Entry and Exit Criteria — Developing a Trading Process

Setup vs. trigger

A 'setup' is the broader condition that puts a market on your watchlist — for example, price being above a moving average, or a currency pair approaching a known support zone. A 'trigger' is the precise event that tells you to actually enter now, such as a candle closing back above that support level.

Confusing the two leads traders to enter too early (as soon as the setup appears) or to hesitate indefinitely waiting for perfect confirmation that never fully arrives.

[Read the lesson: Entry and Exit Criteria](/learn-to-trade/developing-a-trading-process/entry-and-exit-criteria)

Exits are decided before you enter

Un piano di entrata completo ha sempre le uscite già definite: dove va lo stop loss se l'operazione è sbagliata, e dove si trovano l'obiettivo o il metodo di trailing se l'operazione è giusta.

Deciding exits after entering invites emotional interference — a trader in a losing position is tempted to move the stop further away 'to give it room,' and a trader in a winning position is tempted to exit too early out of fear of giving profits back.

[Read the lesson: Entry and Exit Criteria](/learn-to-trade/developing-a-trading-process/entry-and-exit-criteria)

Placing stops with structure, not feelings

Un posizionamento efficace dello stop loss è di solito ancorato alla struttura di mercato — oltre un recente swing high/low, o fuori da una zona di supporto/resistenza — anziché a un importo arbitrario in dollari che il trader è 'disposto a perdere'.

A stop placed purely on a comfort level of risk, ignoring where the trade idea would actually be proven wrong, tends to get hit by normal volatility even when the underlying idea was sound.

**Stop basato sulla struttura:** Se un trader compra GBP/USD aspettandosi un rimbalzo dal supporto a 1.2500, uno stop appena sotto 1.2470 (oltre il recente swing low) riflette il punto in cui l'idea del supporto viene effettivamente invalidata. Uno stop a 1.2490 basato solo su 'Non voglio perdere più di 10 pip' ignora la struttura del mercato e rischia di essere colpito dal normale rumore di mercato.

[Read the lesson: Entry and Exit Criteria](/learn-to-trade/developing-a-trading-process/entry-and-exit-criteria)

Multiple exit methods

Traders commonly use a fixed target based on a reward-to-risk ratio, a trailing stop that locks in gains as price moves favorably, or a partial exit approach that closes part of the position at a first target and lets the rest run.

Whichever method is chosen, it should be written into the plan in advance and applied consistently, so it can be evaluated and refined using real data rather than guesswork.

[Read the lesson: Entry and Exit Criteria](/learn-to-trade/developing-a-trading-process/entry-and-exit-criteria)