onboarding

Smart Trade — your first bracket order with TP ladder + trailing SL

Worked example: long 0.01 ETH at $2,000, 25/35/40 TP ladder at +2/+5/+10%, trailing SL with break-even

7 min · beginner

What you'll have when finished

  • A live Smart Trade with entry + multi-level TPs + protective SL all linked
  • Understand the 25/35/40 ladder pattern and when to deviate
  • Use "move SL to break-even after first TP fills" to lock in risk-free trades
  • Recognize when trailing TP/SL helps vs hurts
  • Read the Positions panel to verify everything is wired correctly

Before you start

  • TP sizes MUST sum to exactly 100%. The Submit button stays disabled until valid.
  • SL is a stop-MARKET order. In flash crashes, slippage can exceed the SL distance.
  • Smart Trade does NOT use leverage by default. For leveraged bracket orders, use Futures with the same multi-TP discipline.

Walkthrough

  1. Pick your levels FROM THE CHART, not from feelings

    Before opening the form, study the TradingView chart at the top of the page. For our worked example: **Long ETH at $2,000**. Look at the chart and identify: - **Recent resistance** above $2,000 — likely TP zones (e.g. $2,040, $2,100, $2,200) - **Recent support** below $2,000 — your SL must be BELOW this (e.g. $1,940) - **Range** — is price trending or chopping? Trends = wider TP spacing. Chop = tighter. Convert these to percentages: - $2,040 = +2% (first TP target) - $2,100 = +5% (second TP target) - $2,200 = +10% (third TP target — the "moon" rung) - $1,940 = -3% (SL) **Rookie mistake:** picking TP %s based on what feels good (+5%, +10%, +20%) without looking at the chart. The market doesn't care what you wish for; it respects the structure.

    Success criteria: Identified TP levels from chart resistance · Identified SL level below chart support

  2. Fill Column 1 — Entry

    Top to bottom: 1. **Exchange** — pick the venue (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, etc.) 2. **Pair** — type "ETH" in the search; pick ETH/USDC (or ETH/USDT depending on exchange) 3. **Side** — click LONG (we expect ETH to go up) 4. **Entry type** — click Market (fills immediately at current price; switch to Limit if you want to wait for a specific entry) 5. **Amount (base units)** — 0.01 (= 0.01 ETH = roughly $20 at $2,000) 6. **Position Name** — type "ETH long $20 test" (you'll be glad in 6 months when reviewing this in Positions tab) **Trailing buy** is OFF for this example (we want to enter NOW, not wait for a dip).

    Success criteria: All Column 1 fields filled · Side = Long · Entry = Market

  3. Configure Column 2 — TP Ladder (25/35/40 default)

    The form starts with a 3-rung ladder pre-filled. Verify each row: - **TP 1**: Price 2% / Size 25% - **TP 2**: Price 5% / Size 35% - **TP 3**: Price 10% / Size 40% Sum at bottom should read: **100.0% / 100% ✓** (green). **Why this distribution works for a beginner:** - **25% off at +2%** — banks small profit quickly. Even if the rest stops out, you got your first win. - **35% off at +5%** — the meat of the trade. Locks in solid profit while leaving meaningful runway. - **40% off at +10%** — the runner. If price actually reaches +10%, you have most of your size still riding the trend. **For our last rung (TP 3), enable Trailing TP**: - Check the "Trailing TP — let winners run" box - Set Retrace % = 3 (from new peak) This means the last 40% of position rides the trend; instead of exiting at exactly +10%, it trails from the new high. If price keeps running to +15%, +20%, you get most of that upside before a 3% pullback triggers exit.

    Success criteria: Sum = 100% · TP 3 trailing enabled at 3%

  4. Configure Column 3 — Stop-Loss with break-even auto-shift

    Three controls: 1. **SL distance (% from entry)** = **3** (so SL fires at -3% = $1,940 on a $2,000 entry) 2. **Enable trailing SL** — leave UNCHECKED for this example (trailing SL is for trend-following; we're using fixed-rung TPs) 3. **Move SL to break-even after first TP fills** = **CHECKED** **This last checkbox is the killer feature.** Here's what it does: The moment TP 1 fills (price hits +2%), SL automatically moves to entry price ($2,000). From that moment, you have: - 25% of position already in cash as profit - Remaining 75% with an SL at entry — meaning the worst case is a wash, not a loss You've converted a "1:3 R:R bet" into a "guaranteed not-a-loss with major upside" trade. The math is brutal in your favor: once TP 1 fills, you literally cannot lose money on this trade. **Always check this box** unless you have a specific reason not to. It's the highest-leverage feature on the page.

    Success criteria: SL distance set · Break-even auto-shift checked

  5. Verify + Submit

    Final pre-flight check: - Column 1: Exchange ✓ Pair ✓ Side ✓ Entry type ✓ Amount ✓ - Column 2: TP sizes total **100%** (green) ✓ - Column 3: SL distance set ✓ Break-even box checked ✓ Click **Open Smart Trade** (cyan button at bottom of Column 3). What happens behind the scenes: 1. Backend places the entry order via CCXT 2. Once entry fills, the 3 TP limit orders are placed 3. The SL stop-market order is placed 4. All four orders are tagged to the same trade ID for tracking 5. Page switches to Positions tab You should see a green success message: "Position opened: ETH long $20 test. Check Positions tab."

    Success criteria: Order submitted successfully · Positions tab now shows the trade

  6. Read the Positions panel + verify wiring

    Click the trade in the list. The detail panel shows: - **Status** — open / pending_entry / pending_trailing_entry / closed - **Entry fill price** (actual, not what you specified) - **TPs** — each one with status (pending / filled / canceled) - **SL** — current trigger price + whether it's trailing - **Realized P&L** — what's already in cash - **Unrealized P&L** — what's still open Verify: - 3 TPs are listed at their expected prices ($2,040, $2,100, $2,200) - SL is listed at $1,940 - All have status "pending" If anything looks wrong, click **Sync** to force a re-fetch from the exchange. If the exchange reports a different state, it overwrites the platform view (exchange is source of truth). The page polls every 5 seconds while you watch this tab, so fills appear within seconds of happening.

    Success criteria: All 3 TPs visible at correct prices · SL visible at correct price · No drift warnings

  7. What happens as price moves

    **Best case — price runs to +10%+:** 1. Price hits +2% → TP 1 fills (25% of position closed for profit) → SL auto-moves to entry ($2,000) ← KEY MOMENT 2. Price hits +5% → TP 2 fills (35% more closed) → 60% total profit booked 3. Price keeps running → TP 3 trailing kicks in, exits when price retraces 3% from peak Total result: **~+8 to 12% portfolio gain on the position** (depending on how high TP 3 trails to) **Mixed case — price hits +2% then reverses:** 1. TP 1 fills at +2% (25% profit secured) 2. Price reverses; eventually hits the (now-promoted) SL at entry $2,000 3. Remaining 75% closes at break-even Total result: **~+0.5% portfolio gain** (the TP 1 profit). NO LOSS despite trade going wrong after TP 1. **Worst case — price drops to -3% without hitting any TP:** 1. SL fires; full position closes at $1,940 2. Loss = 3% of position size = ~$0.60 on a $20 position Total result: **~-3% loss on the position**. This is the planned-and-accepted worst case — small, finite, and you know it before entering. This is what disciplined trading looks like: pre-known loss bound, multiple paths to profit, structurally-favored math.

    Success criteria: Understood the 3 outcome paths · Recognized the break-even shift as the key risk-removal moment

What's next

**Always use ALL THREE columns.** Entry alone is reckless. Entry + TP alone leaves you exposed to the downside. Entry + TP + SL is the minimum professional setup. **Always enable break-even auto-shift.** It costs nothing and converts a "1:3 R:R bet" into "guaranteed not-a-loss" after the first partial fill. **Trailing TP on the LAST rung only.** First 2 rungs at fixed targets to lock in profit; last rung trails to capture moonshot upside. **For trades you'll hold >1 day:** consider [DCA Safety Bot](/dca-safety) instead — better for accumulation patterns. **For trades >$10K notional:** open via [Algo Orders → TWAP](/algo-orders) first to avoid market-impact slippage, THEN apply a Smart Trade bracket once filled. **Review every closed Smart Trade** in [Trading Journal](/journal). After 30 trades, patterns emerge — which setups worked, which didn't.