How many hours per day to you trade?

Rambo35

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Different traders, different strategies and a different trading ideology all influence the amount of time we all spend analyzing the markets and trading them. I know there are traders who spend eight hours and more per day trading while others may spend eight hours per week in front of the markets.

I think a lot of especially new traders think they have to base their entire day on analyzing charts, following news and be alert 24/7.

How much do you trade? Do you control your trading or does your trading control you?
 
Different traders, different strategies and a different trading ideology all influence the amount of time we all spend analyzing the markets and trading them. I know there are traders who spend eight hours and more per day trading while others may spend eight hours per week in front of the markets.

I think a lot of especially new traders think they have to base their entire day on analyzing charts, following news and be alert 24/7.

How much do you trade? Do you control your trading or does your trading control you?

Initially I have spent more than 08 hours per day and with the experience now spending only a few hours per day. Probably 02 - 03 hours after London open and 02 - 03 after NY open.
 
Initially I have spent more than 08 hours per day and with the experience now spending only a few hours per day. Probably 02 - 03 hours after London open and 02 - 03 after NY open.

I am also beginning to only trade the London and NY open for a few hours each time.
 
When I started trading on paper, I spent as much time as I could find practicing and practicing and practicing...

Interestingly though, after doing a very good trading course I learned how to journal my results in a spreadsheet. This opened up a whole new world for me.

I suddenly started to see some patterns in the way I traded and I was able to make some big changes.

For example, one month I did 24 trades ( on daily charts ) and I made $2745 profit. The next month I did only 13 trades and made $2820 profit. SMALL changes. So now I spend about half as much time in front of the screen with the same results.

There is a lot more detail to it but Im trying to keep it short. Basically I learned how price moves and what causes it to move instead of applying a strategy someone teaches you while having no clue as to how or why it even works!

Im now trading without any indicators on the screen using only the Weekly, Daily and 4 hour chart for fine tuning entry and exit points. So much easier!

For a LINK REMOVED BY MODS you really cant find anything easier in my opinion.

So to answer your question then, I use to spend around 6 to 8 hours a day in front of the screen, now it's down to 2 to 5 hours depending on whats happening..
 
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Well first 2 weeks are all busy because of Economic nos and its a good time to trade I sit in fron of computer from 0700 to 1700 on Eurex only.

But averae around 10 Trade/D if i leverage too much.

i trade on news rumours, press conf., Economic nos, Month End, Month Open, Roll over week.
 
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Thanks guys for responding. I used to be in front of my screen for roughly 8 hours per day, but now I have cut it down to around 4 hours per day while I also achieve better trading results.
 
Thanks guys for responding. I used to be in front of my screen for roughly 8 hours per day, but now I have cut it down to around 4 hours per day while I also achieve better trading results.

My screen time goes down with each passing year. P&L and screen time are inversely correlated.

Tough for newer traders to get their head around though. Trading is one of the few professions where doing less is actually better. I am my own worst enemy if in front of screens too long - I add little value once the trade is placed - my thesis is either right or wrong.
 
I agree. I had my largest ever winning trade last week. Reason, because I left it open while I went on holiday for a week. No doubt if i'd been behind a screen I would have closed it days earlier
 
I trade for nothing less than atleast 2-3 hours per day and make some 60 pips or 100 pips per week. My aim is to make consistent number of pips each month so that i can build good income in future.
 
I trade for nothing less than atleast 2-3 hours per day and make some 60 pips or 100 pips per week. My aim is to make consistent number of pips each month so that i can build good income in future.

Consistency is one of the most important aspects of trading. It is better to earn 60 pips a week every week than have your account wiped out because you did not stick to your trading plan driven by greed.
 
Consistency is one of the most important aspects of trading. It is better to earn 60 pips a week every week than have your account wiped out because you did not stick to your trading plan driven by greed.

Is it really? I would say that 80% of my profit comes from only 20% of my trades.
 
My aim is to make consistent number of pips each month so that i can build good income in future.

positivity-1.jpg
 
Is it really? I would say that 80% of my profit comes from only 20% of my trades.

Of course everyone is different. I was simply stating that it is better to earn 60 per week on a consistent base than hoping to hit it out of the park. In the end it comes down to trading strategy, but it is obvious that most struggle to even get 60 per week on a consistent base.
 
I am a part time trader can not do trading all the day due to a regular job . I spend 2 to 4 hours in trading . Some time is for market watch and in other time I do trading if find good trend . Some hours are good for news trading I avail this time.
 
It's ironic that I quit my job to trade full time. Thinking that I would make more money this way. As it turned out, the opposite is true. Trading 4 hrs a day, fully focused and in the zone, yields much better results than dredging it out 8 hrs, losing focus and getting tired. Of course, the hard work that must be done b4 & after trading, must still be carried out diligently, if one wants to improve.
 
Hi,

Nice to read about different approaches.

I probably spend less than 1hr a day, and very rarely more than 15mins consecutively. I use alerts to let me know when/if price hits levels of interest so I can do other things than stare at it whether I am in a position or not. And even though i day trade sometimes it takes price hours to hit the required levels which is why I don't clock much screen time.

I also use monthly profit limits meaning I can go days/weeks without trading at all once I have reached my monthly target.

Like others said, it used not to be that way for me as well. I started out spending hours scanning multiple markets every day/night. But as you mature as a trader and become full-time you adjust you routine accordingly.

There's nothing I love more than trading but I do try to take advantage of the free time I get as a result to enjoy things.

:)
 
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