My Strategy

       The strategy is pretty simple. I have a day trading strategy and a swing trading strategy. With my day trading strategy, if I hold a stock as long as overnight, I will buy it 10 minutes within the closing bell and I will look to sell it in the first 15-30 minutes the next day.  Rarely will I hold a stock for longer than 15-30 minutes.  If I am swing trading, it means I could own the stock anywhere from a few days to a few months (but I hope not!). I have/am learning the day trading side from Tim Sykes and Nate Michaud, both very successful traders whom I have no affiliation with; and whom you can learn from too here. Trading is all about having a strategy. You need to go into every trade with a plan, actually two plans according to Nate. You want your upside potential to outweigh your downside risk. You want to put the odds on your side. This isn't a casino, hope is not a strategy. Meticulous is my favorite word to describe a successful trader. You must be meticulous. You must understand and recognize patterns and this can only come from research and experience.  Anticipate the move, and if the chart does not move in the direction you thought it would, then cut your loss quickly and move on to the next. The number one rule of day trading should be to cut your losses quickly. This will make you focus on only the best setups, such as buying a stock with strong price action that is testing a key resistance level, preferably because of some type of media coverage reaching investors eyes and ears.  Both of these catalysts draw a larger audience paying attention. All I can do is tell you what I'm doing and what I am learning in hopes to give you ideas. 
       Now, my swing trading strategy is a bit different. I have several strategies I can use but I learned them all from one source, "Explosive Stock Trading Strategies" by Dr. Samir Elias. This book was recommended to me by a trader in Tim Syke's chatroom. Dr. Samir says he has coached hundreds of traders, as well as studied them to find out what differentiated the profitable ones from the non-profitable ones. He found that it was all dependent on having a strategy in place that you are comfortable using, and just like day trading you must focus on only the best set-ups and make sure all the indicators you want line up in a timely manner. Dr. Samir presents different strategies using a combination of specific technical indicators to predict where the stock's price will go. The technical indicators of choice vary depending on the current trend of the chart (up trending, down trending, or consolidating), as well as some other minor characteristics at times. I don't use this strategy much.  I'm also not the biggest fan of having my money tied up for too long. Although, I do make sure I am scanning and monitoring a few everyday to see how they play out.  
       Personally, I like day trading more because I believe it is easier to cut your losses quickly if the chart does not react as you thought it would. Also, day trading can be as simple as understanding basic support and resistance levels, mixed with the knowledge of how to react to a stocks volatility while considering outside catalysts.  If that last sentence confused you, then you may want to continue learning for a few more months before reading Dr. Samir's book. Just remember that slow progress is still progress. That applies to life and trading. Growing your account exponentially little by little will allow you to take bigger positions in the future. Just as with anything in life, growing your progress little by little every day will allow you to be in a better position in the future. I am a new trader refining my strategy as my education broadens. 

See my trading stats here