I have to say that when I'm position trading I like bigger targets and bigger stops. When I'm day trading I have a tendency to tweak the trade too much so in those cases having an early profit target (at least for part of my position) helps me put some money in the bank.

Of course this is just my opinion. There is nothing wrong with doing it your way and frankly, each of us needs to find out what works best for us. If we all traded the same way who would ever take the other side of our trade?

You've got to do whatever you've got to do to get into the black. If that means early profits, and that meshes with your personality, then great, do it. If you can't stand to see the market move another 20 ticks after you've pulled out, then maybe you need to work on trailing your stops and trying to hang in longer.

One thing's for certain, trading is a very personal game. You are the only person responsible for your success or failure so you'd better find out what works for YOU.

Erich