Swing, day trading, scalping: which style is right for the prop environment?

17.07.2025

Education

Trading is a mirror. Everyone has their own unique reflection. But when we look at it, we often want to see someone else there. A brave captain of a fast sailing ship. He catches every wave. Knows every reef. Or a passenger of a luxury cruise liner. With a cocktail by the pool.

At first glance, the choice is huge. But it is not. Trading coldly shows who we are. Captains or passengers. When a trader does not agree with the verdict, he experiences torment. Everything is too slow. Or, on the contrary, fast. Risky. Or terribly safe.

The torment continues until the trader accepts himself. When he agrees with his natural trading style, everything falls into place. Hesitation, unnecessary actions disappear. A feeling appears that everything is right. The trader begins to trade a vision of himself.

For some, looking at the market through a microscope suits him. He is engaged in scalping. For some, as economist Maynard Keynes bequeathed, there is only today on the market. And some like it when transactions are open for several days or weeks. Everything is individual. The right path is different for everyone. The map is hidden inside. You just need to look at it.

Brief characteristics of styles - scalping, day trading, swing.

It is not difficult to understand the styles. Trading strategies can be very similar. But they can always be distinguished by time.

Scalping seeks to capture minimal price fluctuations. In the foreign exchange market, the targets are usually up to 100 pips on a five-digit quote. Such strategies are the most dynamic. They allow you to make many transactions within a day. 10 transactions are not the limit. But this is precisely why scalping is sensitive to the size of spreads. The smaller they are, the better.

Day trading is more difficult to define. Formally, scalping can also be included here. But these 2 styles are deliberately separated. Average targets in day trading operations can be 5-10 times higher than scalping. The number of operations is 1-2 per day. They are closed on the opening day.

If the trades are held for more than one day on average, this is swing trading. Jesse Livermore is often called its founder. The legend of the first half of the 20th century. The targets here are longer than in day trading. The number of operations is less. Two per week is the maximum pace.

Sun Tzu will help with the search

Before looking for your style, you need to know the consequences. The ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu in his treatise "The Art of War" gives excellent lessons:

- "If they wage war and the victory drags on, the weapon becomes dull."
- "There has never been a war that lasted long and was beneficial to the state."

The interpretation is simple. The more transactions and the longer they are open, the faster the trader will use up his nervous energy. With high intensity, instead of 3-4 weeks, he will reach the state of overtrading in just 2. And he will go on a break earlier.

With this approach, it is clear that scalping is the most expensive trading style. It will suit energetic, young and super ambitious. Others simply will not withstand the high pace. Scalpers have a short life.

The second most energy-consuming style is swing trading. This may not seem entirely logical. There are fewer transactions here. But, the trader will constantly have open positions. This means that he will not be able to fully distract himself from the market. Rest will be difficult.

The least expensive is day trading. Here you need to find only one good trade per day. All attention is on today. And even in case of failure, the working day is over. You can have a good evening. Forget about the market. Get some sleep. And again try to show the best result the next day.

Promising styles

Finding your style is not difficult. It should be pleasant. Not cause discomfort. If everything is so - great. If not - it is worth thinking about. Self-deception will not allow you to go a long distance. This is especially important for professionals.

Most people like swing trading or day trading. Both styles are encouraged by prop companies. Especially the latter. They allow the risk management department to keep the situation in the green zone. Recruit promising marathon runners. Have stable results.

With scalping in prop trading, everything is much more complicated. The risk profile of scalpers is much worse. In the case of an emotional outburst, a high frequency of operations can destroy months of achievements in just a few days.

And with a significant number of scalpers in prop firms, the situation becomes too unpredictable. No risk manager will have time to react. Scalping in prop trading is often prohibited. This style is practiced by independent traders. Or algorithmic funds, where the human factor is excluded.

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