It is better not to be a full time trader, less is more in trading...

[sandy_s]

Full time trader needs a lot more than just making trades. Number of trades don’t matter much. The market will tell you what to do and when...

Rest of the time, you ought to be spending time in critical and analytical thinking, correlating and following a strict discipline...

Every style of trading comes with its own pros and cons...

 

[deaddog]

Full time trader needs a lot more than just making trades. Number of trades don’t matter much. The market will tell you what to do and when...

Rest of the time, you ought to be spending time in critical and analytical thinking, correlating and following a strict discipline...

Where as a swing trader can set his entries and exits and spend the rest of the day doing something they enjoy.

 

[themickey]

Rest of the time, you ought to be spending time in critical and analytical thinking, correlating and following a strict discipline...

Ya, not necessary, if you have a system, not a lot of thinking required like 'critical and analytical thinking'.
Just rinse and repeat and go outside, relax, let the system work for you, not you working for the system.

 

[virtusa]

Where as a swing trader can set his entries and exits and spend the rest of the day doing something they enjoy.

That's correct.

However the million $ question is: how do the returns of the two do compared to each other.

Maybe the swing trader has more free time but much less money...

My wife likes to paint and works hours and days to finish a painting. I can make a painting in 10 minutes and spend the rest of the day doing something I enjoy. Our paintings are however looking "slightly" different .

 

[virtusa]

Ya, not necessary, if you have a system, not a lot of thinking required like 'critical and analytical thinking'.
Just rinse and repeat and go outside, relax, let the system work for you, not you working for the system.

'critical and analytical thinking' are essential to first get to a system. Without 'critical and analytical thinking' you can never built a good system.
I have never seen a well performing system that does not use 'critical and analytical thinking' while in operation.Markets are dynamical and need to be followed. Not all system are good in that. If they were they would never blow up or have huge losses.

All big funds have dozens (some even hundreds) of quants and PHD's. They are there for the 'critical and analytical thinking'. If they would not be needed once there is a system, they would not have a job anymore.

 

[themickey]

'critical and analytical thinking' are essential to first get to a system. Without 'critical and analytical thinking' you can never built a good system.
I have never seen a well performing system that does not use 'critical and analytical thinking' while in operation.Markets are dynamical and need to be followed. Not all system are good in that. If they were they would never blow up or have huge losses.

All big funds have dozens (some even hundreds) of quants and PHD's. They are there for the 'critical and analytical thinking'. If they would not be needed once there is a system, they would not have a job anymore.

Possibly because they run numerous algos they need numerous staff, but if a retail algo trader needs to baby sit his one algo all day every day, it may be more profitable working at Walmart, at least there are chics there to admire, better than a poster hanging on your basement wall.

 

[sandy_s]

Ya, not necessary, if you have a system, not a lot of thinking required like 'critical and analytical thinking'.
Just rinse and repeat and go outside, relax, let the system work for you, not you working for the system.

Yep - once you have that system in place. But until then, it is quite a bit of slog..

Possibly because they run numerous algos they need numerous staff, but if a retail algo trader needs to baby sit his one algo all day every day, it may be more profitable working at Walmart, at least there are chics there to admire, better than a poster hanging on your basement wall.

The point is - once you have a profitable system which repeats itself everytime, life is real cool! But first you need the thinking and reasoning behind it to build that kind of a system.
And even then, you constantly need to monitor the system so that it evolves with the market micro structure.

 

[sandy_s]

Where as a swing trader can set his entries and exits and spend the rest of the day doing something they enjoy.

Different folks, different style. For me, that’s a bit of market risk.

 

[virtusa]

Possibly because they run numerous algos they need numerous staff, but if a retail algo trader needs to baby sit his one algo all day every day, it may be more profitable working at Walmart, at least there are chics there to admire, better than a poster hanging on your basement wall.

If you need staff to run the algo's, you don't have an algo as an algo should run without any interference of anybody according to you. If not you are again staring at the screen.
A lot of traders have no algo at all.

I sit all day in front of my screen. And I make substancially more money then working at Walmart. You cannot discuss this without comparing the returns. I make more money on an average month then I made per year when I was working. If I trade 1 mnth I can take 11 months holidya, compared to going to work. I don't mind having to watch the screen.


For many people an algo can be something like 1+1=2. What's the definition of an algo? Many people use the word "algo" just to impress people.

 

[themickey]

If you need staff to run the algo's, you don't have an algo as an algo should run without any interference of anybody according to you. If not you are again staring at the screen.
A lot of traders have no algo at all.

I sit all day in front of my screen. And I make substancially more money then working at Walmart. You cannot discuss this without comparing the returns. I make more money on an average month then I made per year when I was working. If I trade 1 mnth I can take 11 months holidya, compared to going to work. I don't mind having to watch the screen.


For many people an algo can be something like 1+1=2. What's the definition of an algo? Many people use the word "algo" just to impress people.

I'll leave it there because this vast topic deserves a thread of its own which becomes the entrance to a long rabbit hole. Then if some become defensive, ends in a flame war, its as though I smell one already brewing.