If you do not have a exit strategy

If you do not have a exit strategy it means you do not have a valid setup idea.

You often hear that exit is more important than anything. The person who wrote that is a book writer and not a trader.

How many professional traders who trade for living and make money consistently you know who will say exit is most important. I have been in this business for 14 years and have made lot of money and talked to hundreds of successful traders. None believes that exit is more important than other elements of trading setup.

Exit is one of the element of a full setup. a setup consists of many elements and all those elements work together to create a full setup. All elements of setup are equally important. Setup has entry criteria. Setup has equity selection criteria which will define what kind of stocks to be traded using that setup. A setup has stop strategy built in to it. A setup has risk strategy built in to it, which determines how much to risk per trade. 

A setup is a complete package and it works if all elements work. A setup does not exist if you do not have an exit strategy.

A scalper by very definition of setup has exit strategy.

A swing trader by very definition of setup has exit strategy. (entry at beginning of swing and exit at end of swing)

A day trend follower by very definition of his setup has exit strategy ( entry on trend change , exit on trend change)

If you don't have exit strategy, you don't have a valid setup

If you study professional traders who do trading for living you will find majority of hem exit in to strength no matter their time frame of trading

Exit in to strength is the best exit strategy on the street for hundreds of years.

Professional traders exit in to strength while amateurs exit in to weakness. Professional understand the structure of market and are not bothered by living money on table when they exit in to strength.

Amateurs are fascinated by trying to exit in to weakness or on pullbacks or on trailing stops.