As we all know, the three most popular trading styles are the following: Swing trading, Day trading, and Scalping.
This educational post is concentrated on highlighting some of the pros and cons of all three techniques.
When it comes to Swing Trading (middle to long-term trading), some of the advantages are less screen time, less anxiety, less risk, and less candle noise. This style of trading is beneficial for those individuals that do not have enough time to sit in front of the charts and execute positions on a daily basis. However, some drawbacks should be mentioned as well. In order to be a swing trader, one needs to master the skill of remaining patient, disciplined and cold-blooded. Swing trades can run from one day up to a week, and hence, it is crucial to know how to sit on your hands and do nothing upon witnessing slow price action, indecision, drawdown and so forth.
Moving to intraday trading, no overnight and over-the-weekend risks can be associated with this style as executed positions are usually closed within a couple of hours when trading the H1 and lower-timeframe graphs. On the negative side, in order to make a living off day trading, a strong psychological temperament is needed along with a sufficient trading capital. If swing trading requires a minimum of a risk of 1-2% per trade, the number is lower for day trading. Hence, a bigger input (capital) is required in order to be able to make decent returns.
Last but not least: Scalping. The fans of this style of trading usually dedicate their focus on timeframes as low as the M5 and M1. Aiming towards capturing 5-10 pip movements, scalpers use smaller lot sizes in comparison to swing and day traders. Nevertheless, this trading style comprises of drawbacks such as indecision and a high degree of emotional state. Since the main purpose of scalping is capturing small price movements identified on lower-timeframe graphics, the noise and confusion is relatively high.
While all trading strategies have their own benefits and drawbacks, choosing a trading style that suits your goals and interests the most is highly linked with your personality. If you are a patient and, at the same time, a busy person, swing trading might be the best option for you. On the other hand, if you have enough time and patience to sit in front of the charts and execute trades on a daily and hourly bases, then either day trading or scalping might be the best variants to opt for.
Either way, it all narrows down to patience, long-term vision, discipline, persistence, and risk management. Choose one or two securities that you like trading the most, do not get discouraged while experiencing losses and moments of hardship, remain cold blooded and long-run oriented.