Comparing 5 pip and 8 pip targets on the same EURUSD entries
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2026 10:14 am
A useful journal exercise: take the same set of EURUSD entries and score them with two fixed targets, say 5 and 8 pips, with the same 4 pip stop. You need the furthest point each trade reached before the stop, which most platforms let you reconstruct from M1 data.
How to read it, with a worked example and 0.7 pips of costs:
The answer depends on the type of entry. Pullbacks in an existing move tend to stall near the previous high, which favours the smaller target. Breakouts from a range may favour the bigger one.
A natural next test is a partial exit at 5 with the rest to 8. The result usually lands in between, with a smoother equity curve.
Has anyone done this kind of target comparison on their own trades? Did the smaller target win for you?
How to read it, with a worked example and 0.7 pips of costs:
- 5 pip target: if 58% of trades win, expectancy is 0.58 × (5 − 0.7) − 0.42 × (4 + 0.7) = 2.49 − 1.97 = +0.52 pips, about +0.11R.
- 8 pip target: if 41% win, 0.41 × 7.3 − 0.59 × 4.7 = 2.99 − 2.77 = +0.22 pips, about +0.05R.
The answer depends on the type of entry. Pullbacks in an existing move tend to stall near the previous high, which favours the smaller target. Breakouts from a range may favour the bigger one.
A natural next test is a partial exit at 5 with the rest to 8. The result usually lands in between, with a smoother equity curve.
Has anyone done this kind of target comparison on their own trades? Did the smaller target win for you?