It feels like 1:3 R:R doesn't work for my positions.

I'm on my second month trading very small amounts through Oanda. Down about $5 on a $40 account as I try to find my system.

One thought that keeps occurring to me is that a 1:3 rr simply doesn't fit the trades I tend to find and take. As you can see on my -$0.36 loss from this morning, I entered just a bit too early. But further, a stop loss just a bit wider would have been a safe bet.

I know scalping for such small amounts is a higher stress activity, but since Monday is my only day off and I can spend a good few hours looking for trades following the New York open, I feel it's where I should be putting in the practice.

SO MANY sources suggest that 1:3 is the be-all-end-all of RR, but I find that this almost always sets my SL too close, or my TP too far away. I would love to hear some more seasoned Forex traders' philosophies on SLs and TPs.

Also VERY open to useful critique! Just glad to be here, in a community where I've already learned so much.

What you want to figure out is your expectancy. Risk:Reward isn't the magical metric everyone makes it out to be, and 1:3 RR is one of those book theory / looks good at first glance things. Because a 1:3 RR has a 3:1 odds of hitting SL first.

As for how to set the SL/TP that depends on what you're doing. If I'm going for a long term trend trade I don't use a TP at all because why limit my upside? SL/TP are both orders that limit you. And the SL goes at the point where I would, and usually do, accept taking the opposite trade in a stop and reverse scenario.