On small moves, how do you set a stop that is not hit by noise?

On a small timeframe, prices move in tiny steps, and a stop set a few ticks away can be hit by ordinary noise before the trade has a chance to work. Stop distance is one of the most common sources of early frustration for new traders, because it is easy to see the chart without seeing the cost of the stop in money. Leverage and margin explained shows how the stop distance and the position size combine to set the amount at risk, which is the number to keep in view.

Members who handle small moves well usually set the stop from the chart's recent range rather than from a number they like, and then size the position so that the loss is the amount they planned. A stop that is too tight for the market and a size that is too large for the account lead to the same outcome: a trade closed by noise and a loss bigger than intended.

We would like to hear how you set yours:

• How do you choose a stop distance on a small timeframe?
• Have you been stopped out by noise before the trade had a chance to work? What did you change?
• Do you size the position from the stop distance, or set the stop from the size?
• What would make you widen a stop, and what would make you accept the smaller loss?

Please share your own approach and reasoning, not calls for others to copy. Posts that promise a direction or sell signals will be removed.