What works for me: Generally two separate 2-4 hour sessions are my personal current limit. That will be reduced in the future, but for now I enjoy it and can sustain it so I do. Trading duration determined by setup availability / trading performance > non-trading life events (gym, dinner, doctor's appt, etc). If I'm trading well - I continue. I can't control when the market gives me optimum setups so I take them when they come whether that be the first or fourth hour. I never limit based on profit as some of my best days were hour after hour of ideal setups. *If profit euphoria will negatively affect your performance, then yes - wise to end trading for that time until the euphoria wears off. Will limit based on losses b/c those affect my performance negatively. As other posters mentioned; focus on execution / learning / performance - profit is just a way to keep score. Duration, time of day, etc. will vary based on your personal strengths / weaknesses so multiple methods correct and they will change over time as you do.
I am Texas, US Central time. So I get some decent trades between 6:30 am to about 9am (sometimes I extend to about 10am). I seek about 1 to 4 trades during that time period.
I do not really have one but just try and take something that is on offer. I only day trade indices and on a slow day it could be 30 points, medium is 80 -100 and good is 200+. I do it off and on over a couple of different markets in a 14 hr window.
If you're trading MES look for profit in pts/k/wk. For money management limit dollar losses - you should have a mental stop and an alert for daily loss. Make sure your stops are based on the setup in points and reduce contracts to match dollars. So if your setup needs 7pts stop and your daily dollar stop is $500, then for MES $5/pt, then $500/5=100pts /7 =14 MES.
I wrote this article over 10 years ago and I feel the concept / thought process as it comes to day trading is timeless: Trading 201: Survivor Day-Trader By: Ilan Levy-Mayer, Cannon Trading VP Survivor Day Trading This article was published by the Stocks, Futures, & Options Magazine in September, 2007 and was written by our VP, Ilan Levy-Mayer. We think this article is timeless and whether you are beginner or advanced trader, you will enjoy it. Perhaps the greatest luxury I have in this business is the ability to observe the experiences of many traders with different personalities, life schedules and risk capital, each trading in a variety of markets. What most astute brokers realize is that, over time, as some individuals prematurely exit winners while others desperately cling to losers. I started as a commodity broker back in 1998, when commissions of $25 per round turn for the E-minis were considered a deep discount. I had the luxury of observing many types of day traders and saw things from the sidelines that most traders could not see during the heat of battle, one of which is the importance of solid money management for the long-term survival of day trade. Day trading is by definition a trade that is initiated and completed during the same trading day. In this wide category, you will find many types of traders. On one end of the spectrum are scalpers, who go for one or two ticks of profit several times a day in trades lasting just seconds. On the other side are speculators who stay in a position from the start of the day until the close. One of the main appeals of day trading for all types is that the trader goes home flat without having to worry about positions. When the market closes, the day is done. Money management, as the name implies, is applying prudent principles to help conserve your trade (risk) capital. Without risk capital to trade, a speculator does not have a chance to succeed. Read full article here: https://www.cannontrading.com/community/newsletter/Survivor-day-trader-and-coffee-chart#one
I think the idea of a profit target is actually kind of misunderstood. The profit target should be more of a profit expectation, not a cutoff. Something to compare to the risk. Still yeah the target is important but if a stock stubbornly insists on going higher than the target, who am I to argue? Yeah, let it run, maybe move the stop up kinda tight. But the actual number is still important for determining whether you want to get in on the trade or not. Sometimes there ISN'T one. Maybe the stock is breaking out from a new all time high. But usually there is a logical/possible line of resistance, even if it is something like an even dollar amount or just a wild assed guess.
I measure my trading goals against investment opportunities in the real world, simply because if I can't beat those then I might as well put my money with them. For example, the highest investment return I've found happens to be my 401k which is on fire, with +50% returns this year so far. While I cannot put my money in that plan (retired early), my high challenge is to match or beat it but I'd be satisfied with an after-tax +30% return, which is a low 6 figure income. I'm a basic stock trader, sometimes day trading, sometimes holding weeks to get my numbers. I'm under no pressure to close at the end of the day. But I have a high win rate and low value losses that I attribute mostly to inexperience. 80% of my trades are on a single stock while the remaining 20% is split among 2-3 others. So far I've been lucky although I've also missed some opportunities, but I'm on target for beating my goals.