How To Maximize Your Profit As A Novice TraderOctober 24th, 2014 byChris Pottorff| Category:Basics,Trading SystemsYesterday, I answered a few of the most frequently asked questions in my tip of the day:How Long Is A Strong Trade Setup Valid?One of the other frequently asked questions is how long a trader shouldhold a winning position.There are too many ways to hold the winning positions. Different traders have different strategies for this. Some traders prefer to collect some profit through someof the winning positions, and then hold the other positions for as long as the market moves accordingly. This is what I do too. I take two positions with the same stop loss when I locate a toostrong trade setup. One of the positions has a 5 x SL target, and the other one has no target. When the first position hits the target, I move the second positions stop loss to breakeven and hold it. The question is how long I hold the second position.I use several different ways to decided whether I should still hold the position or not. One of the ways is formation ofa too strong reversal trade setup. When a toostrong short trade setupforms while I have a long position based on a toostrong long trade setup, I have to close my long position and collect my profit. I do it when a too strong reversal trade setup forms suddenly. Like something that happened with GBP/CAD recently. We had a long position based on a strong long trade setup on the weekly chart, and then a too strong short trade setup formed on thedaily chart. I closed my long position immediately,and then went short when the price was going against the short trade setup on the daily chart, to have a better entry price. Read this:How Long Is A Strong Trade Setup Valid?Forming a too strong reversal setup while holding a position happens rarely. Usually we have to get out sooner, and before a too strong reversal setup forms. The GBP/CAD short trade setup formed on the daily chart suddenly while we didnt expect it at all, because there was a too strong long trade setup on the weekly chart that was still valid and strong, and could take the price up for hundreds of pips. However, we rarely see such a too strong reversal setupwhile the previous strong trade setup is still fresh and valid. Therefore, we should not wait for a too strong reversal trade setup to form to close our second position that has no target, because in many cases the price reverses and goes against our position without forming a too strong reversal setup. We have to know how to collect our profit before we lose it.As I mentioned, different traders have different strategies for this. Some of them use trailing stop loss. Although I dont use it, I see that some traders are really happy with it. For example, this is the comment one of you has left to myHow to Become Multi Millionaire Trading Forexarticle:Hi Chris.Great article. I have grown my account using a similar principle.For example, if my SL is 30 pips, I will set my TP at 150 pips. However, I trail my stop pip by pip so that when I am 30 pips up, my SL is at breakeven (less spread of course.) At this point, I will add to my position with a 30 pip trailing stop. I will add to my position every 30 pips until I hit TP. If the trade goes against me, my maximum exposure is limited to my initial SL of 30 pips.I trade to earn an income on which I could retire comfortably, although Im not yet at retirement age. I invest surplus trading capital elsewhere.Thanks for your unselfish contribution.Regards.Paul.It seems Paul is so happy with this strategy. I wish him all the best and a great and joyful retirement.His strategy is great when the pricetrendsstrongly after a trade setup, otherwise you will be out with a small profit when the price retraces to retest a broken line, level, or high/low price.As I trade thelong time framesonly, I can follow the market movementscandlestickby candlestick when I have a position. If I see signs ofexhaustionwhile I have reasonable amount of profit withmy second position, or if the price reaches a strong support/resistance levelon the sametime framethat the setup was formed or on the longer time frames, or if the market opens with a biggapagreeable to the position I have (for example I have a short position and the market opens with a big gap down on Sunday afternoon), I close my second position.What do I mean by signs of exhaustion?Nobody knows how long atrendwill be continued. It can reverse at any time even without forming a strong reversal signal. However,candlestickstell us that the trend is gettingexhaustedand it is time to get out. For example when you are long, some smaller bullish candlesticks and also some small bearish candlesticks start forming, after a strong up movement and some too strong bullish candlesticks. When this happens, you should either get out, or move your stop loss to lock a reasonable portion of your profit.A Solution For Novice Traders:If you are new to forex and still you have not mastered yourtrading systemand you can not differentiate thetoo strong trade setupsfrom the weak one, then youd better to focus on mastering yourtrading strategyto become able to pick the strong trader setups, get in the market on time, and set a proper and reasonable stop loss first. This is the most important part of trading. When you master in this, you can learn to maximize your profit. At the meantime and while you are learning how to enter the market at the right place right time, you can set take profit orders at some levels (like what I do with my first position) and make your life easier. It doesnt make sense to be worried about maximizing your profit while you still dont know how to enter the market properly.If you pick toostrong trade setupsand then set a proper and reasonable stop loss, then most of the positions can hit a 5 x SL target easily.You can take two positions with the same stop loss, and a5 x SL target for the first one, and a 10 x SL target for the second one. If the first one hits the target, you can move the second positions stop loss to breakeven and wait. If the price reverses before it hits the 10 x SL target, then you can exit and collect your profit manually. This is an easy solution for you while you are still learning how to enter the market.Good luck