I have simulated trading MNQ for awhile now my plans are to trade micro NQ then on to NQ eventually. I'm able to make consistent profit with the simulated account about 50-100 points a day at least 80% of the time so far. I find myself exiting the trade early when I feel anxiety then watch it go on to the original exit I had planned for the trade leaving profits behind. Sometimes I find I was right to exit early. I recognize that one must trade a system which reduces anxiety less prone to allow fear and greed get mixed up in my trading system.
What is sustainable in the long term less profits maybe leave one or two contracts for runners with a tighter trailing stop? With more contracts one can reduce the risk by taking profits early on most of those contracts leaving one as extra bonus.
To find out what is sustainable in the long term, you will need to (soon) leave sim trading behind and use actual money. The difference is more than night and day, and in fact it is like playing an entirely different game.
You mention anxiety and greed, and these are the things that you will face and that are more important than tweaks to your system or method.
So, after becoming familiar with the mechanics of acting on your method's principles in a safe, simulated environment, you would be better served by seeing what you can achieve in live trading. Then, when (and if) you have learned to manage trading in that environment, it may be appropriate to look at further refinements such as the ones you are asking about.
But I would take a small amount of real money and trade one contract of MNQ until you have more experience with real (live) trading, and then go on from there. Time spent on sim beyond a certain point can actually be damaging to your success, because it delays a step that must be made.
By the way, you may lose a lot, and quickly, which is why it is good to stick with the micros and one contract to limit your exposure at first. Dealing with losing is also part of what traders need to achieve, if they are going to do well in the long run.
And good luck.
Bob.
When one door closes, another opens.
-- Cervantes, Don Quixote
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