How to read a trading signal: entry, stop, targets — and what never to do

A publishable signal has four prices: an entry, a stop-loss, and one or two take-profit targets. Each has a job. The entry defines where the idea is valid; the stop defines where the idea is proven wrong; the targets define where the reward justifies the risk taken. Remove any one of them and the remainder is an opinion.

The stop-loss is the most misunderstood of the four. It is not a prediction of how far price might move against you — it is the price at which the trade's reason no longer exists. That's why moving a stop “to give it room” is the cardinal sin: the market already told you the idea failed, and the only question left is how expensive you make the lesson.

Targets encode the payout structure. Ours sit at +2R (TP1) and +3R (TP2) from entry, which is what lets a strategy be profitable at win rates far below 50% (see why win rate lies). When a signal runs two positions — one per target — the first banks profit at TP1 while the second rides for the full +3R, both governed by the same published stop that was set before entry.

What never to do: enter far from the published entry (the risk/reward you'd get is no longer the one that was validated); skip the stop “just this once”; or size the position by feel. Size so that the entry-to-stop distance costs a fixed fraction of your account — 1% is the standard for a reason (see position sizing).

Every signal we publish is stored the moment it posts and judged at those exact published levels when it resolves — visible per instrument in each market's signal history. That's the standard to hold anyone to, including us.

Educational content, not financial advice. Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Figures referenced from the live track record change as the record grows — that's what makes them worth referencing.