swing is it. less stress. no instantaneous insanity. no shotgun decisions. you have time to analyze and set up your day ahead of time. i don't know any daytraders who can make 1 to 2% a day consistently over a long time. If you are one good for you. they usually blow out there accounts on revenge trades or gambling trades. swing trading lets you shake it off, regroup have a cognac and plan the next day with a level head. compound 2% a day over 3 yrs on a 20k starting account and believe me, you wouldn't be watching this forum site anymore. stick to a solid plan and take money from the fools and you will be wealthy in the long run.
Swing trading vs. day trading
- Thread starter gunslinger
- Start date
ST LESS STRESS? Dont think so. Ur more far more exposed, even when hedged, to Xfactors, huge market moves, overnight news, far more the DT.
I went from DT to ST. Only because I was forced to, based on price movement ...penny on penny moves became a norm, a stock would take days to move a point vrs minuets. Also, paper dried up fast, volitily gone....soon I found myself playing options, where at least they had a nickle spread, so I can lose or gain a nickle no matter what. Playing Locked markets and Arbs/inversion soon dried up (year or so) and thus was forced to hold personal positions longer.
ST is not the a law but a good rule. Of course DT comes in Handy for scalps when needed and re-positioning. ST comes in handy in trending "positions" and hedging oportunities, (Hedging takes up quite a bit of capital, so I dont see any point hedging during DT methods.)
Fees have also increased including cancel fees in options. Regulation has piled up and "Bullets" gone, short selling is not as easy, all kinds of new and wonder things have limited the advantage of DT.
Er
I went from DT to ST. Only because I was forced to, based on price movement ...penny on penny moves became a norm, a stock would take days to move a point vrs minuets. Also, paper dried up fast, volitily gone....soon I found myself playing options, where at least they had a nickle spread, so I can lose or gain a nickle no matter what. Playing Locked markets and Arbs/inversion soon dried up (year or so) and thus was forced to hold personal positions longer.
ST is not the a law but a good rule. Of course DT comes in Handy for scalps when needed and re-positioning. ST comes in handy in trending "positions" and hedging oportunities, (Hedging takes up quite a bit of capital, so I dont see any point hedging during DT methods.)
Fees have also increased including cancel fees in options. Regulation has piled up and "Bullets" gone, short selling is not as easy, all kinds of new and wonder things have limited the advantage of DT.
Er
It sounds like you you constantly loose money in whatever you call "my swing trading". Why don't you stick to daytrading?
Swing trading is more difficult than day trading, bec it requires more knowledge than DT. For beginners i advise to trade DT first and after gaining some experience of DT it would be less risky to trade ST.
From smal to bigger.
A.T.
From smal to bigger.
A.T.
Does everyone experience this?
Well, I started out with Futures, tried daytrading them, and it all went downhill, although I did learn a ton with the experience.
I moved to equities and now day-trade fast moving equities like metals, oil, and other various stocks.
I have been studying Forex almost for the past 2 months and will be opening up a Forex account soon and will be swing trading that account.
I have not yet gotten to testing swing or longer term trades on live account, but do recognize the benefits of being able to trade multiple styles, multiple markets.
Do what works, and have a backup.
I moved to equities and now day-trade fast moving equities like metals, oil, and other various stocks.
I have been studying Forex almost for the past 2 months and will be opening up a Forex account soon and will be swing trading that account.
I have not yet gotten to testing swing or longer term trades on live account, but do recognize the benefits of being able to trade multiple styles, multiple markets.
Do what works, and have a backup.
I've made 50.00 a day DT and over 300 ST (yes i have a small account..shut up
) I gave it all back but I like both just as much. ST if better for beginners I think, because I am a beginner myself. Swing trading gives you time to analyze things..read news, look at trends, find patterns whatever... Day trading is a lot more fast paced. People will tell you not to Swing trade because of overnight risk..there's a simple solution, when a trade goes south, get out.
Day trading requires more experience
1. Learn to read the tape, time and sales, and L2 (level 2)
and understanding what it all means
2. reading the news and understanding how that might have an effect on share price
3. Understanding your indicators (if you choose to use any) are they buy or sell signals?
4. Finding chart patterns
5. Knowing where s/r is at all times
6. knowing your exits
and more...
Also as a day trader, you're going to have higher expenses
1. Commissions
2. Slippage
3. Monthly fees for streaming news, quotes, level 2, and more
4. Many day traders have more than one ISP.. so thats probably 100.00 a month..
5. DT'ers also have more complex computer set ups with 3 or more monitors that cost 400+, back up power supply, faster computers
--
I'm not saying that day trading is bad, but for someone starting out, its not the best IMO. Learn to walk before you run.
Both styles are profitable and it all depends on what works for you.
- Nathan
BTW, I have read threads where people use the term "Day trading" and "Scalping" as if they are NOT the same thing.
My reply to this thread is in assuming that day trading and scalping ARE THE SAME, and that the thread starter is interested in scalping (day trading) vs Swing trading.
I went back and re-read your post. Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know. If you trade 40-50k shares a day I guess you know what your doing
..But I do have a question. Why not take what you have in your account now, and spread that across many different stocks.. ( 3 or 5), sit back and see what happens. Maybe this does not fit your style. However it's something I'd try if I had the money.