Help with Mixing Timeframe

The verdict is in after careful thoughts and the feedbacks from this forum.

Daytrading isn't for me. Which I already knew years ago that's why I switched to swing trading.

So, I have two choices and I have to pick them and live with the consequences.

1) Sit through all the noise while I wait for my position to go my way or get STOPPED OUT. Since swing trades account for more than 100% of my net profits. The reason it's more than 100% of my net profits is that daytrades account for a NEGATIVE percentage of my net profits(i.e. net losses)

2) Yes, there are some intraday indicators I can use to time entries and exits better. But as long as I don't "daytrade". Just use it to enter my longer swing trades. This will require additional research.

Brett Steenbarger said that finding your vehicle and timeframe are essential ingredients for success in trading. When you this right combo then it fits perfectly. You wouldn't need discipline. You will naturally trade with the right discipline and rhythm.

Thanks everyone for your feedbacks.

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swingtrade to the three points on chart,the tough part is finding which timeframe(3 month,6m,9m,1 yr,2yr 3 yr) the larger players are using for turns,as it moves from 1 point to next,it stops,turns or continues,you hold as it moves from one to another and decide to get flat,reduce or add,watch it for awile, then add its anti or in sync vehicle and see how it reacts at same points, when you get 2 or 3 moving in sync, there is a rythm,makes it easier to pick a direction,you can also adjust with the smaller time frames to improve your average(add and reduce) or reduce risk(take part of position off and add it back at next point. it bounces to and from those points like a pinball,waiting for those points eliminates the noise trades in between , the wider the point the more weight it carries
 

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Ever since I posted this thread, I've come to terms with a few things. I think how your mind frame the problem helps you solve and deal with the problem better.

First, I realize most of my profits come from swing trading. But the setups that I look for doesn't always appear that often. So, I'll have to be patient. And when it does I'll swing for the fence and ride it all the way. That's how I've made good profits historically. I'll try to do that going forward. Keep doing what works.

Now for daytrading, I've come to realize that I'm not as bad as I was back in my newbie days of daytrade. I quit it and move back to the corporate world since. Now, instead of losing all of the time I can bang out a few hundred bucks easily. It's NOTHING to write home about.

BUT, the right perspective is that "Hey, this is an IRA account that I can't touch for decades. In the meantime, I'm just trying to compound this small account over time."

It doesn't materially affect my net worth. But I think maybe in 5-10yrs of this side compounding it might be worth something.

At least I'm beating the bank and Amex savings account by a HUGE margin. That's my benchmark. As long as I'm beating my safe alternative then it's worth trading on the side. A few hundred bucks a day might not be much in the grand scheme of things, but if I can do that consistently then it will compound TAX FREE over decades. That's definitely beating any mutual funds or online savings account I would have put my money in.

So, daytrade to get a little bit profit and fun while I wait for the big moves and swing for the fence with swing trading on size.

I've come to peace with this mixing of timeframe. The other thing I've come to peace with is that in daytrading you gotta make a lot of decisions quickly. Long. Then exit. Then flip and reverse and go short. Then long again. All day long. Tiring. In swing trading I can patiently wait for the setup.

Now, I realize if I get in and out very quickly(i.e. scalping) then my daytrading profits are small but consistent and adds up quickly. However, if I start thinking like a swing trader and just hold then I either give back some or all and more of my profits just holding for longer term patterns to emerge. Or worst yet hold on for big losers.

Occasionally, there are INTRADAY TRENDS. I have yet to master riding the intraday trends. I think if I can do that then daytrading profits will be orders of magnitude bigger on trend days that it is now.

Then there's the Holy Grail. If I can just get better entries and exits on my swing trades...

LOL
 
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