Since we don't have a LIKE button this is for you skwan1940  :) I think you just summed up 99% of my stress! As an older investor I loathe this market with it algos and FED juice and gamma squeeze bullshit and 0DTEs....it's taken investing to the casino tables - fundamentals be damned! BUT those influences are the new paradigm. I either have to play the game or just let the Fidelity fund managers babysit my funds and focus on other things. I'm new to the BPT Systems and haven't prospered yet. My problem is knowing WHEN to go long. After this past 7 day run do I go long Monday? Do I wait for that wave 4 pullback that never materializes? Do I go half in? Even with the system, I have analysis paralysis and puke at every 50-point SPX gap up. So, what you presented hits me right between the eyes - either work the system or go do something else. Question for Matt/Steve if you're reading this - how do others time their purchases? STS stops take care of the sell side. I (and maybe others) just need some thoughts on taking the long side. If one misses the exact day the system goes long do we chase it the next day...or the next? Or now after a 7-day run to 5800+ just wait...or just say 'Well, missed that one!" and pick something else?  A big shout out to both you guys (and James) for an excellent service! And to the insightful members who post throughout the day - kudos!

Well said and thank you

I hear you. but taking some profits on the way is healthy mentally. If it keeps going, you have given up some gains, but if it stops out at break even or a small loss (it happens, even after a 10% up move), you have still made a profit. And to be fair, Matt himself was saying it wasn't a bad idea to take some profits on YINN when it got pretty lofty (that was probably over $32). I didn't have YINN, but my analog would be GCT. I sold some near 29 and then stopped out on the rest below 25 (higher than the STS). And I re-entered today around 24. So I am ahead of where I would have been if I just traded according to the STS. It doesn't always work out that way, but it's according to my plan. 

thank you skwan1940!  I don't think I could have worded that better than you, and it's better coming from you than me.

Also, bthefnd, who used to be under a different username is not even subscribed to the KISS systems, he doesn't follow them so I don't know why he bothers to comment. It's his nature to comment and post about many things and always has strong opinions about things, that's just his personality. He does his own things and that's great. I appreciate his ideas and posts. However, a lot of what he says is not correct and I don't want those comments influencing others who might be new or novice.  But to your point, it's a system, and not everyone wants to subjectively analyze every trade and pick and choose. The systems make money, there are losing trades and you accept that. If you try and micro manage every single trade you can get into a mental spot were you are not doing any of the trades or vastly under performing the systems. I know because I've experienced that first hand - there was nearly a whole year where I second guessed every mean reversion system trade and didn't do them or sold early or whatever and a year went buy and all I did was spin my wheels.  

As I said - one way to go into it is money management: You have a base dollar amount that you use for the system trades, let's say it's $10K.  Well,  because KISS systems tend to have 1 or 2 whipsaw trades after a big winner, one could either lower their base bet size after the system catches a big winning trade, maybe they move it form 10K to 7K. And if that trade ends up being a loser, then the next one bring it back to 10K.  If you experience a couple losing trades in a row, raise the base bet again.  This is similar to a varied betting strategy a professional gambler might employ in the casino.  

And the comment about YINN is just stupid - first off that move was way out of norm for the statistical price history of that ETF, and when that trade was up 150% and 160%, I sent out an email to the website suggesting that folks consider taking some off the table because this is an extreme example.  Plus it still make almost 80% by the time it stopped out on that big gap down.  

Last point - regarding the final system exits. Yes they give up some profits on the exits because price had to pullback from the recent highs. But the systems are very profitable, with extremely low draw downs compared to traditional buy/hold and tend to make a lot more money than buy and hold.

That said - what you guys don't realize or what you should realize is that I'm always working on things, I always have endless ideas, time is my only enemy.  The KISS systems are not a completed product - I have plans to add things like profit targets where the systems can perhaps scale out of a percentage of the positions after a big move - say exit 50% on a profit target, and even buy those shares bac on an ABC pullback as long as price remains over the STS.  As far as profit targets, I would not go with an arbitrary set profit target of 10% or 20%.  I have an idea of a dynamically adjusted profit target that changes based on the recent average true range of the stock/ETF - which means that sometimes that profit target may be 10%, and sometimes it may be 30% depending on the volatility and range the stock is currently trading.  And once I add those profit targets that he was complaining about, I doubt he'll trade the systems anyway. Again he's got his own style and everyone should have their own style and trading plan. Some are not system traders, and there are quit a lot of subscribers who ae here to ONLY trade the systems and not have to second guess each trade - they simply want to follow them. 

by the way - these days 80% of the emails we get are about the systems, not about our market newsletters and analysis, and trade ideas, and supply and demand zones.  Most are about systems, not subjective chart analysis