Something I've really noticed lately and have paid more attention to is the basic idea of scaling in and out of positions. Whether on the long or short side I feel this is a great method to help protect yourself in any given trade. 

However, this isn't something I would have done right off the bat when I first began trading. Now that I am slightly more comfortable with certain setups I believe this works well. The concept is very simple; begin with a starter position (say 100 shares) and as the stock starts to move in your favor you can slowly or quickly add to your position. The same applies for exiting as well; slowly or quickly taking shares off or covering on the way out. 

This method provides an average entry/exit price from scaling in/out at different price levels. What I like best about this method is that if I'm wrong and enter too early on any given price point the risk is generally very small due to just having a starter size. Also, now that commissions are just about free at any major brokerage firm, that helps from racking up fees. Otherwise, if you took say 5 entries and 5 exits that would be a nice handful of commission costs on one main trade. 

Another important thing to remember is that if you choose this method and you're under the PDT rule like I am, be sure to do all your scaling in first before scaling out on any specific ticker. If you go back and forth (scale in, out, back in) on one ticker it will count as multiple day trades. 

Something to think about.