Field notes · 14 April 2026
Partial exits that still respect the original reward target
Scaling out can protect progress without turning every winner into a scratch.
Partial exits sit at the centre of trade management practice. Done well, they bank a portion at a first target while leaving a runner toward the planned reward. Done poorly, they convert every trade into a series of nervous trims until nothing remains of the original thesis.
A workable rule we use in coaching: define the first scale level as a fraction of the planned reward—often half the distance to the final target—and decide the scale size in advance (for example, one-third of the position). The remaining size keeps the original invalidation until structure changes.
What breaks this method is improvisation. Moving the first scale closer because price stalled once trains you to distrust your plan. In the Practice Lab we force participants to pre-commit scale levels on paper before the scenario starts. Mid-scenario changes must be justified with a structural reason, not a feeling.
Journal both the planned partial and the actual fill. Over a month you will see whether partials improved expectancy or simply reduced average win size without reducing average loss size.
Partials are a management tool, not an escape hatch. They belong in the same R:R sheet you wrote before entry.