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How to Test Whether Stops Are Hit Just Before Price Reverses

Research protocol · Reviewed 24 Aug 2026

Near-stop reversals are memorable, which makes them especially vulnerable to selective recall. A complete denominator must include every eligible trade, not only charts where price later recovered.

The analysis must also preserve account risk because a wider stop changes both position size and the payoff path.

Counterfactual stops change the whole trade

DESK 24

Measure stop proximity with executable quotes and fixed account risk

Calling a trade stopped by one pip before reversal requires several definitions: which quote side hit the stop, the tolerance unit, how far and how soon price later moved, and whether the original target remained reachable. Midpoint candles and rounded prices can manufacture near-misses at exactly the scale being studied.

A wider stop is not a free repair. Recalculate size to keep account risk constant, preserve the original entry and exit horizon, and compare net expectancy, adverse excursion, drawdown, and capital usage. Use an MAE distribution rather than selecting one attractive buffer after seeing the data.

Executable touch

Stops trigger on the relevant bid or ask and can slip through the level. Record price precision, spread, gaps, and trigger convention.

Reversal rule

Define the later reference, minimum favourable move, and maximum horizon. A future rally weeks later is not evidence the stop was hunted.

Risk parity

Increasing stop distance requires smaller size. Compare outcomes in account currency or R, not pips alone.

  1. Build maximum-adverse-excursion records from path-resolved data.
  2. Predeclare buffer bins rather than optimizing one pip threshold.
  3. Recalculate size and costs for every counterfactual stop.
  4. Confirm the chosen policy on later entries.

A near-stop reversal is a measurable path event, not proof that a broker or market targeted the order.

Define the path event exactly

For every entry, record executable stop trigger, maximum adverse excursion, stop overshoot, later maximum favourable excursion, and timestamps. Define one-pip tolerance in the instrument precision and set a fixed horizon and reversal threshold before counting.

Evaluate a stop-width curve

Test a predeclared grid of volatility- or structure-based buffers. Recalculate position size to hold account risk constant and preserve target logic or state explicitly how it changes. Compare net R, drawdown, capital usage, and trade duration.

Look for mechanism and stability

Segment by spread state, session, event exposure, volatility, and stop placement logic. Correct for the number of buffers examined and confirm the selected policy on later trades without moving the threshold again.

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