So please take a few seconds and select the style that best describes you.
Scalping is a very rapid trading style. Scalpers often make trades within just a few seconds of each other, and often in opposite directions (i.e. they are long one minute, but short the next). Scalping is best suited to active traders that can make immediate decisions and act on those decisions without hesitation. Impatient people often make the best scalpers because they expect their trades to become profitable immediately, and will exit the trade promptly if it goes against them. Being a successful scalper requires focus and concentration, so it is not a suitable trading style for people who are easily distracted or who often find themselves day dreaming (i.e. if you’ve been thinking about something else while reading this, then scalping is not for you).
Day trading as a style is more suitable for traders that prefer starting and completing a task in the same day. For example, if you were painting your kitchen, and you would not go to bed until the kitchen was finished, even if that meant staying up until 3:00 AM. Many day traders would not consider making swing or position trades because they would not be able to sleep at night knowing that they had an active trade that could be affected by price movements during the night (such as those that cause opening gaps).
Position trading is the longest term trading of all, and often has trades that last for several years. Therefore, position trading is only suitable for the most patient and least excitable traders. Position trading targets are often several thousand ticks, so if your heart starts beating fast when a trade is 25 ticks in profit, position trading is probably not suitable for you. Position trading also requires the ability to ignore popular opinion because a single position trade will often hold through both bull and bear markets. For example, a long position trade may need to be held through an entire year when the general public is convinced that the economy is in a recession. If you are easily swayed by other people, then position trading is going to be difficult for you.
