What is your Trading Style?

[dipstick40]

What is your Trading Style? Pick one and explain why it fits you best.

DayTrading
A stock trader who holds positions for a very short time (from minutes to hours) and makes numerous trades each day. Most trades are entered and closed out within the same day.

Swing Trading
A style of trading that attempts to capture gains in a stock within one to four days.

To find situations in which a stock has this extraordinary potential to move in such a short time frame, the trader must act quickly. This is mainly used by at-home and day traders. Large institutions trade in sizes too big to move in and out of stocks quickly. The individual trader is able to exploit the short-term stock movements without the competition of major traders. Swing traders use technical analysis to look for stocks with short-term price momentum. These traders aren't interested in the fundamental or intrinsic value of stocks but rather in their price trends and patterns.

Position Trading
A commodity trader who either buys or sells contracts and holds them for an extended period of time, as distinguished from a day trader, who will normally initiate and offset a futures position within a single trading session.

It is a style of trading in which the expected holding period is between a few weeks to as several months.

Position trading is not the same as buy and hold investing. Rather it is like most kinds of short-term trading, just with longer time horizons and holding periods. Positions traders take both long and short positions.

Middle-Term Trading
It is longer than position trading. A trader of this style may hold the stocks or contracts for a period which lasts for many months to several years. They will ignore any short-term influence of the price too.

Long-Term Investment
It's the purchase of a financial product or other item of value with an expectation of favorable future returns. In general terms, investment means the use money in the hope of making more money.

People involved in long-term trading usually buy and sell stocks based on their fundamental values rather than technical information. The influence of the price of the stock or instrument doesn't affect their purchasing decision either.

Buy-and-Hold Investment
An investment strategy in which stocks are bought and then held for a long period, regardless of the market's fluctuations. The buy and hold approach to investing in stocks rests upon the assumption that in the very long term (over the course of, say, 10 or 20 years) stock prices will go up, but the average investor doesn't know what will happen tomorrow. Historical data from the past 50 years supports this claim. The logic behind the idea is that in a capitalist society the economy will keep expanding, so profits will keep growing and both stock prices and stock dividends will increase as a result. There may be short term fluctuations, due to business cycles or rising inflation, but in the long term these will be smoothed out and the market as a whole will rise. Two additional benefits to the buy and hold strategy are that trading commissions can be reduced and taxes can be reduced or deferred by buying and selling less often and holding longer.

I hope no one will pick the above so-called strategy. :rolleyes:

[DarkElite]

I do light trading. Most of the time I will hold the position overnight and for several days. However I may close position at the same day if it reaches my stop conditions (does that count I am daytrading too?). There is no definite period as to when I must close. If the situation keeps favoring me, I can hold as long as possible.

I selected swing trading. It seems this is the closest as what I do.

[secret_master]

I just trade Forex in my room almost all the day.

Some of my friends also do the same here in Japan, problem is that they use their discretion and hunch.
I use technical analysis and I am trying to learn Neural Networks so they can help me find patterns more quickly and maybe in real time.

Forex is very good for chart patterns.

[HighEndurance]

I stick to day trading myself as I like to only trade for a few hours a day. It is nice to be done by noon on most days. I don't aim to make 30+ points per day. I personally am happy with 1 to 2 points a day on 5 contracts. Some days end up being longer but in the end it is worth it for me.

[sefo]

But there is an apparent gap of the time frame between swing trading and position trading, which I'm trying to incorporate in.

I have been doing quite some gamma trading, mostly with earning releases. So positions are mostly held overnight to 2 days.

[marketmakerZ]

Hmm....I'm a commodities fan,

and so it's a mixture of long/value investing & day trading ;)

mmZ

[JoeDOM_Admin]

I don't trade the markets at all.


What I DO trade, are the softwares that trade the financial markets !

[dipstick40]

The poll result is interesting! There are so many members who are daytrading but how many of them are successful? Why do you want to daytrade?
Take a look at this message. It is advised you shouldn't daytrade. :D
Day Trading: Your Dollars at Risk
Day traders rapidly buy and sell stocks throughout the day in the hope that their stocks will continue climbing or falling in value for the seconds to minutes they own the stock, allowing them to lock in quick profits. Day traders usually buy on borrowed money, hoping that they will reap higher profits through leverage, but running the risk of higher losses too.
While day trading is neither illegal nor is it unethical, it can be highly risky. Most individual investors do not have the wealth, the time, or the temperament to make money and to sustain the devastating losses that day trading can bring.
Here are some of the facts that every investor should know about day trading:


Be prepared to suffer severe financial losses
Day traders typically suffer severe financial losses in their first months of trading, and many never graduate to profit-making status. Given these outcomes, it's clear: day traders should only risk money they can afford to lose. They should never use money they will need for daily living expenses, retirement, take out a second mortgage, or use their student loan money for day trading.
Day traders do not "invest"
Day traders sit in front of computer screens and look for a stock that is either moving up or down in value. They want to ride the momentum of the stock and get out of the stock before it changes course. They do not know for certain how the stock will move, they are hoping that it will move in one direction, either up or down in value. True day traders do not own any stocks overnight because of the extreme risk that prices will change radically from one day to the next, leading to large losses.
Day trading is an extremely stressful and expensive full-time job
Day traders must watch the market continuously during the day at their computer terminals. It's extremely difficult and demands great concentration to watch dozens of ticker quotes and price fluctuations to spot market trends. Day traders also have high expenses, paying their firms large amounts in commissions, for training, and for computers. Any day trader should know up front how much they need to make to cover expenses and break even.
Day traders depend heavily on borrowing money or buying stocks on margin
Borrowing money to trade in stocks is always a risky business. Day trading strategies demand using the leverage of borrowed money to make profits. This is why many day traders lose all their money and may end up in debt as well. Day traders should understand how margin works, how much time they'll have to meet a margin call, and the potential for getting in over their heads.
Don't believe claims of easy profits
Don't believe advertising claims that promise quick and sure profits from day trading. Before you start trading with a firm, make sure you know how many clients have lost money and how many have made profits. If the firm does not know, or will not tell you, think twice about the risks you take in the face of ignorance.
Watch out for "hot tips" and "expert advice" from newsletters and websites catering to day traders
Some websites have sought to profit from day traders by offering them hot tips and stock picks for a fee. Once again, don't believe any claims that trumpet the easy profits of day trading. Check out these sources thoroughly and ask them if they have been paid to make their recommendations.
Remember that "educational" seminars, classes, and books about day trading may not be objective
Find out whether a seminar speaker, an instructor teaching a class, or an author of a publication about day trading stands to profit if you start day trading.
Check out day trading firms with your state securities regulator
Like all broker-dealers, day trading firms must register with the SEC and the states in which they do business. Confirm registration by calling your state securities regulator and at the same time ask if the firm has a record of problems with regulators or their customers. You can find the telephone number for your state securities regulator in the government section of your phone book or by calling the North American Securities Administrators Association at (202) 737-0900. NASAA also provides this information on its website at NASAA (http://www.friendlytraders.com/forum/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaa.org%2FQuickLinks%2FContactYourRegulator.cfm).Day Trading: Your Dollars at Risk (http://www.friendlytraders.com/forum/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2Finvestor%2Fpubs%2Fdaytips.htm)

[DarkElite]

Hmm....I'm a commodities fan,

and so it's a mixture of long/value investing & day trading ;)

mmZ

What commodities do you like? Gold? ;)
Oil seems to have huge appreciation value BTW although the price is very high today.
US150? US200? :D

[blinx]

I day trade only cos of position size. Scalping allow me tight stop and fire and forget strategy.

[marketmakerZ]

What commodities do you like? Gold? ;)
Oil seems to have huge appreciation value BTW although the price is very high today.
US150? US200? :D

& Silver but mostly physical :rolleyes:...

About Oil...trend trading is ok but fundamentaly there is not enough potential for another 50-100% in near future...let's see what prices they made :confused:

Don't forget the other commodities :cool:

[fcbkk]

I trade from home, normally keep one position form one week to one month.

[MPwizard]

I mainly daytrade using using market profile as my basis, mostly,es, a little zb,zn. would like to trade gold, oil, but those markets move so fast, that my style just doesnt seem to work so well, i have to adapt more to momentum

[hoho]

I am a system swing trader. My trades last between 3 to 14 days all on the long side. My backtesting indicates that there is more of an edge on the long side than the short. That is not to say that there is no edge on the short side. Historically the market has trended upwards so it is easier to test the long side.

[Davie]

I am a day trader, but I think that everyone's trading style is different, so I can't say that day trading is the best way to trade.

[maineiac]

So far I've been a day trader, I rarely hold a position for over an hour. I now want to try a bit longer term trading.

[thetrad3r]

Trading style is all about personal preference, for me I like position trading and considering the fact all legendary traders from Jesse Livermore to Ed Seykota are position trader:)

[IncognitoJo]

I am a swing trader on the Forex Markets. In Jamaica where I am from when I rise in the mornings the London Forex session is usually well underway and the market is very liquid. I wait until my entry conditions are met before I enter trades. I sometimes find myself running my losses which are normally in the direction of the fundamental trend. They usually turn out to be winners too. It is normally good to exercise restraint.

[fxwin]

I trade only "automatic trading" with computerized strategies.

After many years in this field I realized that in order to create a good system, you need to fully backtest it with historical data.

The best way to do it, is to write the system code in EL (I use Tradestation) and to see if it was a winner in previous years. If it didn't succseed in previous years (on history data) there is no chance it will start winning in the future...

My personal conclusion to those of you who are looking for a new system - You must backtest your system!!! from my personal experience I can tell that unfortunately, many systems you find in forums or in books are loosers!!

And actually, once you wrote the system's code and backtested it, and it's a working one, there is no reason to sit all day glued to the monitor... the computer can do it, with no mistakes... :cool:

[Crossbow]

I trade only "automatic trading" with computerized strategies.

After many years in this field I realized that in order to create a good system, you need to fully backtest it with historical data.

The best way to do it, is to write the system code in EL (I use Tradestation) and to see if it was a winner in previous years. If it didn't succseed in previous years (on history data) there is no chance it will start winning in the future...

My personal conclusion to those of you who are looking for a new system - You must backtest your system!!! from my personal experience I can tell that unfortunately, many systems you find in forums or in books are loosers!!

And actually, once you wrote the system's code and backtested it, and it's a working one, there is no reason to sit all day glued to the monitor... the computer can do it, with no mistakes... :cool:

Nice post but just one point you've missed. Classifying the stock data into "sets", no two sets are the same and each follow pretty much unique distribution of returns and hence, a system tested to work in set A need not work in set B. Unless a solid concept precedes the creation of a system, the output will more or less be insignificant in generating profits.

[fxwin]

Nice post but just one point you've missed. Classifying the stock data into "sets", no two sets are the same and each follow pretty much unique distribution of returns and hence, a system tested to work in set A need not work in set B. Unless a solid concept precedes the creation of a system, the output will more or less be insignificant in generating profits.

You are absolutley right. Each market needs it's own optimization and statistics (set of parameters).

Things are getting even more complicated..
In most cases, a specific strategy will work only on a specific market and won't work on another. It means that once you are developing a strategy, you need to find the best market and the best time-frame for it, and only then to look for the most robust parameters.

[jtnet]

how long to program that?

[fxwin]

how long to program that?


Wow, very hard to say... for me, from several weeks to many months and even more...
It needs long optimizations (3000-10000 iterations using genetic optimizer) and then long walk forward testings.

You should bear in mind that it is not a "money printing machine" - it needs a very careful money management and intensive maintenence. But I guess it is more accurate than just using traditional indicators with the standard settings...

[amar]

My style of trading is mixed, I mostly trade intraday but will not hesitate to have a position, if I can spot a good trend.

I trade the Indexes, S&P E-mini in the US market and Nifty Futures in the Indian market.
And I love trading the Gold futures, its wonderfully cyclical, but can be extremely violent on certain days. For Gold I mostly trade intraday in direction of the main trend.

My trading strategy is based ion the Intraday pivots and supports and on basis of chart patterns. My typical chart set-ups are 1min, 3min, 60min Candlesticks overlaid with moving averages in combination with RSI and ROC indicators and Bollinger bands.

I use Fibbonacci to identify targets and turning points.

[morro]

Day trading exclusively EURUSD

In the beginning I was jumping from symbol to symbol and it mostly meant that I was either too late in the movement or on the completely wrong side.

Then decided to do EURUSD only and now doing fine : after some time spent with just one symbol it seams as it has a life of its own : its "habits", its "rhythm" and its normal ranges. Help to know "opponents" habits :)

[Kardel]

I trade forex. fast market are good for scalpers. since i always worried my account. so I just grab what I saw. And sometimes swing.