for having a good night's sleep each day, and if you know you've done well for that day can be worth considering whether it's worth simply 'banking' for that day, and giving yourself the night off.
Yes, that's a big part of my point. If you've done OK then go and enjoy other aspects of life.

On Tuesday I hit my target by 4pm. Yesterday I hit it just after 5pm. Today I didn't hit it at all and, indeed, I went backwards. Some might say could have made up for today's losses by trading for longer yesterday and the day before but there's no guarantee... I might've ended up making mistakes on one or both of those days if I'd kept going? It's interesting... so many "what ifs".
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