#TradingTypes101 Scalping:**

* **Goal:** Tiny profits, many times per day (e.g., capturing a few cents/pips).

* **Hold Time:** Seconds to minutes.

* **Focus:** Extreme speed, order flow, Level 2 data, high volume.

* **Key:** Requires intense focus, low commissions, fast execution.

2. **Day Trading:**

* **Goal:** Profit from intraday price moves; *no positions held overnight.*

* **Hold Time:** Minutes to hours (same trading day).

* **Focus:** Technical analysis, short-term charts (1min, 5min, 15min), news events.

* **Key:** Active screen time, discipline to close all positions daily.

3. **Swing Trading:**

* **Goal:** Capture "swings" in price momentum over several days/weeks.

* **Hold Time:** Days to weeks (may hold overnight/weekends).

* **Focus:** Technical analysis (trends, patterns, indicators) often combined with some fundamental analysis. Charts (hourly, daily).

* **Key:** Balances active management with less screen time than day trading.

4. **Position Trading:**

* **Goal:** Profit from major trends driven by fundamentals.

* **Hold Time:** Weeks, months, or even years.

* **Focus:** Primarily fundamental analysis (economics, earnings, industry trends). Uses longer-term charts (daily, weekly).

* **Key:** Requires patience, strong conviction, less frequent trading. "Investing-lite."

5. **Algorithmic (Algo) / Automated Trading:**

* **Goal:** Execute trades based on pre-defined rules/programs, often for speed or consistency.

* **Hold Time:** Can range from microseconds (HFT) to weeks/months.

* **Focus:** Developing, testing, and deploying trading algorithms. Removes emotion.

* **Key:** Requires programming/quant skills or using pre-built platforms. Can be applied to any style above.

**Key Differences:**

* **Time Commitment:** Scalping/Day Trading (High) > Swing Trading (Medium) > Position Trading (Low).

* **Holding Period:** Scalping (Shortest) > Day Trading > Swing Trading > Position Trading