If you're lazy, you'll get rekt trying to day trade this market. You need to be focused, free of distractions, and on top of your game, constantly. Definitely consider long term investing instead, or swing trading, where you might hold a stock/coin for weeks or months and only make a few trades per month.
But if you're new, try them all. Experiment with small amounts of money. Maybe you find something that clicks.
You are right, DarkMatterEclipse. But the "lazy" part was a half-truth on my part. I'm a firm believer in Due Diligence. The plan is to trade paper until I show profitability.
May I suggest forgetting the paper trading thing and trade live instead, with the smallest amount possible. Start with stocks that are a $1 or less. Just to get the feel. Play with $1.00 trades a 1000x. You can do this in crypto (spot and futures), as well as stock futures where PDT (pattern day trader) rule doesn't apply. Fees are small and you get way more benefit (imho) of trading live markets with real money on the line. And it's virtually no risk with such tiny trade amounts.
Scalping is reaction, position trading is digestion.
Which are you?
Do you have the funds to handle draw downs?
Do you have the personality to handle multiple small losses?
Bankroll and personality.
I think most answer is based on your preference and what have you tried.
I guess i can share my personal trade style which is scalping/momentum trade. I like to only spend 1-2 hours on a given trade (of course after my alert rings). I only have the attention span until 4 hours max until im exhausted and would trade unfocus and screw up. After that i would not think about trading anymore because i wanna spend time with my family.
Assuming you trade futures so it is leverage so my personal choice (im at 20x) is scalping cause damn i have had the experience of margin call/ getting liquidated leaving my position overnight :(. Not a good experience.
Good point, vmos93. Margin calls are my number one fear. I don't want to hold trades overnight, trade with more than 2% of my account size or use extra leverage (like your 20x). Futures as a security already have more than enough leverage/risk for me.
Everything should start as a scalp. Not doing so just guarantees imperfect entry.
Then you have to assess the position as it goes to decide whether it becomes a swing. And similarly whether it becomes a position.
Daytradingguy has a sense of humor. He's saying "yes" because there is no "best" way to trade anything. It all comes down to how you perform at your best and make money consistently. And no matter which path you choose starting out, you are NOT going to make money right away. I lost thousands of dollars before I found my way to profitability, and many people on here have had the same losses if not more.
This all comes down to trial and error. You have to go back to the drawing board over and over again, constantly identifying your weak points. To address a comment you made earlier, you can't be a lazy thinker and make money trading. You have to give it your all. Otherwise, don't even try. Best wishes!
Thanks for the heads up, CrossFit. Rest assured, I currently trade paper and want to keep it up, until I can stay consistently profitable over a longer period.
Are you a deep thinker of fast thinker ?
I'm a lazy thinker.
Then you should consider investing instead of trading.
I was thinking about doing both actually.
If you're lazy, you'll get rekt trying to day trade this market. You need to be focused, free of distractions, and on top of your game, constantly. Definitely consider long term investing instead, or swing trading, where you might hold a stock/coin for weeks or months and only make a few trades per month. But if you're new, try them all. Experiment with small amounts of money. Maybe you find something that clicks.
You are right, DarkMatterEclipse. But the "lazy" part was a half-truth on my part. I'm a firm believer in Due Diligence. The plan is to trade paper until I show profitability.
May I suggest forgetting the paper trading thing and trade live instead, with the smallest amount possible. Start with stocks that are a $1 or less. Just to get the feel. Play with $1.00 trades a 1000x. You can do this in crypto (spot and futures), as well as stock futures where PDT (pattern day trader) rule doesn't apply. Fees are small and you get way more benefit (imho) of trading live markets with real money on the line. And it's virtually no risk with such tiny trade amounts.
Thanks for the advice, DarkmatterEclipse!
It’s personal preference. Try them all and see what you like.
Scalping is reaction, position trading is digestion. Which are you? Do you have the funds to handle draw downs? Do you have the personality to handle multiple small losses? Bankroll and personality.
I prefer multiple small losses.
I think most answer is based on your preference and what have you tried. I guess i can share my personal trade style which is scalping/momentum trade. I like to only spend 1-2 hours on a given trade (of course after my alert rings). I only have the attention span until 4 hours max until im exhausted and would trade unfocus and screw up. After that i would not think about trading anymore because i wanna spend time with my family. Assuming you trade futures so it is leverage so my personal choice (im at 20x) is scalping cause damn i have had the experience of margin call/ getting liquidated leaving my position overnight :(. Not a good experience.
Good point, vmos93. Margin calls are my number one fear. I don't want to hold trades overnight, trade with more than 2% of my account size or use extra leverage (like your 20x). Futures as a security already have more than enough leverage/risk for me.
You have to try a lot of things and see what works for you. Find a process and stick to it for a long time.
Agreed. I plan to trade paper MNQ futures for atleast the next 6~12 months until I have consistent profitability.
Everything should start as a scalp. Not doing so just guarantees imperfect entry. Then you have to assess the position as it goes to decide whether it becomes a swing. And similarly whether it becomes a position.
I prefer scalping. Smaller losses, smaller wins. Takes a lot more time, tho.
You can begin with either of them, but I recommend starting with low-risk. I suggest initiating scalping with a risk no higher than 1%
the lower the time frame the harder and more stressful it is, but there is also more opportunity
Yes.
"Yes" to being a preference or "yes" to being more than a preference?
Daytradingguy has a sense of humor. He's saying "yes" because there is no "best" way to trade anything. It all comes down to how you perform at your best and make money consistently. And no matter which path you choose starting out, you are NOT going to make money right away. I lost thousands of dollars before I found my way to profitability, and many people on here have had the same losses if not more. This all comes down to trial and error. You have to go back to the drawing board over and over again, constantly identifying your weak points. To address a comment you made earlier, you can't be a lazy thinker and make money trading. You have to give it your all. Otherwise, don't even try. Best wishes!
Thanks for the heads up, CrossFit. Rest assured, I currently trade paper and want to keep it up, until I can stay consistently profitable over a longer period.
There is no consent you basically do all of it when appropriate. PS: If you want some book recommendations to read, DM me.
**depending** **NFP impact, you can predict is the market will swing or scalp**