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

[HolyGrailSeeker]

The less you trade the more profitable you are at the end of the day.
If you are a full time trader, you feel the need to justify going in and out daily to be
"productive". Sadly. most of the time the price movements does not justify going in and out
all the time. It is not that day trading is not profitable. It can be but only 5% or less can make money from it. Also, it is arguable that it is more profitable than swing trading or investing.
Based on my experience, I feel that it is not.

A real life example would be bitcoin. Someone who bought bitcoin at a few cents and just HODL would have been ultra rich by now. That is why you have stories of people mining bitcoin and then forgetting their hard drives and they suddenly realized that their bitcoins are worth millions. They made millions by forgetting it for years and literally did nothing. If they had access to trading it, they probably sell it for 2x or 3x the gain and made some good money but not riding the trend the whole way.

 

[traider]

A real life example is BTU coal miner or Sears. Someone who held it will have lost almost everything
Survivorship bias is everywhere

 

[benten]

Be it a full time trader or a part time trader, everyone should trade wisely and restrict themselves from overtrading.

 

[yana hansen]

Putting in money and forgetting about it is possible when you are trading with money that you can afford to lose. Do not spend your whole life saving in it because the markets are very unpredictable.

 

[Clubber Lang]

A real life example is BTU coal miner or Sears. Someone who held it will have lost almost everything
Survivorship bias is everywhere

Exactly.
Bear Stearns, Lehman, Countrywide, Fannie/Freddie, GM, etc etc

Even companies that didn’t go BK, look at GE, and most oil companies over the last 20 years. You’ve made nothing or lost.

Buy and hold works for the S&P. But for individual stocks it’s mostly a losing bet.

 

[traider]

Yes and S&P is actually actively managed by exclusions and inclusions

 

[maxinger]

be a surgeon, engineer, hackman, soldier, hitman, waiter, lock picker, wrestler etc etc etc
but not a trader.

 

[zghorner]

if you know what you are doing with the trade and the setup fits then I don't think your argument works.

longer time frame can be taxing on the emotions as well.

 

[virtusa]

The less you trade the more profitable you are at the end of the day.
If you are a full time trader, you feel the need to justify going in and out daily to be
"productive".

No. A daytrader should trade the moves of the day. Some days it is 1 move, some days 2, some days 3...
A daytrader should focus on the opportunity to catch the waves, not on the number of trades. That's productivity. Not trading is also trading.
According to you trading 1 time a day is always more profitable than 2 times a day? Do you really mean that?

Sadly. most of the time the price movements does not justify going in and out all the time.

No. I see every day at least 1 profitable opportunity. And even if I should see nothing for one, or even several days, that's no problem. Like I said:Not trading is also trading.

Also, it is arguable that it is more profitable than swing trading or investing.
Based on my experience, I feel that it is not.

Of course it is not more profitable for you. Everybody can read above why. Have you ever tried to daytrade profitable? And how long? Maybe you are not qualified... One opinion is not relevant and it makes no sense to make statements on that one experience.

 

[virtusa]

A real life example would be bitcoin. Someone who bought bitcoin at a few cents and just HODL would have been ultra rich by now. That is why you have stories of people mining bitcoin and then forgetting their hard drives and they suddenly realized that their bitcoins are worth millions. They made millions by forgetting it for years and literally did nothing.

It is easy to find an example in hindsight. I can also find numerous examples in hindsight that show just the opposite of what you say.
There are millions of bitcoin holders, but nobody held his entire position from day 1 till today. That is already confirmed by a few holders. So you make again assumptions without any hard proof. These holders were not sure about what they were doing, if not they would have hold all their coins and even bought more. Which they did not.

If they had access to trading it, they probably sell it for 2x or 3x the gain and made some good money but not riding the trend the whole way.

IF.... I would have made billions in daytrading too. You just argue with hypothetical arguments.