Swing Trading VS. Day Trading

[maxinger]

Well once again I have learned the hard way the Day trading is just not the way for me to trade. I go back and fourth on this. Yes, I can make money day trading. But it is very intense, very up and down,, and most importantly I do not enjoy it..

So then this leaves me with Swing trading. Boring.. yes,, but boring is good. I can take my time with analysis, entry and exit. My biggest issues on swing trading is staying in the trad long enough and occupying my time during the day..

I would love to hear thoughts on this...

Is the following statistics accurate?
This is how people generally feel.
This is probably the general consensus.


classification - % success

investor - 80%
many investors feel that you should buy stocks and hold on to them for donkey decades

swing trader - 60%


day trader - <1%
millions of traders said day trading is very very risky/dangerous with
very slim chance of success.
They also said never never use a second / minute chart;
use a long time frame chart - the longer the better.




Anyway, do what fits you.

 

[traider]

Drop Day trading,unless you are crushing it,it's a waste of life..

Swing trade,get away from the screen and find a job you love..

What if the job I love is trading?

 

[Overnight]

Based on what I saw over the past 5 trading sessions of the NQ and YM, it reminded me of the shit that went down in 2020 an 2022.

The only saving grace of this one is the controlled rotation.

DON'T try to "day-trade" these indices. You have to position-trade them, because their point-swings are going to continue to be extreme through the end of year, with both the potential of rate cuts plus POTUS election on horizon.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the Dow gained nearly 1000 points. Today it gave over half of that back. The Qs are in rough shape during this earnings season with all the profit-taking and rotation, but it seems orderly.

Balance between small-caps and industrials seems to be the play here.

 

[taowave]

If you love day trading and are 30 + years of age,sit back,relax and enjoy the show..

If you are coming out of school,and love trading,I would highly reccomend the IB path..

If my daughter wakes up one morning and says she reallllyy wants to be a day trader,i would lovingly tell her, NO YOU DONT,go back to sleep.

What if the job I love is trading?

 

[ironchef]

In day trading you never ever average down.

You should read @volpri's post on how he averaged down in day trading.

 

[ironchef]

If you love day trading and are 30 + years of age,sit back,relax and enjoy the show..

If you are coming out of school,and love trading,I would highly reccomend the IB path..

If my daughter wakes up one morning and says she reallllyy wants to be a day trader,i would lovingly tell her, NO YOU DONT,go back to sleep.

But it is easy money?

 

[Overnight]

But it is easy money?

How many points did the YM just give back over the last two trading sessions?

All of it. The answer to your question seems clear.

It is NOT easy money.

 

[taowave]

Crushing it is relative,so it's hard to define...IMHO,if you can knock home 17 percent plus on AUM, with consistency,you are crushing it..

I get that there are a handful of guys doing far better,but for everyone one if them ,there is a truckload of "belly up" traders

After experimenting for a year and a half, I am beginning to appreciate your advice.

By the way, what is your definition of crushing it?

 

[Picaso]

Nah, it doesn't work like that. We all like to think that if you simply leave the trade alone it will magically end up as a winner. Even if it initially goes against us, it will reverse and we will close the trade in the money.

But don't forget swing trading encompasses all the whipsaws you see in a day trading. So it's more like swing trading = day trading + day trading (all stacked). Hence, to get around that, it requires larger stop losses. So are you willing to sit through large losses without knowing you will ever be made whole? Something to definitely think about.

Also swing trades can oftentimes become day trades, whether you like it or not. For example, I entered a position with a sizable stop loss today expecting to hold it overnight. I got stopped out in less than 2 hours.

Exactly. It's very easy to look at a daily chart and say, in hindsight, oh, if only I had bought in May and held till now, I would have made so much more money.

In my view the main factor for picking day vs. swing trading should be your time availability and willingness to stay in front of a screen. You have a day job? Stick to swing trading. You're bored out of your wits staring at a screen all day? Stick to swing trading. You have plenty of time, don't mind sitting in front of a screen 4-8 hours a day, but have trouble sleeping if you have a position on? Daytrade then.

Best trading to all.

 

[Picaso]

I wouldn’t say swing trading is easier than day trading and day trading is hard enough. It’s all about your personal style. For example I only do day trading since I cannot sleep at night with a (big) position in the market. Technically, they are quite different. In day trading you never ever average down. Swing trading averages down on dips in an up trend is very common. Look at Nvda in the last few weeks.

Respectfully, I think that adding to losers is a losing proposition, no matter the time frame.

I'm not talking about mean-reverting strategies that sell overbought, buy oversold and have their own stops and risk managing parameters. I'm only referring to trades that go against you, yet instead of getting out with a loss (or even reverse), you stubbornly add because you priorize "being right" vs. making money.