10.3. Strategies
A single rule covers one situation. A method covers many: when to cut a loss, when to take profit, when to add. A strategy gathers the rules of one method, and is what you apply to a position.
A strategy has two sections:
- Exit rules, whose actions are Sell, Trim or Hold,
- Entry rules, whose action is Add.
Tradestory checks a position's exit rules in order, and the first that fires decides the action. If none fires, it checks the entry rules the same way. So the order of exit rules matters: put the rule you most want to win first.
Open Plan → Strategies and choose + New Strategy, then add rules from your library to each section and drag them into order.
Three Examples
Our example portfolio has three illustrative strategies, from simple to fuller. Each shows a different kind of primitive at work.
Fixed limits works from thresholds and one position field. It sells when the loss passes the stop-loss percentage, and trims when the gain reaches 50%.
Fixed limits
A stop and a profit trim, from fixed numbers · applied to 9 positions
Exit rules
- Loss beyond my stop-loss %SELL
gain_pct < -sl_pct“Loss beyond my stop-loss %” - Trim at a 50% gainTRIM
gain_pct >= 50“Gain of 50% reached”
Entry rules
No entry rules.
Trail from the peak follows a position's highest close since entry. Its stop rises as the position rises: once up 20%, a fall of 10% from the peak sells; once up 50%, the room widens to 15%. Below a 20% gain, a 10% loss sells. The rules are ordered so the widest-room tier is checked first.
Trail from the peak
Exits that follow the position's peak · applied to 0 positions
Exit rules
- Up 50%+ and 15% off the peakSELL
gain_pct >= 50 AND drawdown_from_peak_pct >= 15“Fell 15% from its peak after a 50% gain” - Up 20%+ and 10% off the peakSELL
gain_pct >= 20 AND drawdown_from_peak_pct >= 10“Fell 10% from its peak after a 20% gain” - A 10% lossSELL
gain_pct <= -10“Loss of 10%”
Entry rules
No entry rules.
Weekly trend with volume works from indicators. It sells when the price is below the 21-week EMA, or falls through the 9-week EMA on twice the usual volume with at least half of it delivered. It trims when the position is stretched after a 40% gain. And it adds a tranche when the price is above the 9-week EMA, has risen 10% since the last tranche, and the week's volume is at least one and a half times the usual.
Weekly trend with volume
Trend, momentum and volume on weekly prices · applied to 15 positions
Exit rules
- Break of the 9-week EMA on heavy delivered volumeSELL
cmp < w_ema_9 AND w_rvol_20 >= 2 AND w_deliv_pct >= 50“Fell through the 9-week EMA on heavy delivered volume” - Below the 21-week EMASELL
cmp < w_ema_21“Price below the 21-week EMA” - Stretched: RSI or a fast run, on a 40% gainTRIM
(w_rsi_14 > 80 OR gain_from_last_tranche_pct >= 30) AND gain_pct > 40“Stretched after a 40% gain”
Entry rules
- Add on strength with volumeADD
cmp > w_ema_9 AND gain_from_last_tranche_pct >= 10 AND tranche_count < 6 AND w_rvol_20 >= 1.5“Up 10% since the last tranche, above the 9-week EMA, on 1.5× volume”
Applying a Strategy
Open Dashboard → Current Positions, select the positions, and in the bar that appears choose a strategy under Strategy and apply it. Each position runs one strategy at a time; applying another replaces it.
The first time you apply a strategy, Tradestory shows a short note: strategies are tools for your own decisions, and the signals they produce follow your rules exactly. It is a good moment to re-read your rules.
In our example, Fixed limits runs on the nine positions bought in one go, and Weekly trend with volume on the fifteen built in several tranches. Trail from the peak stays in the library, applied to none: a strategy can be written and kept without being used.
What Changes on the Dashboard
Once a strategy applies, the Dashboard starts to show what your rules call for:
- the Action column shows Sell, Trim or Add,
- the summary bar's Sell, Trim and Add counts light up, and filter the table when clicked,
- and an opened position starts with the reason the rule gave.
Figure 10-5 shows the positions in our example whose rules call for an action, as of 16 October 2026.
Actions your rules call for
5 of 24 positions under a strategy
| Symbol | Strategy | P&L % | Action | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMMPFAUDLR | Fixed limits | −10.6% | SELL | Loss beyond my stop-loss % |
| MAMATA | Fixed limits | −19.3% | SELL | Loss beyond my stop-loss % |
| TIIL | Fixed limits | −18.9% | SELL | Loss beyond my stop-loss % |
| UNIONBANK | Weekly trend with volume | −4.3% | SELL | Price below the 21-week EMA |
| VENUSREM | Fixed limits | +419.6% | TRIM | Gain of 50% reached |
Three positions under Fixed limits are past the 8% stop. A fourth, AARTIPHARM, at −7.0%, is just inside it and shows nothing. VENUSREM is past a 50% gain, so its trim rule fires. Under Weekly trend with volume, UNIONBANK's price is below its 21-week EMA. The other fourteen positions under that strategy show nothing this week: none is stretched, and none has broken down on heavy volume or risen on enough volume to add.
What you do with an action is your decision. The marks are your rules, read back to you.
Next, rules that cover every position at once: guardrails.