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Intraday or Swing? Need your opinion

  • #1
  • First Post: Mar 27, 2026 9:55am Mar 27, 2026 9:55am
have been thinking what approach is better?
Intraday Pros:
-No overnight risk
-More opportunities daily
-Less exposure to random news events
-Tighter stops usually
Intraday Cons:
-Have to stare at screens all day
-Transaction fees add up fast
-Easy to overtrade when bored
-Decision fatigue is REAL
Now for swing trading...
Swing Pros:
-More chill imho, check charts a few times daily
-Catches bigger moves
-Less noise, more trend focus
Swing Cons:
-Overnight gaps can cause lots of damage
-Holding through news is stressful
-Fewer setups so patience required
-swap costs if there...gotta manage
What do you trade and why? Anyone here do both? How do you decide which setup to take?
  • #2
  • Mar 27, 2026 2:11pm Mar 27, 2026 2:11pm
I’ll be real with you- this is one of those debates where there’s no 'one size fits all,' but the way we frame it matters. Intraday feels like living in the market’s bloodstream: constant flow, constant reaction, constant vigilance. We get the benefit of tighter stops, no overnight risk, and the adrenaline of multiple plays in a single session. But the flip side is brutal- decision fatigue, overtrading when bored, and the mental drain of staring at screens all day. It’s a grind, and unless we thrive on that intensity, it can eat us alive.

Swing, on the other hand, is more about patience and perspective. We’re not chasing every tick; we’re positioning ourselves to catch the meat of the move. It’s calmer, more trend-focused, and honestly better for those of us who want trading to complement life rather than dominate it. But yeah, overnight gaps and news events can wreck a well-thought-out plan, and waiting for clean setups tests our discipline in a different way.

Personally, I lean toward a hybrid mindset. We don’t have to marry one style forever. Some days the intraday setups are screaming at us- clear levels, volatility, liquidity- and it makes sense to scalp or day trade. Other times, the bigger picture is cleaner, and swing entries give us more reward for less screen time. The key is knowing our own energy, schedule, and tolerance for stress. If we’re sharp and focused, intraday can be gold. If we want balance and bigger swings, then swing trading keeps us sane.

At the end of the day, it’s about structure and discipline. We decide which setups to take not just by the chart, but by asking: Do I have the mental bandwidth for intraday today, or is this a swing environment where patience pays? That self-awareness is what separates survival from burnout.

I’d say the smartest traders I know don’t lock themselves into one box- they adapt. And that adaptability is where the real edge lies.
For Gold, NY session offers superior tradability compared to London.
  • #3
  • Mar 27, 2026 2:33pm Mar 27, 2026 2:33pm
I use both ( Day trading and Swing trading ). The edge lies in adaptability as you nailed it.
  • #4
  • Mar 27, 2026 6:44pm Mar 27, 2026 6:44pm
Quoting Smmtrader
I use both ( Day trading and Swing trading ). The edge lies in adaptability as you nailed it.
100%.
For Gold, NY session offers superior tradability compared to London.
  • #5
  • Mar 27, 2026 9:16pm Mar 27, 2026 9:16pm
Quoting Faum
have been thinking what approach is better? Intraday Pros: -No overnight risk -More opportunities daily -Less exposure to random news events -Tighter stops usually Intraday Cons: -Have to stare at screens all day -Transaction fees add up fast -Easy to overtrade when bored -Decision fatigue is REAL Now for swing trading... Swing Pros: -More chill imho, check charts a few times daily -Catches bigger moves -Less noise, more trend focus Swing Cons: -Overnight gaps can cause lots of damage -Holding through news is stressful -Fewer setups so patience...
Day Trading vs. Swing Trading vs. Position Trading

a lot being discussed link here
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/...sition-trading

I trade all three according the Market Type conditions.

What is your Blueprint For Trading Success depends on you the trader.

...
Honesty is a very expensive gift. You wont find it in cheap people.WBuffett
  • #6
  • Mar 28, 2026 2:13am Mar 28, 2026 2:13am
If you can't make intraday work, how can you scale it to several days?
  • #7
  • Mar 28, 2026 3:48am Mar 28, 2026 3:48am
Intraday and swing here as I trade the same setup across all time frames ( but 1 min ) and many instruments:

2 min to Daily , sometimes even Weekly and Monthly if swap is in my favour . Less instruments intraday , more instruments for swing.

One more swing method on 12 hr .

But I never hold Crude oil over the weekend for obvious reasons.



Sometimes intraday trade ends up being a swing trade , sometimes swing trade ends being intraday .


99
  • #8
  • Mar 28, 2026 7:39am Mar 28, 2026 7:39am
A book to read:

Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: Kathy Lien book.png Size: 37 KB


...
Honesty is a very expensive gift. You wont find it in cheap people.WBuffett
  • #9
  • Mar 28, 2026 9:31am Mar 28, 2026 9:31am
Trading is 80% waiting, 10% risk management and 10% execution. Ability to wait for the right set up makes a big different
  • #10
  • Mar 28, 2026 10:31pm Mar 28, 2026 10:31pm
Quoting Omoologofx
Trading is 80% waiting, 10% risk management and 10% execution. Ability to wait for the right set up makes a big different
It's different for everyone. What you mean to say is, that's how it is to you.
  • #11
  • Mar 28, 2026 10:32pm Mar 28, 2026 10:32pm
Welcome to the journey noobs.
  • #12
  • Mar 29, 2026 1:27am Mar 29, 2026 1:27am
Whether to choose intraday trading or swing trading depends on your strategy, not the execution method itself. Different strategies emphasize different timeframes; for instance, an M1 (1-minute) strategy is naturally better suited for intraday trading. Similarly, mean reversion (oscillation) strategies tend to perform better within a single day, whereas trend-following strategies lean towards longer-term trading.
Zenith Multi Strategy EA developer
  • #13
  • Last Post: Mar 29, 2026 10:12am Mar 29, 2026 10:12am
That’s why I do them both. In practice, it’s hard to manage, because you need to review your swing positions every time, along with monitoring your day positions. The solution is simple: make your analysis, put alerts, enter and forget. I do only 1-2 trades intraday, while opening swing trades only for 3-4 days to avoid over the weekends holding (gaps are just impossible to manage sometimes). What I do is have an idea of potential weekly price direction and open trades on Tuesday or so, after Monday gives me information about what it’s gonna be this week, whether my initial idea was right or wrong.
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