swing trading vs day trading

dotslashfuture · Jun 18, 2003

"- from 1995-2000 it made more sense to daytrade and hold overnights"

That is complete BS.

Don Bright · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from dotslashfuture:

"- from 1995-2000 it made more sense to daytrade and hold overnights"

That is complete BS.

Are not daytrading and holding overnights a contradiciton in terms.....I must agree with you.....

Don

ElCubano · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from dotslashfuture:

when it comes to the stock market in particular ( exluding all other markets including stock index derivatives ), daytrading is never the optimal strategy for an individual.

Even during the late 90's, those daytraders making a bundle would have made much more by being swing or position traders.

you are assuming they were long......but had they been swinging on the short side it would be a different story....but i understand what u mean and i agree

lindq · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from Merc:

What about his second book:'Come into my trading room'
Is it just a repeat of his first book? Or worth reading as well?

Thanks for your help.

There is nothing substantially new, but if you like his first book and identify with his approach, then Trading Room is worthwhile.

RAMOUTAR · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from dotslashfuture:

"- from 1995-2000 it made more sense to daytrade and hold overnights"

That is complete BS.

In that time frame I and several hundred other traders I worked with made money doing BOTH. 20-50 gap openings, 10-20 point swings during the day how could you say that was BS. Thats what I was doing.

And yes, a contradiction in terms. Two different timeframes. I'm curious to know what you folks did then. Be well.

prox · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from indioo:

from reading alexander elder's book he makes a interesting argument that very few day traders survive due to the channels on intraday charts not bieng high enough. However, swing traders could be profitable if he uses daily charts to buy and hold for a few days

do you guys agree? is it better for a beginner to formulate a swing trading strategy

Intraday range matters mostly when you rely on some sort of early open based entry and then hold it out for an exit near close. Otherwise, any market can be daytraded profitably with enough leverage or size.

DHOHHI · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from dotslashfuture:

"- from 1995-2000 it made more sense to daytrade and hold overnights"

That is complete BS.

I think he was suggesting that it was very profitable to do BOTH ... which I agree with. Even though the market was in an uptrend in that time period we did have down days and having some cash available at the start of each day from closing out daytrades the prior day allowed one to capitalize on the specifics relative to that day. The other money one had riding on position trades could continue to move upward over time. For me, focusing on BOTH day trading and position trades has worked well over the years.

Merc · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from lindq:

There is nothing substantially new, but if you like his first book and identify with his approach, then Trading Room is worthwhile.

lindq,

I haven't read any of his books. But thinking of buying one.
Which one to go? Trading for a living or Trading room?

Thanks.

Merc · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from jsemmel:

put your swing trading money in a separate account from your daytrading money and use a broker with $.01/share fees to cut down on commission costs

good luck

Jeff

Jeff,
Why it is so important to put swing trading money in a separate account from daytrading money...?

Thanks,

Alex

lindq · Jun 18, 2003

Quote from Merc:

lindq,

I haven't read any of his books. But thinking of buying one.
Which one to go? Trading for a living or Trading room?

Thanks.

Best to start with Trading for a Living.