|
PureBytes Links
Trading Reference Links
|
Earl Adamy wrote:
>I've both day traded and position traded futures and see no conflict
>between the two, nor do I see any reason to differentiate in categorizing
>whether one earns a living doing so. I find two major differences between
>day and position trading: tighter stops in day trading and more time to
play
>golf while position trading.
Tighter stops for day trading and more time to play golf sums up the
postion quite well - if you are fairly cavalier about trading. The
specialist day trader is probably earning his living and the guy who has
time to play golf has already earned it... in a different field altogether.
Most day traders of the bonds, I know, will not sit there in the market
while it goes sideways waiting for the FOMC meeting to announce the results
of its deliberations. Successful day traders are only in the market while
the attainment of a carefully constructed trade with the right
risk/reward/ratio is in progress. One of the keys points about trading the
T-Bonds is knowing when and when not to be in the market. Tight stops is
far too trite an answer for most people and certainly not the way for
anyone new to the market to learn.
As a day trader, staying in over night is not on. But the breakout of a
wedge, with a night of trading in between would not have had the r/r/r I
would have required, if I did. It would have been fifty-fifty in my book
and that is not my bag! The gap and breaching Yesterday's High would have
had a major bullish significance, except for Greenspan factor, today.
Of course there are many like Earl who day trade, postion trade and mix and
match markets, the lot. My point was that most position players (not
employed by funds, etc) are doing so from money set aside. Most day
traders are probably spending time in front of the computer - as per a job
through all seasons, regardless - earning their living from home. Whether
that is feasible with other instruments or not, is another matter, but it
is certainly quite viable in the T-Bonds, if you do it in a well thought
out and professional way.
Bill Eykyn
www.t-bondtrader.com
|