Here’s the deal: No trading style works all the time. No pattern is bulletproof, and no setup will last forever…
That’s just the nature of the markets.
But here’s the good news — this constant change isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s one of the most exciting aspects of trading.
By developing a trading style that aligns with your personality, account size, and risk tolerance, you can carve out your own niche and your own game plan.
Your unique style can help you find opportunities that others might overlook.
Today, let me outline some common styles that might work for you and get you on your way to finding your own edge.
My trading style didn’t appear overnight. It’s the result of almost 20 years of grinding, learning, and figuring out what works for me.
Most of what I’ve learned came from the trading school of hard knocks…
Over time, I identified my strengths and weaknesses and leaned into what worked.
Six Common Trading Styles and How They Work
Let’s break down six popular trading styles. Understanding these will help determine what suits your personality, goals, and risk tolerance.
Day Trading:
Day traders open and close positions within the same trading day, focusing on short-term price movements. This style avoids overnight risk and relies heavily on technical analysis.
So, what’s the biggest advantage of day trading?
You always know where you stand by the closing bell.
But it’s also risky so always have a risk management plan in place.
Swing Trading:
Swing traders look to capture day-trade-like returns over several days or weeks.
If you’re the type of trader who doesn’t want the stress of day trading but also doesn’t have the patience to wait months or even years to see a decent return, swing trading might be your bread and butter.
And if you like blending technicals with news, catalysts, and macro trends, that’s another reason this style could work for you.
I designed our IRIS AI bot exclusively for swing trading (it includes options now too).
Subscribers to the IRIS program get weekly analyst reports, training webinars, and best of all, access to the IRIS system itself.
The tool operates much like ChatGPT to produce screeners, trading plans, and more.
Watch the presentation below to see if IRIS is right for you…
Master your swing trading strategy with our AI-driven tool today!
Position Trading:
Position traders take a long-term view, holding positions for weeks, months, or even years. This approach relies more on fundamentals and macro trends than technical indicators.
The advantages include fewer trades but bigger moves, less day-to-day stress, less worry about market volatility, and the potential for compounding of returns.
Momentum Trading:
I talk about this a lot…
Momentum traders ride stocks with strong directional moves. Whether it’s a quick rally or a steep drop, they capitalize on high volume and volatility.
Remember the meme stock craze? That’s momentum trading in action.
Contrarian Trading:
Contrarian traders do the opposite of the herd. They look for market overreactions and take the other side of the trade — buying when others sell, and vice versa.
It’s about thinking differently and staying ahead of the herd.
Some of the greatest trades of all time were contrarian.
Catalyst Trading:
Catalyst traders focus on events that could move a stock: earnings reports, management changes, M&A activity, product launches, etc.
These traders analyze the potential impact of an event and plan their trades accordingly.
No matter what trading style you choose, you can’t master any of them without a robust platform that features charting, stock screening, technical indicators, real-time data, and more.
My favorite is StocksToTrade and it’s the one I use every day.
And right now, you can get two weeks of both the STT platform and our news service, Breaking News Chat, for $17.
Grab your 14-day StocksToTrade + Breaking News Chat trial today for only $17!
My Final Thoughts…
At the end of the day, your trading style is about YOU.
It’s about your personality, your goals, and the amount of capital you’re willing to risk. Take the time to explore these styles and test strategies.
With the right mindset and a willingness to adapt, you can develop a style that puts you in a position to win.
To learn more about different styles and strategies, join our StocksToTrade community.
We have tons of free live webinars.
They run all day and offer trading tips and tricks, info on our Oracle trading system, and other valuable training.
And for additional mentorship, stock ideas, and more, subscribe to my StocksToTrade Advisory service.
Every STT Advisory member gets a monthly newsletter with a list of my top picks, three weekly videos with my watchlists, bonus reports, and more.
Sign up for StocksToTrade Advisory right here!
Have a great day, everyone. See you back here tomorrow.
Tim Bohen
Lead Trainer, StocksToTrade