Jump to content

Welcome to the new Traders Laboratory! Please bear with us as we finish the migration over the next few days. If you find any issues, want to leave feedback, get in touch with us, or offer suggestions please post to the Support forum here.

  • Welcome Guests

    Welcome. You are currently viewing the forum as a guest which does not give you access to all the great features at Traders Laboratory such as interacting with members, access to all forums, downloading attachments, and eligibility to win free giveaways. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free. Create a FREE Traders Laboratory account here.

Sledge

Long Term Vs Medium Vs. Scalping Trading

Recommended Posts

Just wanted to post this for anyone new to trading. You may read this today and think "yeah yeah.. blah blah blah" I think it will stick in your head and maybe someday you'll come back to it

 

I found this while looking at information on Long Term, Medium Term and Short Term Trading camps, as I am making transitions from a once scalper to a longer term (now focused on Daily) so I can relate to this and speak from experience. I was a good scalper- but it was mentally exhausting.

The following I cannot take a cent of credit (Credit to NewstraderFX on forexfactory) I tend to learn well with analogies, so this may spark something in someone elses head:

 

Very few traders are long term and there are some very good reasons why. Longer term trading requires a very good knowledge of fundamentals and economics. It takes time to digest all this and most traders probably find it very boring and difficult to follow but, what really makes this type of trading so difficult is that in order to stay in these trades you'll need to be able to ride out the inevitable ups and downs that occur as a trend progresses. There's much less "action" here because longer term trends don't get set up every day (or even every week). These kinds of trades don't appeal to the gamblers.

 

All this being said, I really believe the long term trader has a much better chance of being profitable. I'll explain this by setting up a few bets on the NY Yankees.

 

Everyone knows the Yankees are a very good team. Does that mean they'll win the world series every year? No, but here's my long term bet:

 

I'm gonna bet that the Yankees are gonna win more games then they'll lose this year. That's it. I only have one bet the whole season. Boring, really. What's worse is that they've lost 7 out of their last 8 and they're below .500 for the year so far. I'm losing pips and I gotta stay in and ride it out. Not easy.

 

Here's the Yankee bet that's like trading those short term blips and bleeps:

 

I'm gonna bet the Yankees score in this inning. Hey, they scored in the 2 previous innings. Alex Rodriguez is coming up, the short term MA of runs scored by the Yankees has crossed over the long term MA of runs given up by the opposing pitcher...

 

There's a lot more fun in betting this way. You're gonna have 8-9 bets/day for 162 days. Plenty of action, as long as your money holds out.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm quite surprised that you found scalping so mentally draining.

 

Isn't it easier to cope with mentally than swing or long term trading? Since fluctuations in equity are much larger, and due to the longer time period? Or is it simply because of the fact that you must be glued to your screen 24-7?

 

I haven't really tried scalping so I guess I'm a relative newbie in that regard :S

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Mr. Slege:

Unless you are already wealthy, which you probably are. Most of us would have to get a 9-5 job or another type of business if we are going to trade long-term. I can't imaging making withdrawal for expenses every month if I am going through a period of drawdowns unless I started out with a big pile of cash. It is not called trading any more, it is more like portfolio mangement.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Mr. Slege:

Unless you are already wealthy, which you probably are. Most of us would have to get a 9-5 job or another type of business if we are going to trade long-term. I can't imaging making withdrawal for expenses every month if I am going through a period of drawdowns unless I started out with a big pile of cash. It is not called trading any more, it is more like portfolio mangement.

 

OAC-

Actually I transitioned to a longer term trader BECAUSE I have a day job. I started small and would trade like mad scalping any pips I could get my hands on between 5 PM and 8:00 AM- sadly I did have to sleep so I couldn't grab most of the good moves. I was at work when a lot of the goodies came to pass and away from my platform. The longer term allows me to be able to assess the situation from a further out perspective. At noon I can get home, move my stops etc. At EOD, I can do the same.

 

Now I'm not concerned with evry 3, or 5 or 20 pip "glitch" I know the long term trend is up, I find my entry and stick with it, if the market provides me 20 pips, I take it, if it provides me with 130 pips, I take it. I am still working on having the stones to find a bottom or top, get into my position and ride it for a week. I have yet to overcome that part of it. Very hard to do. But I do bank money on a daily basis. Looks like it is weakening- bank $ and look for a pullback for another entry etc.

Sledge

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

the secret to making it in this game is to find your sweet spot. some guys can scalp and think long term is boring, some are long term and see scalping as gambling, and then there are the swing traders who think everyone else is nutts.

 

i have been trading with the same bunch of guys for almost 10 years now. We all started out trading differently, but have all slowly migrated to the same style. We are all long term day traders. we may be in a trade a matter of minutes or months, it just all depends.

 

i guess what i am trying to say is that your trading zone should be whatever you are comfortable with. true, it does take a bigger bank roll to trade long term. IMO short-term trading should be used to generate income and long term to generate wealth. the style should be based on the ultimate goal.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
the secret to making it in this game is to find your sweet spot. some guys can scalp and think long term is boring, some are long term and see scalping as gambling, and then there are the swing traders who think everyone else is nutts.

 

i have been trading with the same bunch of guys for almost 10 years now. We all started out trading differently, but have all slowly migrated to the same style. We are all long term day traders. we may be in a trade a matter of minutes or months, it just all depends.

 

i guess what i am trying to say is that your trading zone should be whatever you are comfortable with. true, it does take a bigger bank roll to trade long term. IMO short-term trading should be used to generate income and long term to generate wealth. the style should be based on the ultimate goal.

 

Very well put. Welcome aboard bootstrap!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
OAC-

Actually I transitioned to a longer term trader BECAUSE I have a day job. I started small and would trade like mad scalping any pips I could get my hands on between 5 PM and 8:00 AM- sadly I did have to sleep so I couldn't grab most of the good moves. I was at work when a lot of the goodies came to pass and away from my platform. The longer term allows me to be able to assess the situation from a further out perspective. At noon I can get home, move my stops etc. At EOD, I can do the same.

 

Now I'm not concerned with evry 3, or 5 or 20 pip "glitch" I know the long term trend is up, I find my entry and stick with it, if the market provides me 20 pips, I take it, if it provides me with 130 pips, I take it. I am still working on having the stones to find a bottom or top, get into my position and ride it for a week. I have yet to overcome that part of it. Very hard to do. But I do bank money on a daily basis. Looks like it is weakening- bank $ and look for a pullback for another entry etc.

Sledge

 

I hear you bud. I too got to admit that I love the position trading. I still do attack the short sells intra-day maybe 1 day in a month to satisfy my enjoyment of short-term trading, but that's about it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I hear you bud. I too got to admit that I love the position trading. I still do attack the short sells intra-day maybe 1 day in a month to satisfy my enjoyment of short-term trading, but that's about it.

 

Being able to take quick 20 or 30 pip scalps just for fun or quick cash is always a good time- I enjoy it myself. If you trade long term, you are sharp on fundimentals, this makes short timeframe trading easier IMO!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Be careful who you blame.   I can tell you one thing for sure.   Effective traders don’t blame others when things start to go wrong.   You can hang onto your tendency to play the victim, or the martyr… but if you want to achieve in trading, you have to be prepared to take responsibility.   People assign reasons to outcomes, whether based on internal or external factors.   When traders face losses, it's common for them to blame bad luck, poor advice, or other external factors, rather than reflecting on their own personal attributes like arrogance, fear, or greed.   This is a challenging lesson to grasp in your trading journey, but one that holds immense value.   This is called attribution theory. Taking responsibility for your actions is the key to improving your trading skills. Pause and ask yourself - What role did I play in my financial decisions?   After all, you were the one who listened to that source, and decided to act on that trade based on the rumour. Attributing results solely to external circumstances is what is known as having an ‘external locus of control’.   It's a concept coined by psychologist Julian Rotter in 1954. A trader with an external locus of control might say, "I made a profit because the markets are currently favourable."   Instead, strive to develop an "internal locus of control" and take ownership of your actions.   Assume that all trading results are within your realm of responsibility and actively seek ways to improve your own behaviour.   This is the fastest route to enhancing your trading abilities. A trader with an internal locus of control might proudly state, "My equity curve is rising because I am a disciplined trader who faithfully follows my trading plan." Author: Louise Bedford Source: https://www.tradinggame.com.au/
    • SELF IMPROVEMENT.   The whole self-help industry began when Dale Carnegie published How to Win Friends and Influence People in 1936. Then came other classics like Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins toward the end of the century.   Today, teaching people how to improve themselves is a business. A pure ruthless business where some people sell utter bullshit.   There are broke Instagrammers and YouTubers with literally no solid background teaching men how to be attractive to women, how to begin a start-up, how to become successful — most of these guys speaking nothing more than hollow motivational words and cliche stuff. They waste your time. Some of these people who present themselves as hugely successful also give talks and write books.   There are so many books on financial advice, self-improvement, love, etc and some people actually try to read them. They are a waste of time, mostly.   When you start reading a dozen books on finance you realize that they all say the same stuff.   You are not going to live forever in the learning phase. Don't procrastinate by reading bull-shit or the same good knowledge in 10 books. What we ought to do is choose wisely.   Yes. A good book can change your life, given you do what it asks you to do.   All the books I have named up to now are worthy of reading. Tim Ferriss, Simon Sinek, Robert Greene — these guys are worthy of reading. These guys teach what others don't. Their books are unique and actually, come from relevant and successful people.   When Richard Branson writes a book about entrepreneurship, go read it. Every line in that book is said by one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time.   When a Chinese millionaire( he claims to be) Youtuber who releases a video titled “Why reading books keeps you broke” and a year later another one “My recommendation of books for grand success” you should be wise to tell him to jump from Victoria Falls.   These self-improvement gurus sell you delusions.   They say they have those little tricks that only they know that if you use, everything in your life will be perfect. Those little tricks. We are just “making of a to-do-list before sleeping” away from becoming the next Bill Gates.   There are no little tricks.   There is no success-mantra.   Self-improvement is a trap for 99% of the people. You can't do that unless you are very, very strong.   If you are looking for easy ways, you will only keep wasting your time forgetting that your time on this planet is limited, as alive humans that is.   Also, I feel that people who claim to read like a book a day or promote it are idiots. You retain nothing. When you do read a good book, you read slow, sometimes a whole paragraph, again and again, dwelling on it, trying to internalize its knowledge. You try to understand. You think. It takes time.   It's better to read a good book 10 times than 1000 stupid ones.   So be choosy. Read from the guys who actually know something, not some wannabe ‘influencers’.   Edit: Think And Grow Rich was written as a result of a project assigned to Napoleon Hill by Andrew Carnegie(the 2nd richest man in recent history). He was asked to study the most successful people on the planet and document which characteristics made them great. He did extensive work in studying hundreds of the most successful people of that time. The result was that little book.   Nowadays some people just study Instagram algorithms and think of themselves as a Dale Carnegie or Anthony Robbins. By Nupur Nishant, Quora Profits from free accurate cryptos signals: https://www.predictmag.com/    
    • there is no avoiding loses to be honest, its just how the market is. you win some and hopefully more, but u do lose some. 
    • $CSCO Cisco Systems stock, nice top of range breakout, from Stocks to Watch at https://stockconsultant.com/?CSCOSEPN Septerna stock watch for a bottom breakout, good upside price gap
    • $CSCO Cisco Systems stock, nice top of range breakout, from Stocks to Watch at https://stockconsultant.com/?CSCOSEPN Septerna stock watch for a bottom breakout, good upside price gap
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.