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Day Trading vs. Swing Trading vs. Position Trading 86 replies

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Shotgun Trading

  • #21
  • Apr 14, 2026 7:50am Apr 14, 2026 7:50am
Quoting Sofact58
{quote} - I deleted the previous reply because, I believe, it had some information that could be misleading to some... - The first 20/30 posts of Building an Equity Millipede are really worth a read (reread...) - I truly believe that any sensible trading strategy "works" and that it's all in position sizing... - One has to be a good accountant before being a good trader and not the other way around... - Pipeasy was already wealthy before he started trading... - The originality of his thread was not in the strategy itself but in tying trading to...

Agree wholeheartedly, the whole thread is worth a read. Not far into the thread everyone lost their way though. They quit looking at the long term trend, started taking 5 minute entries. Nothing wrong with a well timed entry off small timeframes, but, a lot less chance of it surviving a day, week or month.

Nothing new there, cut losses short, stick to the plan, let winners run, trade with the trend. Do not risk a lot on a single trade. All of the time tested advice everyone has heard over and over it is all there.

He just truly showed what letting winners run really means.
  • #22
  • Apr 14, 2026 8:09am Apr 14, 2026 8:09am
Quoting rgrace
{quote} Agree wholeheartedly, the whole thread is worth a read. Not far into the thread everyone lost their way though. They quit looking at the long term trend, started taking 5 minute entries. Nothing wrong with a well timed entry off small timeframes, but, a lot less chance of it surviving a day, week or month. Nothing new there, cut losses short, stick to the plan, let winners run, trade with the trend. Do not risk a lot on a single trade. All of the time tested advice everyone has heard over and over it is all there. He just truly showed what...
Most wannabe traders fail because they lack basic accounting skills...
we do not get margin-called because of inherently bad strategies...

The same strategy that (I thought) made me fail initially was the one that ended up "working" once I started looking at trading like a business...
Any 6-year old knows how to run a lemonade stand almost instinctively...
  • #23
  • Apr 14, 2026 8:28am Apr 14, 2026 8:28am
In trading, laziness is a virtue...
Write that damn thing on the wall!
  • #24
  • Apr 14, 2026 11:33am Apr 14, 2026 11:33am
Quoting rgrace
Of course it can drop just as fast. Not being negative, its just reality. Congratulations though, nice results.
Hi rgrace,

You do not have to answer, of course...
But because you sound like you've read all of Pipeasy's posts in Building an Equity Millipede, what would you do (you or anyone else who might be interested in this thread) in the following situation?

Shotgun Trading...
Tuesday, April 14, 2026...
12:20 Eastern...
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  • #25
  • Edited 12:43pm Apr 14, 2026 12:07pm | Edited 12:43pm
Quoting Sofact58
{quote} Hi rgrace, You do not have to answer, of course... But because you sound like you've read all of Pipeasy's posts in Building an Equity Millipede, what would you do (you or anyone else who might be interested in this thread) in the following situation? Shotgun Trading... Tuesday, April 14, 2026... 12:20 Eastern... {image}

Good question. Before I answer, I am not you, I will not see the market exactly as you would. But, it really depends.

If I were just starting the method, I would likely bank enough to raise my balance a bit. Reasons for that would be, to ensure my endeavour were profitable, to get it off of my mind.

The rest I would let run until the market showed signs of stalling or turning.

If I had been trading it profitably for a while, I would be more prone to take less profit, or even no profit and let it all run.

Depends on your risk tolerance. If it all went back to zero, how would that affect you mentally?

That is the most important part imo.
btw, just edited to add this.

When I said if it all goes to zero, I do not mean margin call, or zero balance.

I was referring to it all going back to where you started, or going negative.
  • #26
  • Apr 14, 2026 12:49pm Apr 14, 2026 12:49pm
Quoting rgrace
{quote} Good question. Before I answer, I am not you, I will not see the market exactly as you would. But, it really depends. If I were just starting the method, I would likely bank enough to raise my balance a bit. Reasons for that would be, to ensure my endeavour were profitable, to get it off of my mind. The rest I would let run until the market showed signs of stalling or turning. If I had been trading it profitably for a while, I would be more prone to take less profit, or even no profit and let it all run. Depends on your risk tolerance. If...
Pipeasy was a big admirer of Peter Crowns (No Free Lunch but all the Free Coffee you can drink.)
I do not know if Peter is still active in this Forum but here's what Pipeasy wrote about him/to him personally:
"Unmatched wisdom condensed into 41 posts. Far more meaning than first meets the eyes. Hope we can all appreciate the true extent of your showing/teaching."

The interesting thing is that they would have reacted differently to the above scenario:
- Peter Crowns would close half the positions (or, at least, enough to cover for the risk he took on them) and let the rest run...
- Pipeasy, on the other hand, would move the hedge to breakeven and open a new position at the start of the daily (Asian) candle (because he was trading out of Australia...)

I thought you might find that interesting and it "kinda" complements and confirms your answer.
  • #27
  • Edited 1:24pm Apr 14, 2026 1:04pm | Edited 1:24pm
Peter Crowns, been a while since I read his thread. Pretty sure he is long gone. May have to revisit it some time soon.

They are all doing the same basic thing, just in a way that suits their psychology.


Myself, I would treat it differently depending on many factors. Condition of the trend, how much loss I had establishing the position, how much my account balance is up compared to where I started.

At times I would react more like Mr Crowns, other times more like Pipeasy, but it will never be exactly the same.

I am a different person, different account balance, different risk tolerance, different stage in my trading.


There were times when Pipeasy woult take profit fairly quickly as well. If he had a bunch of successful entries in quick succession, he would take profit on some for instance. The example he showed was 10 or 12 entries off 5 minute chart. He took profit on like half before he stopped trading. Was only open for an hour or two.

Same principle, just on a different scale.

If he had positions on a long trend, and was selling during the range, there are many examples in his thread of him taking profit in a week or two.

He would prefer if they all ran for years. But, he would take profit depending on market conditions as well. He was aware when he was trading a range, if it got to the edge of the range, he would close and leave one open if it did not breakout.
  • #28
  • Apr 14, 2026 1:26pm Apr 14, 2026 1:26pm
Quoting rgrace
Peter Crowns, been a while since I read his thread. Pretty sure he is long gone. May have to revisit it some time soon. They are all doing the same basic thing, just in a way that suits their psychology. Myself, I would treat it differently depending on many factors. Condition of the trend, how much loss I had establishing the position, how much my account balance is up compared to where I started. At times I would react more like Mr Crowns, other times more like Pipeasy, but it will never be exactly the same. I am a different person, different...
Yes, but I was hoping you will be more specific. You sound hesitant in your answer.
Your have all the information (factors) you have just mentioned. How would you (and your own self) have reacted right now to the current situation, not all the different "possibilities" or how you "might" react. Imagine it's your own account...
I am not looking for advice. I was just interested in knowing what you would do today when confronted with the same situation because you've read Pipeasy's posts...
  • #29
  • Apr 14, 2026 1:39pm Apr 14, 2026 1:39pm
Ok, I am not hesitant, I see a snap shot of where you currently are. Equity compared to balance, I have no clue how long it took to get there, what kind of loss you had, how well you sleep at night etc.

Do not know your starting balance, whether the balance you show is at a drawdown, or already in profit.

Not really enough information to know how I would react.

Would definitely be more likely to close a little, maybe half, probably not even half. Also depends on how long it took to establish the positions.

If it took a while, and cost me a bit to establish, I would close enough to refill my capital and give me a little to the positive.

At that point I would be more likely to be able to let the rest run, because I am already profitable.


One thing that I certainly would not do is close all, double lot size, and start over. Which is what most traders would likely want to do.
  • #30
  • Apr 14, 2026 1:50pm Apr 14, 2026 1:50pm
Post #1
Shotgun Trading...
Perfect for small accounts...

Start Date: April 3, 2026
Starting Balance = Starting Equity = 651.17
Floating P/L = 0
Limited to three Pairs for now: GBP/USD, EUR/USD, USD/CHF
The correlation adds a layer of randomness...
  • #31
  • Edited 2:11pm Apr 14, 2026 1:56pm | Edited 2:11pm
Ahh gotcha, if I were very confident the results are repeatable, would close very little. Would close a little still though. Would leave most running until I see signs of trend stalling/reversing and re-evaluate. After taking a little profit, would start adding into my strongest looking trend.

The profit would be taken from the trend I have the least confidence in as well.


Pipeasy would likely move to lower timeframe and milk it until it is dry.
  • #32
  • Edited 10:08am Apr 15, 2026 8:53am | Edited 10:08am
The Accountant, the Engineer and the Fortune-Teller...

The hardest thing about trading forex for most (as opposed to trading commodities, stock options and everything else in between) is the extra pressure it creates for being a 24-hour operation. Smartphones, tablets and laptops turn our self doubt (which is naturally needed for our survival as humans) into a constant pressure to "do something," by either "putting a stop to the bleeding" or "milking the damn cow dry" when the conditions seem more favorable.

And that is why two traders with the same exact "strategy", starting with the same balance/equity (using the same broker) will have two totally different results a few weeks into "the war".

As humans, sadly or not, our brains are simply not aligned with our emotions...
As much as we would like to believe that we are "rational" in our "actions", and that we are masters of our emotions, the truth is that our behavior rarely reflects that.
Being the "emotional machines" that we are is not necessarily a bad thing since it helped us survive the hundreds of thousands of years that we have been around.
Trading has always existed in one form or another since our ancestors started leaving their caves "to make a living" and interact with others in social settings. "Markets" have always been a natural setting for humans since the beginning of times. I can easily picture that Roman dude setting his horse drawn chart next to the coliseum in "downtown" Rome 2000 years ago (a little less actually since it didn't exist back then!) screaming "my olive oil is from Pompeii. It is the best thing your coins (gold or otherwise) could buy." He will be no different than my friend and neighbor Dino at my local weekend farmer's market here in my small town today.

All the recent technology did was put us way ahead of our genes...

It is interesting to note that the biggest inspiration for Pipeasy was Jesse Livermore, a guy from the late 19th century (and early 20th) who traded through a "tape" and bucket shops.
Analysis is easy for the brain because it takes place after the fact. Anybody with a few "college words" can sound like an "expert" once the ship has sailed...

And that brings me back to my own "olive oil"...

After a nice upward move for a few days (which had a great effect on my equity,) GBP/USD has finally decided to stall around 1.3550 (after almost hitting 1.3600 yesterday.)
And that is exactly where the actions/reactions of individual traders will differ even when using similar "strategies" (aren't they all "similar", after all?)
Some will run for cover while others will see an opportunity to "add to the winners" after the "retrace".

And this is all due to the mere fact that prices do not move in straight lines, no matter our perspective.
Hence the use of grids/fractals...
  • #33
  • Apr 15, 2026 9:32am Apr 15, 2026 9:32am
Shotgun Trading...
Wednesday, April 15, 2026...
10:20 Eastern...
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No new entries of any form since last week except for a few pending orders that got triggered at major support/resistance lines (at round numbers such as 1.3300. 1.3350, 1.3400, 1.3450, 1.3500...)
  • #34
  • Apr 15, 2026 2:20pm Apr 15, 2026 2:20pm
Adding to the winner...
Adding to the winner only makes sense when the risk on the second trade comes from the profit made from the first one.

Case in point:
-I have just added 2 trades with 25p Hedges (stops).
-Tomorrow, when I look back to what I just did, how will I feel about it?
Certainly no regret at all even if price retraces and hits my stops.
I would prefer to see GBP/USD continue on its uptrend, of course, but that's how the game is played when you're a position trader!
No regrets, no "I should not have"...

15:05 Eastern...
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Added entries are at the bottom of the above spreadsheet (sorted by Time.)
Every entry in the list was through a pending order, except for the last two. I have not touched this account for almost a week.
Laziness is underrated (when it comes to trading, of course...)
  • #35
  • Apr 15, 2026 2:47pm Apr 15, 2026 2:47pm
Just curious why those three pairs long term more of a range than trend, atm anyway. Much better long term trends atm. EurJpy and GbpJpy for example.
  • #36
  • Apr 16, 2026 7:50am Apr 16, 2026 7:50am
Quoting rgrace
Just curious why those three pairs long term more of a range than trend, atm anyway. Much better long term trends atm. EurJpy and GbpJpy for example.
If At This Moment is what you meant by "atm" then my short answer will be this:

-The strategy should never depend on what is going on at this moment...
-There are trends in ranges and ranges in trends with every instrument...
-It is a matter of perspective and funding...

An equity curve should never be expected to be a straight line up even for the most successful of traders: It's more of two steps forward, one step backward type of deal. That's just the nature of the beast.

I want to be able to trade any instrument (including commodities , stock options, oil, silver, gold, bit coin...) with the same approach...
In fact, I want to be able to do it without even knowing what instrument I am trading...

The approach must be universal and not depend on what's going on at the moment...
I want to be able to ignore the account for weeks/months at a time and be confident that it is not going to blow up...

That is why I have three layers in my grid.

Trading is more like Baseball than Football...
  • #37
  • Apr 16, 2026 9:39am Apr 16, 2026 9:39am
1. The General's perspective (Monthly):
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2. The Captain's perspective (Daily):
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3. The Combat Soldier's perspective (1-hour and lower):
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Shotgun Trading...
Thursday, April 16, 2026...
10:25 Eastern...
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My stops from yesterday got hit...

Is this the beginning of a downtrend or just a temporary stall?
-I will never pretend to know...
-I will never try to guess...
-I will never listen to a "Fortune Teller"...

I will just look at the possible outcomes and act on what I know and see...
  • #38
  • Edited 9:12am Apr 17, 2026 8:50am | Edited 9:12am
So far into the campaign...
Two weeks have passed since trading started in this account.
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Here's how they look when broken down into 10 (trading) days:
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It is interesting to note that, if one looked at nothing but the daily candles, the upward move had a lot of momentum except for the last 3 days.

I truly believe that it is harder to manage a profit than a loss...

Why? one might ask...
My answer is this:

When a decision is made to enter a trade with a hard stop, there are only two possible ouctomes: either the stop gets hit and that "round" ends right there and then, or it doesn't and that results in a floating profit that the trader is constanly under pressure to act upon:

Should I close just in case price decides to come back to my start line and wipe out my profit or should I let it run for a higher profit?
Hence the Shakespearian dilemma...
That is clearely illustrated in the last three dailies: Is this just a temporary stall before price heads back up or is it an indication that it is about to go back to 1.3200 (where it started?)

The way I deal with it is very straightforward:
I do not look at a trade in terms of risk and loss but in terms of cost, just like an accountant would do.

That forces me to accept any outcome as just a small "event" in a bigger picture...
It is a championship/series, not a single do-or-die game...

Shotgun Trading...
Friday, April 17, 2026...
09:25 Eastern...
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The two entries at the bottom of the list show the starting equity and the start date.
Those were the very first entries into the "spreadsheet".
Despite the missed opportunities to add a few more positions, I deem the results of the last two weeks very satisfactory:
A floating profit of over 200%...
The equity has (temporarely) almost tripled...
  • #39
  • Apr 17, 2026 1:05pm Apr 17, 2026 1:05pm
I haven't touched this second account in 10 days...
Starting equity = 4,259.14 (April 1st)
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Not bad at all...
  • #40
  • Apr 21, 2026 9:24am Apr 21, 2026 9:24am
Tug of war between Buyers and Sellers...
GBP/USD has been "orbiting" a major Pivot line (1.3500) for a few days now...
It is a major support/resistance area for both:

a) Unit 35
1.3475 <1.3500 < 1.3525

b) Company HHHHH
1.3250 < HHHHH < 1.3750

Price can only do one of two things:

a) Continue on the uptrend it started at the beginning of the month...
b) Move back towards (1.3200) where it all started...
Price does nothing but move from one round number to the next, no matter the instrument...

Unit 35 is all in...
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