Did you ever think it was not dangerous, especially in this current rollercoaster environment? Seriously, I really did try my best to swing for at least a few days, but I ended up losing big time...like the 60 point loss in ES today (that's $3,000 per contract) and I have no friggin' idea where I screwed up. I imagined 60 points should be more than wide enough to cushion any blows. But hell no. Please don't tell me to tighten my stop. If I use a tighter stop, you might as well tell me to just go back to day trading.
It was not dangerous before the Fed rate hike cycle that started early last year. Swingers are screwed now, because if you get in at the wrong time, you get taken for a long ride. TOO long for comfort.
Trade duration, that is to say time spent in a position, is absolutely a risk. Time in a position = risk. It's one reason that day/intraday trading is less risky than other styles, regardless of what "investors" say!
Yes, it will. This is the evolution of the markets. The days of 5 point ranges in the ES are gone forever. Those were the old days, we are now in the new.
Your stop is too tight for a swing trade in this environment. If you can't afford to lose that much on a single contract then you should take smaller notional contract. Though, most likely you demonstrated poor timing in your entry.
Why not use the micros so you can trade an idc size and keep an appropriate swing stop without taking too much heat? Add to the winners early in the move on confirmation if you want to get bigger.
Although switching to MES ain't a big factor in my trading, I'm kinda against it on moral grounds. These bastards at CME is rigging the commission structure to rip off more from small traders. Basically, they're charging nearly twice the amount for MES than ES.