How can you identify a good swing trading strategy? Before you can begin to trade effectively, you must be sure and certain that the trading style or strategy you are using is one that gives you an edge or advantage over the market. Is this edge or advantage that can make the different between an extremely profitable trader and one that gives up due to suffering loss after loss. Are any swing trading strategies better than others? Are there any key points that a trading strategy must address to truly be considered good? If you can answer these questions, then becoming a profitable swing trader is within your grasp. Perhaps the best trading strategy for swing trading is one that utilizes the most powerful and unique aspect of swing trading. Any good swing trading strategy must take advantage of trends and use pullbacks and rallies to give a trader a chance to get into the market.
The most important element of swing trading is trend identification and trading only with the trend. In fact, this is true for any style of trading and any financial instrument or market. What makes a trend so important for swing trading or trading in general? It is widely believed and said that the smart money is the trend and by following it you stand to win more than you lose. While the average Joe is buying at tops and selling at bottoms, the smart money knows seemingly almost in advance where these tops and bottoms are and avoids them and the losses, unlike the average Joe. This makes sense then that the most reliable trading strategy is one that goes with the trend. Trading with the trend and not against it is the simplest way to gain a true trading edge while increasing your hit ratio. This sounds simple but amazingly many traders continue to go against the trend. They see opportunity in the market, or believe they do, and place trades without taking into consideration the current trend.
In addition to trend identification, any good swing trading strategies should take advantage of market rallies and pullbacks to allow traders to open and close trades at the most opportune times. Swing trading isn t like other styles of trading where a trader may open and close multiple or hundreds of trades within a very short period of time. Generally speaking, swing traders usually wait for the market to retrace or rally before they enter the market. If a swing trader waits for rallies and pullbacks before entering a trade, they are able to enter at a price in the market which is in their favour. What makes this crucial? Getting into the market at a good price means you stand to profit more. You are entering the market at a price level that is in your favour. The average Joes all bought at the recent high, and are currently suffering as price retraces. The smart swing trading strategy, however, places the swing trader at the most opportune time of entering the market when price is retracing. The price the swing trader gets in at is much lower and cheaper than the average Joe. When the retracement ends and price continues on with the trend, the swing trader finds him or herself in profit much sooner than the average Joe. This simple strategy of waiting for a rally or retracement before entering the market can make the difference between a winning and losing trade.
Swing trading strategies are all about entering in the direction of the trend and entering a trade at a time where price is in your favour. Swing traders manage to do this by waiting for price to retrace before it continues on with the main trend.