Trading strategies
75 answersScalping, day trading, swing, position trading, carry trade, breakout — what suits whom and how to measure performance.
Scalping — what is it and does it make sense for retail?
Scalping is trading with positions held 1–5 minutes targeting 5–15 pips. We show mechanics, requirements (ECN broker, low spread, fast internet), risks (psychology, costs, noise) and whether it makes sense for a beginner.
Three trading styles — trend, range and breakout compared
A comparison of the three fundamental forex trading styles: trend following, range trading and breakout — time demands, capital, psychology, when each works.
Swing trading — the basics for someone with a full-time job
Swing trading basics: positions held several days, analysis on the daily and four-hour charts. Setups, wider stops, swap cost and how it differs from day trading.
- 01Scalping — what is it and does it make sense for retail?
- 02Three trading styles — trend, range and breakout compared
- 03Swing trading — the basics for someone with a full-time job
- 04Day trading vs position trading — which style for you?
- 05Range trading — how to profit in consolidation without trend?
- 06Martingale in forex — trap that always destroys account
- 07Mean reversion — the return-to-the-mean strategy
- 08News trading and spread widening — the hidden cost of trading the data
- 09Order block trading — the SMC institutional zone, honestly
- 10Currency Pair Correlation and the Retail "Arbitrage" Myth
- 11Range Trading Framework — A Systematic Process
- 12Trade Exit Strategy — When to Close a Position
- 13Position Trader vs Day Trader — Which Style Suits You
- 14Trading edge — how to find and validate a real one
- 15Trade management — what to do after you are in
- 16Setup checklist — your go/no-go list before entering
- 17Asymmetric bets — convexity and expected value in trading
- 18What is the carry trade — earning on the interest-rate differential
- 19AB=CD pattern — leg symmetry and the 0.618/1.272 levels
- 20Deep Crab pattern — the deeper variant of Carney's Crab
- 21Nen Star pattern — Suri Duddella rare harmonic formation
- 22The candlestick patterns that matter and how to read them
- 235-0 pattern strategy — Carney Shark hybrid harmonic reversal
- 24News trader vs technical trader — two philosophies compared
- 25Scalping vs day trading — seconds or hours in the trade?
- 26Evening star — the three rivers reversal at a trend top
- 27Morning star — the three-candle reversal at a trend bottom
- 28Butterfly pattern — harmonic X-A-B-C-D reversal beyond point X
- 29Wedge pattern — trading the rising and falling wedge
- 30Heikin-Ashi — "average bar" candles for reading the trend
- 31RSI Divergence — a Reversal Strategy That Needs Confirmation
- 32Three white soldiers — three candles that announce the buyers are back
- 33Donchian Channel — the Turtle breakout system step by step
- 34OBV On-Balance Volume — the volume indicator on forex
- 35Change of Character (ChoCh) — the SMC trend-reversal signal
- 36ABCD pattern — a trading guide to the harmonic building block
- 37Smart Money Concepts (SMC) — market mechanics through an institutional lens
- 38Three black crows — three candles that announce the sellers have taken over
- 39Breaker block in SMC — a failed order block flips role
- 40Andrews' Pitchfork — Alan Andrews' median-line method
- 41Schiff Pitchfork — Andrews' fork with a shifted origin
- 42Renko charts — a price-based brick chart, not a time-based one
- 43Bullish and Bearish Engulfing — the candle that takes control
- 44Kagi charts — a price-based Japanese chart, not a time-based one
- 45Three Line Break — a price-based Japanese chart, not a time-based one
- 46Volume Profile — POC, Value Area and the honest forex caveat
- 47Wolfe Wave — a five-point reversal formation and the EPA line
- 48Bullish and Bearish Harami — two-candle reversal pattern
- 49Three Drives pattern — a harmonic reversal after three drives
- 50Gartley pattern — the original harmonic formation with entry at 0.786 of XA
- 51Bat pattern — harmonic X-A-B-C-D with entry at 0.886 of the XA leg
- 52Crab pattern — Scott Carney harmonic X-A-B-C-D reversal
- 53Cypher pattern — Darren Oglesbee's harmonic formation (X-A-B-C-D)
- 54Piercing Line and Dark Cloud Cover — two-candle reversals
- 55Shark pattern — Carney's O-X-A-B-C harmonic reversal
- 56Spinning top and doji — the candles of indecision
- 57Inverted hammer and shooting star — one shape, two signals
- 58Abandoned Baby — rare reversal pattern with a doji and gaps
- 59Three Inside Up and Down — Harami with confirmation
- 60Three Outside Up and Down — Engulfing with confirmation
- 61Three Stars in South — rare bullish exhaustion candlestick pattern
- 62Upside Gap Three Methods — five candles of bullish continuation
- 63Downside Gap Three Methods — five-candle bearish continuation pattern
- 64Head and Shoulders — the Classic Trend-Reversal Pattern
- 65Double Top and Double Bottom — Reversal Patterns
- 66Harmonic patterns — a guide to the Fibonacci X-A-B-C-D formations
- 67Hammer — the candlestick reversal at the bottom of a downtrend
- 68Inside Bar — the Breakout Strategy from the Inside Candle
- 69Breakout strategy — a complete how-to guide
- 70Momentum trading — a complete guide to trend strength
- 71Gap trading — how price gaps work in theory and practice
- 72Swing Trading on a 2-7 Day Horizon — A Step-by-Step Process
- 73Trend Following — Trend-Riding Systems from the Turtles to Donchian
- 74Pre-trade step-by-step checklist — 10-point validation
- 75How to write a trading plan — step-by-step template