Swing vs Intraday

Hi All,

I realise a lot of you are swing traders but don't hear too much from intraday traders like myself. I see a lot of you compare intraday trading to gambling, would like to hear some views on this please and maybe hear from some intraday traders what their style is.

Myself, I trade with fairly tight stops between 10-20 pips, win on about 70% of trades and aim to return 0.50% a day.

Thanks,

Ollie

Hi Ollie,

I consider myself scalper AND daytrader. I usually open two positions if I see the possibility of a scalp trade continuing in the direction of the trend that day. I'll close one position at my target (usuallly 10-15 pips) and let the other one run until I see a change of trend ensuing. I very rarely keep trades open overnight.

I trade using multiple EMAs (12,36,200) as trend guide and dynamic support/resistance. I combine renko and heikin ashi candles on one chart with standard timeframes also using heikin ashi. Recently I have started looking at Bill Williams indicators Awesome Oscillator and Accelerator/Decelerator for extra confirmation of trend, momentum and entries/exits.

May I ask your trade management strategy? i.e. What risk/reward you use to get 0.5% daily return, how many positions you open etc. And what technicals you use?

Thanks,
David

Morning David,

Thank you for your reply, nice to see what other traders are up to and how you trade the markets.

In terms of technical indicators, I like to keep my charts quite clean. I have a couple of SMA's on there like 100 and 200 to see support and resistance on the hourly chart but I don't go much further than that. I like to trade momentum and price action. I previously worked at a prop trading firm up the city trading futures (short term interest rates and gov bonds).

Trade management - Don't risk more than 0.5% per trade but am prepared to go to 3% under certain circumstances. I like to see at least 0.5% return a day but average about 16% monthly return. Quite a small trading turnover, I have about 6 trades a day.

Thanks,

Ollie

I prefer intraday trading too as I like to be in the dynamics and I don't focus on the swap rates. I set a bit loose stop losses (25-30 pips) usually. Intraday trading is not a gambling for sure when backed up with solid technical analysis skills. 😄

Swing trading is referred as placing trades and holding the position for long term or short term or at least for one night or even could be for medium term (a few weeks). The ultimate goal of a swing trader is to take into consideration the larger price movements & thus it needs careful sizing of position to lower the risk. If the market allows, swing trader has a lot of scope to gain in medium to long term.

I am a swing trader and I believe it is always safe trade in long term for better profits… however, you can consider a swap free account like Islamic account type for trading.

While on other side, day trading is a little too risky. The day trader is a risky method and there is no assured guarantee that you will make money. Research says day trading suffers severe losses in first few months.

I am a swing trader.In my initial trading days, I was an intraday trader and I used to watch the charts all day end up losing money.But, only after I turn out to be a swing trader, I am doing good.Also now a days, I am not watching charts all day.I will spend just 45 minutes one time in a week.After placing my trade, I won't watch the market for a week.Set and forget is my method.And now I am happy that I am trading well.

I think it depends on your personality, some people do well at day trading and some people do well at swing trading. I myself cannot stand the stress of intraday movements and can do better at swing trading with properly calculated lot size and proper forecasting of market direction.

I think FX is very dynamic for a long-term swing trading strategy. I think medium to short-term approach would work well for the major currencies as the market conditions are changing everyday. It's all up to the preferred instruments that you are trading - are they time sensitive, expiring or tradable 24 hours constantly. For example, there are some stocks or bonds that are so illiquid that you cannot achieve anything significant during the day. Holding a position in FX for a long time will for sure require proper risk management and sizing.

fx4btc posted: IF they have the time and personality to fight the market makers.

Fighting market makers is like trying to beat the casinos. You cannot win in long term.

Personally I prefer Intraday trading as it fits my attitude towards the market. I like the dynamics.

I also prefer intraday trading and can hold a position over night only if I am completely sure that the trend is strong, confirmed by a few supporting indicators and checked on multiple timeframes.

Swing any day of the week.

arigoldman posted:
Swing any day of the week.

But sing only in the shower! 😉
I also prefer intraday trading. I guess I don't have the patience for long term trades. My respect to everyone who has it! 😄

INTRADAY

Get in, Get out, Hold for few pips with high lots and exit with big win

I prefer intraday trading but I am not afraid to go long term if I see a strong trend on a daily chart.

Very helpful opinions and ideas, good to hear different points of view.

Swing or intraday trading - it actually depends not only on your personality but on the type of instrument you are trading. There are asset classes that are purely long-term oriented such as some stocks, bonds or futures, for example where liquidity is low and people make money holding a position for days or even weeks. Very important for swing traders is the swap - that's for sure.

Well, I assume we are referring soley to Forex in this discussion. But in any case I see no real objective arguement for one style over the other. As has been mentioned in previous posts, it depends on your own personal goals and time allowances. For those of us 'lucky' enough to be able to sit in front of the charts all day, the very lowest time frames of M1 and M5 offer exactly the same trading opportunities as the higher time frames of H4 and above. Some people say the higher time frame charts are more reliable, steadier etc. But show me a daily chart that 'makes sense' and I'll show you one that doesn't, and vice versa with regards a M1 chart. They work exactly the same way and respond exactly the same one to indicators. It's about personal preference and nothing more.

Trading is like a long journey and it is natural for every trader to try different styles of trading: Day trading, Scalping, Swing trading ... and in the end stay and stick to the way where feels comfortable and makes money.

BaldoN posted:
Trading is like a long journey and it is natural for every trader to try different styles of trading: Day trading, Scalping, Swing trading ... and in the end stay and stick to the way where feels comfortable and makes money.

I totally agree with you Baldo. Well said! 😄