Why Daytrade????

R

retire45

I see articles all the time on some that daytrade 100's of thousands of trades.. Doesn't this drive you MAD??? I am a swing trader.. the only time I end up with a daytrade is if I get stopped out the day of the trade. Me thinks swing trading is the ideal time frame (3 days to 10 days or so) to do well..

A stock breaks out of the neatest pattern I have ever seen.. As is sloshes back and forth intraday but on it's way to a traget 10 to 20% away on a daily basis why is the day trader taking scalps and going home flat?? Only if a truly gifted trader can show me a chart where he/she did much better (to cover commissions) will I understand why? Till then, my thoughts on why one days trades..:

1. Has no clue where the longer time frames/patterns are saying. During the late 90's I used to wonder how anyone could bear the sight of a weekly.. Now I cannot trade without one.

2. Insecurity about news events like earnings, 9/11.. Swing traders can avoid earnings reports.. I do. 9/11.. well stops can help here but one cannot quit holding stocks based on such a rare event.

3. So you can sleep better at night... So you have a runaway market.. the stress is even more getting back into positions you should have kept..

4. Has no patience whatsoever. The "sitting" required to make the killing is simply unbearable. Some people just have to "do something" all the time.. The "noise" can make almost anyone that cares to listen to it a daytrader. Anytime I watch a Level II it causes serious anxiety!

There must be other reasons because the ones above not good enough to me. Did daytrading ever create real wealth for anyone? We all know longer time-frames have... Or is daytrading purely for income? I find it hard to do anything only for income rather than becoming truly financially set.
 
45 - some people just thrive in the day-to-day movements of the markets vs. sitting and waiting. I thought the same as you while I was a stockbroker and was selling the 'buy and hold' philosophy. Making the jump to a futures daytrader was a shift of thinking, but I can see the validity of both sides.
 
brownsfan... I know those that buy and hold.. equally as insane as Daytrading to me... Both extremes are crazy.. to me.. and I am talking from experience.. Obviously daytrading is simply NOT for me.. I hate it.. Just wanted to get in the minds of those that do it and do it well enough to do better that 2 or three time frames higher..
 
Quote from retire45:

brownsfan... I know those that buy and hold.. equally as insane as Daytrading to me... Both extremes are crazy.. to me.. and I am talking from experience.. Obviously daytrading is simply NOT for me.. I hate it.. Just wanted to get in the minds of those that do it and do it well enough to do better that 2 or three time frames higher..
More...

You just said it, it's not for you. If you have a style that works for you great. That's what it's all about. No need to knock what works for others.

Now we're all happy.
 
there is a serious gambler mentality in many daytraders, in it for the action.

<i>" Xtrader is the crack of the middle class"</I> ---- mark fisher.


surf
 
Hmmm.. Gambing?? If a trader cannot justify the reward being enough to override the emotional cost, the time cost, the commissions cost then he or she is doing it for gambling reasons...

In other words if you can turn 20k into 40k in a year daytrading (after commissions) and I can do the same swingtrading one hour a day while I have a regular job then you are doing it for reasons other than money because your time is not being compensated.
 
If its not for you, then its not for you. Simple. There are some incredibly successful day traders who make more than a living scalping the markets. For them its a style that suits them. If your style is more longer term oriented and it's working from you, then stick with it. One piece of advice that is always referred to by 'experts' is 'find a style that suits you' - for some thats scalping, for some its swing trading and for others its position trading. Some of the most successful traders have strategies covering all the above time-frames. Thats there preferred trading style. Horses for courses.
 
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