Every trade has three stages:
1) before entering the position (analysis and understanding where the price is coming from and where it's heading)
2) in position (possible averaging and cutting)
3) after closing the position (take profit, positive stop loss, positive trailing stop, limit close either full or partial)
each of these stages is crucial, just like in a chess game there are: opening, middlegame, and endgame. trading is akin to chess in that respect: