Trailing Stop-Loss (TSL)

The Trailing Stop-Loss is the most sophisticated exit mechanism in Algo Architech. Unlike a fixed stop-loss that stays in place, a TSL dynamically moves upward as your profit increases — locking in gains while giving the trade room to continue running.

Algo Architech offers two distinct TSL modes, each suited to different market conditions.

Mode 1: Continuous Trailing SL

The Continuous TSL shadows price action tick-by-tick. Once a trigger profit level is reached, the stop-loss begins moving upward continuously based on a fixed adjustment ratio.

How It Works

Parameter	Description
Trigger Price	The profit level that activates the TSL
Adjustment Value	How much the SL moves for each unit of additional profit

Example


Configuration:
  Trigger: Activate when profit reaches +10 points
  Adjustment: Move SL by 1 point for every 1 point of additional profit

Timeline:
  Profit = +8 pts  → TSL inactive (below trigger)
  Profit = +10 pts → TSL ACTIVATES → SL set at +0 pts (breakeven)
  Profit = +15 pts → SL moves to +5 pts
  Profit = +20 pts → SL moves to +10 pts
  Profit = +25 pts → SL moves to +15 pts
  Profit drops back to +15 pts → SL TRIGGERED → Position CLOSED at +15 pts ✅

Visual


Profit ──╱──╱──╱──╲──╲──╱──╱──╱──╲──╲──╲──■ EXIT
          │                                 │
TSL    ────╱──╱──╱──╱──╱──╱──╱──╱──╱──╱──│
          │                                 │
          ▲                                 ▲
    TSL Activates                    SL catches price
    (Trigger reached)                (Profit drops to SL)

The Trading Edge

For fast-moving, high-volatility markets, the Continuous TSL breathes with the market. It shadows price action tick-by-tick, instantly choking out risk the second momentum stalls.

The key: it only moves upward, never down. Once profit hits +20 points and the SL is at +10, the SL will never drop below +10 even if price temporarily dips — only further profits push it higher.

Best for: High-volatility scalping, momentum plays, breakout strategies.

Mode 2: Step-Ladder Trailing SL

The Step-Ladder TSL creates discrete profit “staircases.” Instead of continuously tracking price, it jumps the stop-loss to predefined levels when specific profit milestones are reached.

How It Works

You define multiple steps, each with:

Parameter	Description
Step Trigger	The profit level that activates this step
Lock-In Value	The new stop-loss level once this step is reached
Exit Lots	(Optional) Number of lots to exit at this step

Example


Configuration:
  Step 1: When profit reaches +20 pts → Lock SL at +5 pts
  Step 2: When profit reaches +40 pts → Lock SL at +20 pts  
  Step 3: When profit reaches +60 pts → Lock SL at +40 pts

Timeline:
  Profit = +15 pts → No steps activated → Original SL applies
  Profit = +20 pts → Step 1 ACTIVATES → SL jumps to +5 pts 🔒
  Profit = +30 pts → Between steps → SL stays at +5 pts
  Profit = +40 pts → Step 2 ACTIVATES → SL jumps to +20 pts 🔒
  Profit drops to +22 pts → SL at +20 pts → Still safe ✅
  Profit drops to +20 pts → SL TRIGGERED → Position CLOSED at +20 pts ✅

Visual: The Staircase


Profit ──────────────────────────────╲
  60 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╱         │
                          ╱           │
  40 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╱──────            │
                 ╱                    │
  20 ─ ─ ─ ╱───╱                     ■ EXIT at +20
           ╱                          │
   0 ─ ─ ╱                           │
                                      │
SL   ─────────────────────────────────
   0 ──── +5 ════════ +20 ═══════════│
          ▲ Step 1     ▲ Step 2       ▲ SL triggered

The Trading Edge

Never let a green day turn red again. The Step-Ladder TSL builds an irreversible staircase of locked-in profits. As the market climbs, your safety net ratchets up automatically.

The beauty: even if the market crashes seconds after hitting Step 2 (+40 pts profit), your SL is locked at +20 pts. You walk away with guaranteed, locked-in profit no matter what happens next.

This eliminates the single worst psychological error in trading — letting a massive green winner reverse past zero into a red loser.

Step-Ladder with Scale-Out

Each step can also include an Exit Lots parameter to partially close the position at each milestone:


Step 1: +20 pts → Lock SL at +5 pts   → Exit 2 lots (book partial profit)
Step 2: +40 pts → Lock SL at +20 pts  → Exit 2 lots (book more)
Step 3: +60 pts → Lock SL at +40 pts  → Exit remaining lots (maximum extraction)

Best for: Conservative strategies, defined-risk spreads, strategies where protecting capital is priority #1.

Choosing Between Continuous and Step-Ladder

Factor	Continuous	Step-Ladder
Market condition	High volatility, fast-moving	Moderate volatility, trending
SL behavior	Moves every tick	Jumps at milestones
Tightness	Can be very tight (follows closely)	Wider gaps between steps
Profit locking	Gradual, proportional	Discrete, guaranteed floors
Risk of early exit	Higher (tight SL can get hit by noise)	Lower (wider gap absorbs noise)
Best for	Scalping, momentum plays	Swing trades, multi-hour positions

Configuration Steps

For Continuous TSL:

Enable Trailing Stop-Loss
Select Continuous mode
Set Trigger Price (when to activate)
Set Adjustment Value (how much SL moves per unit of profit)

For Step-Ladder TSL:

Enable Trailing Stop-Loss
Select Step-Ladder mode
Add Steps — for each step, define:
- Trigger profit level
- Lock-in SL level
- (Optional) Exit lots at this step
Add as many steps as needed

Next Steps

Learn about the final advanced topic — how the engine evaluates entries and exits differently:

→ Next: Tick vs Candle Evaluation