Honestly, from my experience, if there is nothing to do, it is best not to force a trade. Every time I have done that, it has only led to losses. I am more into swing trading, and there are phases when I do not trade for three to six months straight. In those times, I just focus on being patient, learning something new, or even just reading, basically anything that keeps me sharp for when the real setups come.
About options, I have tried them, know the theory, traded quite a bit, but I will be honest, I have not been consistently profitable in option buying. So I cannot really give confident answers to your specific questions. Someone who has actually cracked it would guide you better.
If the issue is simply free time, I would say use it to fine tune your current system or pick up new skills rather than jumping into something totally different. And if you really want to build a new system, be very clear with yourself whether you will actually stick to just one or two lots. It is very tempting to scale up, and one bad move can wipe out months of gains from your main trading style.
Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not an option trader so cannot really you with your questions.
But on the equity intraday, I can say that you can try expanding your choice of stocks where you do intraday. There are many capital market stocks like MCX, BSE which move a good % every day. Identifying the day’s movement and trying in them might help you get gains.
These shares are technically monopoly shares so there is a lot of interest in terms of volume as well - so having short delivery chances are low. Plus, even if you are forced to take a delivery (to avoid big loss) - you can take it cause these shares tend to turn around reasonably quickly. This is just what i have noticed lately.
I’m new to options and only sell options — mainly cash-secured puts (CSP) and expiry trades. I’ve never bought options to make profit.
“Since these setups are very seasonal, I often find myself deviating from my strategy(forcing trade, when there’s none) on days when there’s no such activity.”
I have checklist on why I buy and sell, discipline comes with time. I look for strategies which rhyme with me not strategies which can make more money. Trying new strategies is good, limit the loss.
I’m definitely not a veteran.
There is something called ulysses contract. Nice story check it out.
Why mark one self as intraday equity trader? Try expanding holding period natural progression can be swing trader, positional trader and investor.
Unless its a tested rule and you have some other way of managing risk, this is a very stupid thing to do. Losses should be planned and tested, then nothing to do but let it happen.
Well I only trade of the amount of capital i have so i came from that POV. Varies from trader to trader. To each their own. Stupid to one is smart to another. All the best!
I did all of , Option Buying / Selling , Stock /Index Futures , Commodity futures , Currency except Bonds trading , in my Experience Swing trading is more profitable , Thing is that i cannot give you any idea , since i am not a full time trader but i can share few things about Option Trading , Option selling is more profitable then buying thanks to the Theta Decay, second most important thing is the IV , Its very difficult to make money in Very Low IV condition whether it is Option Buying or Selling , more over “n” number of Algo’s spoiled the Option Trading ,
Probably this is many traders problem , for me too , to avoid this , i trade only on monthly expiery’s
Google: A Ulysses contract is a freely made decision designed to bind oneself in the future to achieve a desired outcome, anticipating a time when one’s judgment might be impaired.
anticipating a time when one’s judgment might be impaired.
So you mean I should stick to where my expertise lies, rather than jumping into something that’s not only unknown to me but statistically proven fire for the multitude. Right, sir?
Given your experience in the markets, is there any way to reduce the variation in profits, or is it simply the natural behavior of the market that I can’t really change? And in that case, should I still consider it a reliable source of livelihood?
Yup, everything changes when the size is small and there’s no pressure to be profitable or chase big wins. Your focus seems to be on simply ending in green, not the absolute number. If that’s the case, you’re more of an artist than a trader.almost like a typical financially independent guy.
What’s the minimum amount of money required? Would this be the right shift if I’m already an expert in the equity segment? Can my equity skills give me leverage here, or is it a completely different game altogether? Also, can this be done intraday or does it have to be positional? Manual or algorithmic? If it’s intraday, manual, and possible with below 2 lakhs, then I’m ready for it.
Well for me that is the ultimate goal. I am not here to keep chasing profits day in and day out. As long as my wealth is growing at a pace acceptable to me, for a risk that i am willing to take, I am happy. I have a life beyond the markets unlike some other people here who live and breathe markets. I too was fascinated by it a while back. but it lost the charms for me cause I am focused becoming financially independent - becoming a trader has never been my goal, and never will be. If i can be financially independent by other means, I will do that. Chasing the markets, and little more profits is what keeps people stuck and hooked. Their choice.
and I genuinely loved yours, which is why I’m asking different people to get varied perspectives. Who knows, you might be proven right. I’m only 21 and thinking of making a living from the markets, so I could be wrong, and that’s fine. Really appreciate your perspective.
Every investor is making bets on the future. It’s only called speculation when you disagree with someone else’s bet. - Morgan Housel
Depends on the instument you are trading.
Test the water with commodities (mini contracts) as they req low capital
Only you can answer this after trying options.
I used to do only intraday (index only) till last october ig , but after removal of daily expiry I am doing only positional in stocks , index & commodity , I have recently started doing intraday in CRYPTO OPTIONS , you can check CRYPTO OPTONS if you are interested
More or less yes — stick to the plan, no excuses. Just like Ulysses tied himself to the mast, we must tie ourselves to our plan.
In trading, the sirens are attractive returns, boredom, get-rich-quick schemes, FOMO, peer pressure and many more. Ulysses listened to the sirens’ song but ensured he was tied to mast and sailors’ ears were waxed. He took the risk, but in a calculated way.
Similarly, if you experiment with other strategies, keep the risk even smaller.
PS: Read The Odyssey. Do not call me sir! You can call me Subbu!
Profit is not really in our control imo. Things can change and we have to deal with uncertainty. Many traders i have heard need a second source of income to deal with this. Or have capital and income that is much larger than actual need, so you have plenty of time to manage.
For risk, one of the best things one can do is to trade multiple systems that have less or no correlation. Works very well, it will also smooth out equity curve a bit.
Equity mainly for now. A bit lazy to learn options properly, will do that at the end perhaps once i have nothing else to do. Also regulatory env is very uncertain.
As it’s evident that commodities have almost zero correlation with stocks, and since you already have trading experience in commodities, could you suggest which contract would be most suitable for a beginner? Ideally, it should have good liquidity, decent volatility, and relatively low costs (as Subbu mentioned).
Also, is it realistically possible to exit at a limit price in such contracts, or do traders usually have to exit at market? I find it hard to understand how one can trade in a scrip where the 5-minute candle shows just 100–200 in volume. Wouldn’t the risk of illiquidity be too high unless it’s hedged with a contrary position? @dtyxg
