Trailing a stop behind structure rather than behind a fixed distance

[Shadow Trader]

A fixed pip trail ignores what the market is actually doing. In a quiet session, thirty pips may be too wide; in a volatile one, it may be too tight. Trailing behind structure adapts naturally. After entry, I wait until price makes a new higher low in a long trade, defined by a close above the previous swing high, and then move the stop beneath that low plus a small buffer. Each time a new higher low forms, I repeat. This keeps the stop at a level where, if hit, the structure of the move has actually changed. The downside is that structure trailing can give back more profit than a tight trail when a reversal is sharp. But it reduces the number of premature exits in a healthy trend. For lower timeframes, I use the structure on the timeframe one step below my entry timeframe, which gives a balance between responsiveness and noise. As always, test it on your own data, because the right trailing method depends on your target distance and the pairs you trade.

[FXS HongKong Scalper]

Trailing behind structure is a sensible approach, especially for trend trades. One thing I do is combine it with a time element. If no new structure forms for a long time, I tighten the stop a bit, since the trend may be losing momentum.