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TP Redistribution
A layered entry gets you a better average price when price pulls back, but a deep pullback also means you are holding a bigger position than you started with. TP Redistribution handles that automatically: as deeper layers fill, it shifts your earlier entries' targets closer so they bank profit sooner, while your deepest entry keeps its original far targets as a runner. The result is faster profit-securing exactly when your exposure is highest.
Why shift targets at all
Compare two outcomes of the same layered trade:
| Situation | Filled volume | Exposure | What the targets should do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only the first layer fills | Small | Low | Original targets are fine — the trade moved in your favor immediately |
| All your layers fill | Full | Maximum | Price retraced deep — pull the targets closer to secure profit |
When only the first layer fills, the trade went your way at once. Waiting for the far targets is reasonable: your exposure is limited and you are already in profit.
When every layer fills, the picture changes. You are holding maximum exposure at maximum drawdown, and price retraced a long way before bouncing. Waiting for the original far-out targets is risky — a second dip can give it all back. Redistribution compresses the targets so earlier layers close sooner, cutting risk, while the deepest layer still aims for the original targets.
The two rules
Redistribution follows two rules:
- Layer 1 lock — once any deeper layer fills, your first-layer orders lock to TP1 as a safety net, securing break-even or early profit.
- Adaptive shift — deeper layers shift their targets closer by how many layers have filled below them. The deepest filled layer keeps its original targets: it got the best price, so it has the most room to run.
TIP
You do not configure redistribution per trade — it runs automatically as your layers fill. The one knob you control is whether Layer 1 locks to TP1 (on by default).
Under the hood, the shift uses a compression factor that runs from 0 (fully compressed to TP1) to 1.0 (keep the original target):
compressionFactor = (layerNumber − 1) / (filledLayers − 1)
newTP = max(1, round(1 + (originalTP − 1) × compressionFactor))Layer 1's factor is always 0 (locked). The deepest filled layer's factor is always 1.0 (original). Layers in between compress proportionally — the closer a layer is to Layer 1, the more its targets shift in.
Layer 1 lock is optional
The Layer 1 lock is on by default. You can turn it off in Settings → Strategy, where the L1 lock toggle controls whether your first layer hard-locks to TP1.
- Lock on (default): when any deeper layer fills, your first layer always moves to TP1 and peels off early to secure the trade.
- Lock off: your first layer is treated like any other layer and follows the same shifting rule instead of being pinned to TP1.
Traders turn the lock off when they want the whole position to ride toward the shifted targets rather than peel the first layer off early.
INFO
Turning the Layer 1 lock off keeps your whole position aimed at the shifted targets instead of peeling the first layer at TP1. That means more upside if the move continues, and more give-back if it reverses.
Compression at a glance
The adaptive engine runs up to 6 layers. This table shows the compression factor for each layer at every fill depth — Layer 1 locked to TP1, the deepest filled layer keeping its originals, the middle layers shifting proportionally.
| Layer | 2 filled | 3 filled | 4 filled | 5 filled | 6 filled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layer 1 | 0 (TP1) | 0 (TP1) | 0 (TP1) | 0 (TP1) | 0 (TP1) |
| Layer 2 | 1.0 | 0.50 | 0.33 | 0.25 | 0.20 |
| Layer 3 | — | 1.0 | 0.67 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
| Layer 4 | — | — | 1.0 | 0.75 | 0.60 |
| Layer 5 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 0.80 |
| Layer 6 | — | — | — | — | 1.0 |
Reading the factor: 0 means locked to TP1, 1.0 means keep the original target, and values in between shift the target proportionally toward TP1 — lower factor, bigger shift.
Worked walkthroughs
These examples use a 6-TP Progressive setup to show the math at each fill depth.
Only Layer 1 fills
Price moved in your favor straight away — no retracement.
Action: no shift needed. All orders keep their original targets.
Layer 1: L1a → TP1, L1b → TP2, L1c → TP3 (original, unchanged)Layers 1 and 2 fill
A light retracement dipped into the zone and filled Layer 2 before price resumed.
| Order | Original TP | cf | New TP | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1a | TP1 | 0 | TP1 | locked |
| L1b | TP2 | 0 | TP1 | locked |
| L1c | TP3 | 0 | TP1 | locked |
| L2a | TP2 | 1.0 | TP2 | — |
| L2b | TP3 | 1.0 | TP3 | — |
| L2c | TP4 | 1.0 | TP4 | — |
Layer 1 locks to TP1 to secure profit quickly; Layer 2 keeps its targets because it is the deepest active layer.
Layers 1, 2, and 3 fill
A moderate retracement, with exposure across three layers.
| Order | Original TP | cf | Calculation | New TP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1a–L1c | TP1–TP3 | 0 | locked | TP1 |
| L2a | TP2 | 0.50 | 1 + (2−1) × 0.50 = 1.5 → 2 | TP2 |
| L2b | TP3 | 0.50 | 1 + (3−1) × 0.50 = 2.0 → 2 | TP2 |
| L2c | TP4 | 0.50 | 1 + (4−1) × 0.50 = 2.5 → 3 | TP3 |
| L3a | TP4 | 1.0 | original | TP4 |
| L3b | TP5 | 1.0 | original | TP5 |
| L3c | TP6 | 1.0 | original | TP6 |
Layer 1 is fully locked to TP1, Layer 2 shifts one step in, and Layer 3 keeps its originals as the deepest active layer.
All four layers fill
A deep retracement filled the whole position. The priority is securing profit.
| Order | Original TP | cf | Calculation | New TP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1a–L1c | TP1–TP3 | 0 | locked | TP1 |
| L2a | TP2 | 0.33 | 1 + (2−1) × 0.33 = 1.33 → 1 | TP1 |
| L2b | TP3 | 0.33 | 1 + (3−1) × 0.33 = 1.67 → 2 | TP2 |
| L2c | TP4 | 0.33 | 1 + (4−1) × 0.33 = 2.0 → 2 | TP2 |
| L3a | TP4 | 0.67 | 1 + (4−1) × 0.67 = 3.0 → 3 | TP3 |
| L3b | TP5 | 0.67 | 1 + (5−1) × 0.67 = 3.67 → 4 | TP4 |
| L3c | TP6 | 0.67 | 1 + (6−1) × 0.67 = 4.33 → 4 | TP4 |
| L4a | TP5 | 1.0 | original | TP5 |
| L4b | TP6 | 1.0 | original | TP6 |
| L4c | TP1 | 1.0 | original | TP1 |
Layers 1 through 3 shift toward TP1, and Layer 4 — the deepest entry, at the best price — keeps its original targets as the runner, positioned to capture the full move if the trend extends. The same pattern carries on through 5 and 6 layers, using the factors in the table above.
Why this saves you on a deep pullback
Without shifting, all your filled layers would wait for the original far target. On a deep retracement that briefly bounces, price often dips again before reaching it — and you give back the unrealized gain. With shifting, your earlier layers bank at TP1 and TP2 during the bounce, so the second dip costs you far less.
Liquidation order
A useful side effect of compression is a built-in close order:
- Your first layer closes first — locked to TP1, the nearest target.
- Earlier middle layers close next — shifted toward the front.
- Later middle layers close after — shifted less.
- Your deepest layer closes last — original targets preserved.
This is by design. Earlier entries are liquidated first to secure profit quickly, while the deepest entries — which got the best prices and the most favorable risk-to-reward — are held for maximum extension.
When redistribution runs
Redistribution is on by default and needs no per-trade configuration. The shift recalculates whenever one of these happens:
| Trigger | When | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| A deeper layer fills | A waiting limit order fills | Full shift based on the new filled-layer count |
| A followup changes the number of TPs | Your provider adds or removes a TP | The targets are reassigned for the new TP count, then shifted |
| A followup updates TP prices | Your provider sends new TP prices | Prices update in place; the assignments do not change |
| All layers confirmed filled | Every layer is filled | Full shift at maximum exposure |
A short settling window
When several layers fill in a rush, TTMT waits a brief settling window — about 5 minutes — for the fills to settle before running the shift, so a burst of near-simultaneous fills produces one clean recalculation rather than a flurry of half-applied changes. You don't set this; it's part of how redistribution stays reliable.
TP strategy and how strong the shift is
Your chosen TP strategy decides how dramatically the shift changes the trade:
| Strategy | Effect of the shift |
|---|---|
| Progressive | Most orders already target the early TPs, so the shift is moderate — the trade is already front-loaded. |
| Balanced | Targets are spread evenly; the shift turns that even spread into a front-loaded one. |
| Extended | The most dramatic effect. Back-loaded orders (TP5–TP6) move a long way forward — the trade flips from trend-chasing to profit-securing. |
Filling in missing targets
When a followup sends fewer TP levels than your trade needs (for example, the signal sends TP1–TP3 but you have orders targeting TP4–TP6), TTMT extends the ladder:
- It measures the average gap between the provided TPs.
- It extends that gap to fill the missing levels.
Example
A followup provides TP1 = 4588, TP2 = 4590, TP3 = 4592.
Average step = (4592 − 4588) / 2 = 2
Extended:
- TP4 = 4592 + (2 × 1) = 4594
- TP5 = 4592 + (2 × 2) = 4596
- TP6 = 4592 + (2 × 3) = 4598
WARNING
This assumes the provider's TP gaps are roughly even. If your provider spaces targets unevenly, the extended values may not match their intent. When only a single TP is provided, TTMT copies that one value forward.
Built-in safeguards
Redistribution includes protections against edge cases and broker hiccups:
- No-change skip — TTMT remembers how many positions were open at the last shift. If nothing has changed, it skips the recalculation to avoid pointless broker requests.
- Already-correct skip — if a position already has the right target, TTMT leaves it alone.
- Failure threshold — if too many target changes fail in one cycle, the whole batch is retried rather than left half-applied.
- Attention by layer — your deepest layer gets extra retry attention because it holds the most exposure; earlier layers are retried briefly, then corrected the next time a layer fills.
- One at a time — when several layers fill almost simultaneously, TTMT processes them sequentially so each shift uses the latest fill data, never an outdated snapshot.
- Background retry — a target change that fails is retried in the background with increasing wait times between attempts.
A brief broker hiccup during a shift no longer makes TTMT wrongly mark the shift as failed: it retries the change, and the result calculated at trade time stays the source of truth.
Ideal Settings & Trading Strategy
Scenario 1 — Conservative: secure early, lock on
Setup: Capital-preservation trader, $5,000 account, choppy major-pair channel.
Settings:
- TP strategy: Progressive
- Layer 1 lock: on (default)
- Number of layers: 4
- Auto-breakeven: TP1
Why: Progressive is already front-loaded, and the L1 lock guarantees your first layer banks at TP1 the moment a deeper layer fills — ideal in choppy conditions where the far targets rarely hit.
Watch for: In a strong, clean trend you will peel off early and under-participate; that is the price of safety.
Switch when: You move to a trending instrument and want to ride further — use Scenario 2.
Scenario 2 — Balanced trend rider
Setup: Swing trader, $25,000 account, a gold or indices channel that trends.
Settings:
- TP strategy: Extended
- Layer 1 lock: on
- Number of layers: 4–5
Why: Extended holds volume for the far targets when the trend runs. If price retraces deep, the automatic shift pulls those far targets forward so you still bank profit instead of chasing TP6 into a reversal. The L1 lock keeps a safety floor.
Watch for: Extended's far targets mean a shallow-then-reverse move can leave middle layers un-hit before the shift catches up. The runner profile gives back more on fakeouts.
Switch when: The channel turns choppy — fall back to Scenario 1 (Progressive).
Scenario 3 — Whole-position runner (lock off)
Setup: Experienced trend trader, $50,000 account, high-conviction breakout channel, wants maximum extension.
Settings:
- TP strategy: Extended
- Layer 1 lock: off
- Number of layers: 5–6
- Trailing stop: on (to protect the extended ride)
Why: With the L1 lock off, the entire position rides toward the shifted targets instead of peeling the first layer off early — maximizing extension on a clean breakout. A trailing stop replaces the early-lock safety the L1 lock would have given.
Watch for: This is the most aggressive profile. Without the L1 lock there is no early profit floor, so a reversal can erase unrealized gains. Pair it with a trailing stop and a daily-loss limit.
Switch when: Your win rate drops or the channel gets noisy — turn the L1 lock back on (Scenario 2).
Related pages
- Order Execution — the layered grid and TP strategies redistribution operates on
- Breakeven Management — how breakeven fires when the locked Layer 1 hits TP1
- Order Management — the full trade lifecycle reference
- Limit Order Conversion — followup-driven limit behavior