Indeed, equally as important to recognizing profitable trade set-ups is managing your money. Consistently evaluating your money management will keep the Benjamins that you do earn in your brokerage account. For example, you should trade only when there is sufficient volume to process your order, or when the market is experiencing heavy volatility and a profit can be turned. In a volatile market, scalping - or taking profits on very small price fluctuations, is highly rewarding.
Scalping and consistent profits are rarely found in the same sentence. Scalping involves quick trades usually lasting only a few minutes. Scalping stocks, commodities, or even currencies involves profiting on small movements, rather than large movements over a long period of time. With that said, scalping means taking very small profits, often simply cents, but in high volume.
Swing Trades: The Benjamin’s Friend
Swing trading is better associated with making the Benjamins. A swing trade usually lasts longer than a day trade, and can span a period of a week or two. Swing trading is better for consistent profits, as short movements do not greatly affect the value of a trading account. Swing trading is much like investing when compared to scalping because it employs more than just price movement. Swing traders often look for a news release or longer term trends to develop, rather than intraday tick movements.
Consistent profits come only from consistent trading. It is important to make your own trading plan blueprint which will act like a contract to yourself to place only reasonable trades. Making thousands of dollars per day is nothing if it can’t be done consistently. Profitable trading strategies can be scaled up by additional capital or higher leverage but neither can improve on consistency.
Do what professional traders have done for decades. Create your own trading system and criteria and only place trades when the time is right. A complete trading plan includes a strategy to place uniform trades. Breaking away from your own trading strategy almost insures losses – while staying true to your trading plan keeps your earnings consistent and growing.
