Here's another question related to this. So I'm holding a swing trading position. It has been consolidating to upward but has not truly breakout of this new range yet. It broke out of the prior range then rallies like 10pts above that then it dips back to the top part of the prior range. Kind of frustrating. I don't want to exit the swing trading position yet since it has only been 2 weeks. And it has not fallen back to the old range. The lowest it has gone is the high of the prior range. In this situation, I feel like I should daytrade around my core position to not get frustrated. How do you guys handle this? How much time do you allow a consolidating range to play out?
Swing trading involves holding position for days or weeks. and your stop loss is higher than you would do day trading. day trading involves holding position for seconds or few hours and it involves 100% concentration during trading session of 3 hours or more. Based on what you say, you might not be suitable for swing trading. There are also many traders who are not suitable for day trading. So you probably want to decide if you are more suited for day trading. for my case, I am more suited for day trading.
My trade analytics show that I'm more profitable in swing trading than daytrading. Remember the title of this thread is combining both swing trading and daytrading. I'm totally OK with holding long term. While it's consolidating I want to daytrade to generate profits while holding.... I think I need to figure out a way to daytrade while holding long term positions to smooth out the equity curve.
Why would you day trade same stock as you swing trade? If you want to day trade, day trade stocks in play. Sounds to me you are trying find solutions to survive choppy markets or average down your position ... Which is what trading around your position kinda is. Sell some on small rallies, buy some back on pull backs. If you can be so good at trading around your position, then just do that instead of swinging in the first place. Big guys trade around their positions because their positions are too large to churn, imho. I'm not trying to preach ... We are brainstorming here. This is an interesting topic for sure.
Have traded long enough where whatever is doing long term in stocks and scalping/day trading Indexes is counter, I see it as double plus opportunity, movement of going counter, then going back with long term trend always size is larger. Maintain multiple accounts, automation keeps track, long term is just that, stock positions were put on based of weekly charting and intraday doing 60 to 200 plus signals a 24 hour day, I manually trade new Index systems to see if worthy to get programmed and they kept in separate account. If you have become experience enough to find short term extremes in stocks, you can hedge open profits using stock options or Indexes/options till retrace is over, then reverse your hedge for profit play, you end up making something on down and up move while stock in same position, that is if prices come back to original price.
Again, here's where the hell of trading two mindsets comes in. Again, here's where it's so..... mind-grind relieving to have a rules-based system, and to simply stay with the rules that you have tested and in which you have faith. From the sympathetic posts above, you have company! For me, I would look for an indicator {simply, "a tool which lends an empirical result to what our eyeballs see on the chart"} which would indicate 'wash' -- a ranging market -- which is importantly the opposite of trending markets which you're trading. So! When the indicator beeps "Range!" you EXIT. (Because that is your RULE.) I've got a fair system worked up. (I am very pleased. ) It's taken me, pretty much, this calendar year, to transition from the prior {credit/options} system. They are both rules-based, are *nearly* opposed (for entry/exit/danger signals), and take very different mindsets. (One wishes for trends, one wishes for 'wash'/ranging markets.) I am NOT worrying, because I've got the rules which *tell* me what to do, and I've got some *history* to steer reasonable Expectancy calculations. ("Yay, 'Expectancy'!!")
I was thinking the same. There are these wicks on the candle chart that are quite extreme. If you can hedge at or near those wicks and hold onto your core long-term position then it would smooth out the equity curve quite a bit.
i hate this consolidating range. I felt like I should have gotten out at the upper range and rebuy at the lower range. Oh well. It's hard to given those highs and lows occur during the work day.. hehe I will sit this one for a few more weeks to see if it breaks out again. If not then I'll close it out.
How do you make sure you don't end up always few steps behind the curve? If you trend trading, you can afford to be a bit late (maybe even beneficial). But with swing trading, by the time you get your ENTER signal, the swing is over. So how sensitive is your wash indicator? I assume you are not really referring to swing trading in particular, but to trading in general. Would appreciate your input.