Hi Stockoptionist
although it's a bit off topic, since we talk about emotions and startrek here ;-) :
how could one with such a small account probably earn the cost of spread + commissions inherent in daytrading of options while reducing his risk compared to stock-trading ?
I'd say, although premiums came down quite a bit compared to 1999 / 2000 - you would be better off if you select strong trending stocks, buy the dips and hold your options as long as the trend prevails (also overnight ) in order to become profitable, wouldn't you ?
If you have only 4K to trade with ( like NEO ) and not much other net worth - than you'd probably have a problem with opening an options account with your broker.
2nd. IMHO the so called "overnight risk" for a swingtrader is vastly overdone. The problem was, that many a daytraders carried huge positions ( compared to their account size , probably with extensive use of margin ) in high beta stocks. A gap against the trade the next morning could destroy such an account in no time.
This is something the daytrading industry liked to spread in order to force daytraders to close their positions by the end of the day and reopen them the next day, thereby creating commissions.
Swing trading is for sure not buy & hold !
But it's not scalping for a few cent with huge positions either.
Infact - if you're in the right stocks, you can make quite some money by overnight holding and selling in the morning. Check the stocks in your trading list, how often they open higher the next day and keep on trading higher for some time before the ST trend reverses.
Swingtraders carry typically much smaller positions than the daytraders / scalpers. Their goal is, to buy low ( weakness ) and sell high - going with the tide. This includes careful stock-selection, precise timing, tight stop-management and holding positions or parts of their positions overnight if the swing demands it, in order to squeeze the most profit out of the position.
( for a 4K account like Neo's, it's the only choice to trade when he wants to trade stocks rather than options btw. )
Swingtraders do not necessarily have to trade the same stocks with huge intraday volatility as daytraders. If they do, their positions are so much smaller, so they can manage the risk much better. If they start a position with 300 shares, they might take 1/3 to 2/3 rd of this position off the table once they made a profite and leave 1/3 overnight in order to participate from either a morning gap or from a further increase of profit on the next trading day.
Just my opinion, of course.