• harko
  • Licensed Member
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  • Registered: 2017-04-11
  • Posts: 4

Topic: Modification of TP level when opening a non initial position

Hello members,

Maybe a silly question but I couldn't find a topic about it in the forum...

I have an EA which is allowed to open a maximum of 10 lots. When opening an order it states en TP of 610.
When the first trade is opened it goes well; the TP is correctly set.
When the second trade is opened (same direction signal) the TP is also correctly set for this specific trade. However, in MT4 the first trade is modified; the TP is set to the level of the newest opened trade.....

IS this normal? I prefer to keep the original TP. Does anyone know how to prevent modification of the TP level?

Thanx!

2 Reply by hannahis (edited by hannahis 2018-06-08 11:56:47)

  • Registered: 2010-11-18
  • Posts: 1,179

Re: Modification of TP level when opening a non initial position

harko wrote:

Hello members,

Maybe a silly question but I couldn't find a topic about it in the forum...

I have an EA which is allowed to open a maximum of 10 lots. When opening an order it states en TP of 610.
When the first trade is opened it goes well; the TP is correctly set.
When the second trade is opened (same direction signal) the TP is also correctly set for this specific trade. However, in MT4 the first trade is modified; the TP is set to the level of the newest opened trade.....

IS this normal? I prefer to keep the original TP. Does anyone know how to prevent modification of the TP level?

Thanx!

Hi Harko

Yes, this is what happened when you use the Additional function (eg. Add or Winners)

All the previous positions/open trades SL, BE and TP will change to the latest new position's SL, BE, TP setting, instead of it's "original setting".

I personally prefer...(Popov can you kindly look into this changes)

To change only if the new/latest prices for SL, BE and TP is higher than the Original setting (for Buy position and Lower if Sell position).  However, currently, it will change all the SL, BE, TP to the newest/latest's setting which can be very "dangerous" cos it may "pushed" back my original's BE setting to the newest's SL setting instead, which will erode my profit protection and expose my trade to greater risk instead of keeping the original's BE.  if the trend suddenly change, instead of closing at my original's BE, now it will suffer greater loss at the newest SL setting.  That's really bad and not safe for trading.

The advantages of changing the SL, BE, TP of all the previous/original positions to the Latest new position's SL, BE, TP (CHANGE ONLY IF THE PRICES ARE HIGHER than the original setting, FOR BUY and vise vera) is that it will keep pushing higher and higher the trade protection setting while allowing your positions to have the opportunity to take advantage and "follow" with the ongoing trade without premature exit.

Assuming that the new positions are opened at a higher price (than the original position), it pushes the SL to a higher price setting and thus your original position's SL is now set higher with more profit protection in placed, while your TP is pushed higher to allow more room to trade along with the trend (because I add in another external trailing EA, it allows me to have a more "dynamic and sensitive" exit strategy while giving my trade the chance to take advantage of the current moving trend.

  • Popov
  • Popov
  • Lead Developer
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  • From: Bulgaria
  • Registered: 2006-11-30
  • Posts: 7,976

Re: Modification of TP level when opening a non initial position

The SL and TP are set according to the last entry. This is a default behaviour of the program and the expert advisors since the begging of the program development. The explanation is that the strategy analyses the current market conditions and trade according them including the SL and TP value. The market doesn't care of our previous entries and the strategy tries to act objectively.

You may achieve similar logic to your request by using the "Winner" option instead of the "Add" option. The "winner" option allows adding only if the current aggregate position is on profit at the moment of the adding. Please note that it means exactly that the complete position is on profit even if the last entry is not. A position is a result of all actions (additions and reductions) and it has one result, which can be a complete profit or loss.

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