Hey traders, Barry Burns here with Top Dog Trading. In this post on How to Scale Into a Trade, I want to clear up a significant misconception—scaling into trades. A lot of people think it’s a smart money management technique, but the truth is, it usually hurts you more than it helps. I’ll break down why scaling doesn’t work well, the three big problems with it, and what you should focus on instead.
I hope you enjoy it!
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Scaling Into Trades – The Biggest Misconception – Video
Why Scaling Into Trades is NOT a Great Idea
Hey traders, Barry Burns here. Today I want to tackle the topic of scaling into trades. A lot of people like the idea, but my answer is simple: don’t. It’s not smart, it doesn’t work well, and I’ll give you three reasons why.
1. Lack of Confidence in Entries
Most traders scale in because they’re not confident in their initial entry. They don’t have a precise, rule-based system to consistently nail high-probability entries with small risk. So instead of entering with conviction, they add positions later to “average in.” But the real solution isn’t scaling—it’s learning how to get in with precision right from the start.
By the way, I teach this in detail in my free webinar at indicatorwebinar.com, where I show you the exact timing tool I use to identify cycle highs and lows.
2. Markets Don’t Trend Most of the Time
Scaling assumes you’ll catch a big trending move. But here’s the reality: markets only trend about 20% of the time. That means scaling into trades will fail you 80% of the time.
Even in a trending market, adding positions can backfire. Say you short after a retracement, then add more as it drops. If the market snaps back against you, you’re stuck with a bigger position in a losing trade. And in today’s markets—faster, choppier, dominated by algos—those nice, clean stair-step trends happen far less often than decades ago.
3. Risk-to-Reward Gets Worse with Every Add-On
Even in the best-case scenario, scaling still hurts you. Your first entry is always your highest-probability, best risk-to-reward trade. Every subsequent entry has:
- A lower win/loss probability (since trends weaken as they extend).
- A worse risk/reward ratio (because you’re entering further from the start of the move).
So statistically, every add-on makes the trade worse. Why build a strategy around making your trades progressively weaker?
The Better Alternative to Scaling into Trades
Trading is a game of probabilities, and scaling stacks the odds against you. Instead, focus on getting in early with a strong entry, managing risk tightly, and letting the market prove itself.
And if you’re looking for an alternative, check out my Rubber Band Trade at rubberbandtrade.com. It’s a complete reversion-to-the-mean strategy that works especially well in today’s choppier markets. It’s my free gift to you, so you can test it on a simulator before risking real money.
Free Offer!
I am offering one of my favorite trade strategies called the Rubber Band Trade. Absolutely free. And I want you to go and make some money. Try before you buy, or well, actually try and never buy because there’s no charge for this trade at all. And I’ll give you the setups, the exits, all the rules for it. It’s an objective rule-based method based on price pattern action that I don’t think anyone else teaches.
I’ve never seen anything else teach this particular price structure. So go get that by clicking on the green icon in the top right-hand corner of the video there, or by clicking on the green button below, and that’ll take you to a page where you can opt-in, get the video for the rubber band trade strategy, along with some other great free tutorials, one of my little mini-courses, absolutely free, courtesy of Barry Burns here at Top Dog Trading.
GET MY FREE MARKET ENTRY TIMING INDICATOR
BTW, if you’re interested in the indicator that I use personally for very precise entries and exits. I’m happy to share that with you. Just send me an email at support@topdogtrading.com, and I’ll show you how to get access to that indicator.
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