Placing stops with the spread in mind

[Amanhasnoname]

A stop placed 3 pips from entry on a pair with a 1 pip spread has an effective distance of 2 pips for a long and 4 for a short, depending on which side the chart uses. That asymmetry rarely gets considered.

For a long position, the exit happens at the bid, so the spread works against the entry but not the stop distance as measured on the bid chart. For a short, the stop triggers at the ask, which sits above the chart's bid line.

The practical lesson is computing stop distance from the correct price, not from the chart's line. Otherwise, shorts are consistently stopped out slightly earlier than planned.

When the spread varies, the issue grows. A stop that was safe at a 0.5 pip spread becomes dangerous when the spread widens to 2.

Some traders add a spread buffer to every stop, or use a rule such as 'stop distance must be at least three times the current spread'.

How is the spread factored into stop placement, and has it changed the results?