Stop loss
Also called SL. What it means, how it looks on a gold (XAUUSD) chart, and the mistake most traders make with it.
Stop loss: A stop loss is an order that closes your trade at a set price to cap the loss. In ICT trading it usually goes beyond the swing or the zone that invalidates the idea.
Stop loss on a gold chart
Buying a gold fair value gap at $4,112 after a sweep of $4,101, the stop goes a little below the sweep, at around $4,099, not at a round number where everyone else's stop sits.
How traders use it
Place the stop where the idea is wrong, then size the position so that distance equals your planned risk.
Common mistake
Setting the stop by dollar amount instead of by structure, or widening it once the trade goes against you.
Questions
What does stop loss mean in trading?
A stop loss is an order that closes your trade at a set price to cap the loss. In ICT trading it usually goes beyond the swing or the zone that invalidates the idea.
How is stop loss used on gold (XAUUSD)?
Place the stop where the idea is wrong, then size the position so that distance equals your planned risk.
Educational content, not financial advice. Every concept here is a probability, not a guarantee.
Free daily gold key levels every weekday at 05:30 GMT, and every Tradedge Pulse trade on the public record.