You place a stop-loss at an obvious support level, get stopped out, and watch price reverse minutes later exactly as you predicted. This pattern is common enough that it has a name: stop-loss hunting.
Most retail traders place stops at the same round numbers and visible support/resistance levels. Large players know this — pushing price just past these levels triggers a wave of forced selling they can buy into cheaply.
Price spikes sharply through a key level, triggering stop-losses and liquidations, then reverses just as sharply back into the range. The 'wick' on the candlestick chart is the signature of this move.
Avoid placing stops at exact round numbers or the most obvious chart level. Give your stop a buffer beyond the level — a few percent further out — so a brief wick doesn't take you out of an otherwise correct trade.
You can't out-trade the whales at their own game with a small account. Focus on wider stops, smaller position sizes, and higher timeframes where noise matters less. Precision on entries matters less than surviving the noise.
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