Take-profit fills are not guaranteed at the exact price either

[Amanhasnoname]

Traders obsess over stop slippage and forget the other side. A take-profit order is a limit order, so it should fill at the price or better. The catch is the word should.

For long positions, the take-profit triggers when the bid reaches the level, since longs close at the bid. Charts often display bid prices, so a candle that touches the target on the chart may not have triggered the order on the ask side for a short, where the ask matters.

This is why trades sometimes close one tick short of the target on the chart. Spread explains it, and no conspiracy is needed.

With tight scalping targets, a half-pip shortfall changes the win rate. Shifting the target by the typical spread, so that the order triggers when the chart touches the real level, often fixes the problem.

It's a small adjustment that quietly adds up over hundreds of trades.

Anyone adjusting targets for spread, or just accepting the misses?