Scaling In & Out - How Momentum Traders Actually Build Positions cover art

Scaling In & Out - How Momentum Traders Actually Build Positions

Scaling In & Out - How Momentum Traders Actually Build Positions

Listen for free

View show details

About this listen

Momentum Trading Alliance Cohort 2 begins March 7th.

If you’d like to join this small-group mentorship and trade with more structure and clarity, book a call here:

https://calendly.com/tylerstokes-com/strategy-call


Welcome to season 4, episode 11 of the Stock Trading for Beginners Podcast!

In this episode, we break down one of the core engines behind the momentum trading strategy: scaling in and scaling out.


Resources:

Apply to the mentorship here: https://stokestrades.com/join

Join our FREE Skool group: https://www.skool.com/trading


This is how positions are built.

This is how volatility is managed.

And this is how emotional mistakes are reduced.

Losses don’t only come from bad analysis — they often come from bad allocation. Buying too much too fast. Selling everything on the first pullback. Going all in emotionally… then all out emotionally.

Scaling fixes that.


What We Cover:

Why Scaling Matters

Markets move in waves — not straight lines. Perfect entries and exits aren’t realistic, and they aren’t necessary. Scaling removes the need to be perfect and keeps you aligned with structure instead of emotion.

Scaling In (Momentum Trader Focus)

For the momentum trader, scaling in means building a position over time — not entering all at once.

  • Start small (often 1–3% initial exposure).
  • Maximum exposure per stock around 10% (adjust to your risk tolerance).
  • Add only at support with bullish structure and confluence.
  • Never add just because price is rising or to “make it back.”


Small entries create flexibility. They make pullbacks tolerable. They allow you to improve risk-to-reward if price rotates lower into valid support.

In strong trends, deeper pullbacks often become opportunities — not automatic exits.


Scaling Up With Momentum

As higher highs form and structure confirms, additional entries can be made at new support zones or breakout backtests. Exposure grows with confirmed structure — not emotion.


Scaling Out (Momentum Approach)

Scaling out is not about selling because you’re green.
It’s not about reacting to every pullback.

The momentum trader is paid for patience.

Reduce exposure when:

  • Weekly structure shifts bearish
  • Major support breaks and fails to reclaim
  • Key tools flip to resistance
  • Repeated highs fail


If momentum remains intact, you stay.

If momentum breaks, you protect capital.

More active trading avatars may take profits sooner, but more activity also introduces more decisions — and often more emotional mistakes.


Takeaway

Scaling in and scaling out allows you to manage risk without guessing. It replaces perfection with structure. It keeps allocation aligned with trend and removes the need for emotional timing.

This is how meaningful positions are built calmly over time.

See you in the next episode. 📈


Send me some feedback!

Join Our Free Community on Skool:

https://www.skool.com/trading

No reviews yet