Partial take-profit: why close 67% at 1 R
A trade moves in the right direction, shows a nice profit… then comes back and hits the stop. Everyone has been there. A partial take-profit is designed precisely to stop a winning trade from turning into a loss.
The principle
Instead of holding everything until the target, you close the position in two steps:
- when the profit reaches 1 R (as much as you were risking), you close part of the position, for example 67%;
- you move the stop on the rest to the entry price: this is called moving it "to breakeven";
- the rest runs to the final target, for example 2 R, or comes back to breakeven.
"R" is the amount risked on the trade. If the stop is $30 from the entry price, 1 R = a $30 move, and 2 R = $60.
The three possible outcomes
With 67% closed at 1 R and a final target at 2 R:
| Outcome | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| The stop is hit before 1 R | the whole position loses 1 R | −1 R |
| 1 R is reached, then price comes back to breakeven | 0.67 × 1 R + 0.33 × 0 | +0.67 R |
| 1 R, then the 2 R target, are reached | 0.67 × 1 R + 0.33 × 2 R | +1.33 R |
Once the first level is hit, the trade can no longer lose. That is the real strength of the method.
Why 67% and not 50%?
It is a trade-off:
- the earlier you take profit, the more the gain is secured, but the less the trade pays if it reaches the target;
- the less you take, the more potential you keep, but the more trades come back to breakeven with a small gain.
In our tests of the Hybrid Or method on gold, we compared 33%, 50% and 67%, with levels at 0.75 R and 1 R. The 67% at 1 R combination gave the best profit factor over the tuning period (2020–2024), and remained among the best over the validation period (2025).
The real cost of a partial take-profit
It is not magic. Here is what you need to know:
- The maximum gain goes down. A perfect trade pays 1.33 R instead of 2 R.
- The win rate goes up, but not necessarily the profit. In our tests, by taking profit earlier (at 0.5 R), the share of winning positions rose to 56%, but total profit went down. We won more often, but less each time.
- You need a large enough position size. With the smallest possible size (0.01 lot), the position cannot be split in two. In that case, only the move of the stop to breakeven applies.
Should you use it?
A partial take-profit suits you if:
- you find it hard to watch a gain disappear;
- you prefer a smoother equity curve to the maximum possible gain;
- you trade trends that often make a first move before correcting, which is common on gold.
It suits you less if your method relies on a few very large, rare wins, like some long-term trend-following strategies.
In practice
The Hybrid Or indicator displays the partial take-profit level (TP1) and the final target (TP) on every signal, and marks the moment TP1 is reached to remind you to move your stop. For the stop calculation itself, see how to set it with the ATR.
A reminder: no management technique turns a losing method into a winning one. It only organizes the gains and losses of a method that already has an edge.