What To Do When You Miss Your EntryBitcoin / U.S. dollarBITSTAMP:BTCUSDSwallowAcademyMissing the entry is annoying. Chasing it is how one missed trade turns into a bad trade. 🔵 First Check How Far Price Moved A missed entry does not need an emotional response. The first thing to check is how far price has moved from the price you actually planned to trade. If it is only slightly past the entry and the original setup is still intact, you still have options. If price has already travelled most of the move, the trade has changed. That distinction matters because the entry was part of the risk plan. Once price moves away, the stop may still belong in the same place while the remaining target gets closer. You are paying a worse price for the same idea. The farther you chase, the less attractive the trade becomes. Do not measure “close” only by a fixed percentage. Ask whether the original invalidation still makes sense and whether enough reward is left. If those two things have changed badly, the entry is gone. 🔵 If It Is Close, Cut The Size When price is only a little past the planned entry and the setup is still valid, one option we use is entering smaller. Around 50% of the normal size can make sense because you are accepting that the execution is worse than planned instead of acting like nothing changed. Smaller size does not magically repair a bad entry. It simply reduces the amount of account risk you are putting behind a trade that is no longer perfect. The stop should still be where the setup is invalid, not moved closer just because you entered late. If the new entry still gives a reasonable trade and the structure is untouched, reduced size can be the middle ground. You participate, but you do not give a late entry the same weight as the clean entry you originally wanted. 🔵 If Price Is Far, The Trade Is Gone When price is already far past the entry, skip it. This is the part traders struggle with because the move is happening in front of them and every new candle makes the missed profit look bigger. But the market does not owe you that trade. Once the distance becomes too large, chasing usually means a worse entry, worse reward-to-risk and more pressure if price makes a normal pullback. The missed trade costs you nothing. The chase can cost real money. There will be another setup, another level and another day. One opportunity leaving without you is normal; turning it into a forced entry is optional. 🔵 Do Not Change The Plan To Catch Up The worst reaction is changing everything after missing the entry. Traders widen targets, move stops, increase leverage or convince themselves that a completely different price is “basically the same entry.” That is FOMO rewriting the plan after the move has already started. Your decision should stay simple: if price is still close and the trade remains valid, consider smaller size. If price is far, let it go. You do not need a third option called chase. 🔵 Final Take Missing an entry is not a trading loss. Chasing it can become one. If price is still close, reduce size and keep the original risk logic. If it is already gone, skip it. Markets keep producing opportunities; you do not need to turn one missed trade into a bad one. Swallow Academy