Quote from kut2k2:
Let's not.
Short-term trading: intraday or eod time frames.
Mid-term trading: eow or eom time frames.
Long-term trading: eoq or eoy time frames.
The length of any individual trade is irrelevant. What matters is the time frame you're basing it in.
I won't say he has "the right idea" about time frames, but my thinking is most in alignment with kut2k2's concept about time-frames.
While I (and I see that most) traders voted for the short-term time frame as being "better", the fact of the matter is that what we call the short-term time frame is actually very difficult (many say impossible) to trade
efficiently.
It requires an extraordinary amount of skill to do so successfully, (or you must be willing to pay those who have figured out how to do it successfully, to either teach you or give you some insight into their methodology, or pay for their signals, etc.) to actually
succeed at it.
While it theoritcally requires less capital, it also requires the greatest amount of skill to do it, and do it well (we're talking making a living at it, if you are trading for supplementary income, it is not so difficult). Without good professional help, I won't say it's impossible, but it is a tough one.
On the subject of money management, because of the increase in randomness which exists on the intra-day timeframe,
money management IS your edge.
Finally, while it
begs to be traded in an undiscplined fashion (because of the wide swings which can exist on an intra-day time frame), it actually requieres the
most discipline of all.
3 years with a lot of work, some good help, and a little luck.
***
The middle time-frame is probably
optimal for most traders who have a sufficient capital base to work with, have a good technical method entering trades, can
consistently determine trend based on their method, and have good money skills which are a little bit better than basic (the ability and knowledge to scale into positions will enhance your edge).
You could probably begin with some good books on chart reading
(if you choose to use charts) - try
The Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns by Charles Bukowski for starters.
6 months to a year and you could be up-to-speed
***
I don't have
any experience with trading leveraged securities over the long-term time frame, so I can't speak to that, hhowever, if you are trading unleveraged (or low leverage) securities over an extended time-frame (say, 6 months to ... years), that would give you plenty of
time to make your decisions, very little psychological wear-and-tear and little
real risk ... for the record, I know of several very smart women who only hold long-term (unleveraged) positions and they are doing very well for themselves.
Um, to be quite honest with you the women cited in the example haven't had an forma training in securities, unless you count being taught by their boyfriends/ex-hunbands 
.
Best Regards,
Jimmy Jam
