Types of Traders: Scalpers, Day Traders, Swing Traders & Position Trading

Best Trader Type - Types of Traders - Types of Best Traders

There are different types of traders. The type of a trader one is depends on the amount of time that they hold their open trade transactions.

Different Types of Traders also use Different Chart Time Frames to Place Their Trades

The different types of traders are:

1. Scalpers
2. Day traders
3. Swing traders
4. Position traders

Each type of currency trader is explained below and as a beginner trader you can decide which type of trader you want to become based on your trading personality and the chart time frame that you would want to be forex trading with.

Scalpers - Types of Traders - Scalping Forex Trading

The traders who are scalpers hold on to their trades for only a few minutes. With the objective of making a small amount of pips in profit, 5 to 10 to 20 pips.

Scalpers are the type of traders that make many trading transactions in one day and participate in Forex trading during the busiest times of the market. A scalper trader can open anywhere between 30 to 50 trades per day.

Scalpers are traders that can make quick trade decisions.

Scalpers use 1 min charts to put their trade orders. They use 5 minutes chart time frame to determine the trend direction, if the trend is going up or down and to decide their entry and exit.

Scalper 5 minutes time frame trading strategy

A Scalper using 1 min chart time frame wants to go long, checks 5 min chart, looks like the example below, since it portrays the trend is going up, the scalper will then decide it's okay to buy the currency pair.

Types of Traders - Forex Scalpers - Scalping Forex - Scalper Trader

Day Traders - Types of Traders - Day Trading Forex

Forex Day Trader - This type of trader holds on to their trades for a few hours but not more than a day. With the aim to make quite a number of pips in profit, 30 to 70 pips.

The day trader makes 2 or 5 forex trading transactions in one day, participating during the busiest times of the market & they don't hold their orders overnight.

These traders use the 15 min charts to put their orders. They use 1 hour chart to determine the market trend, if it going up or down & to decide their entry and exit.

Forex Day Trader 1 Hour time frame trading strategy

A Forex day trader using 15 min chart wants to go long, checks 1 hour chart time frame, it looks like the example below, since it portrays the market trend is going up, the day trader will then decide it's okay to buy the currency pair.

Types of Market Traders - Forex Day Traders - Forex Day Trade - Types of Traders

Swing Traders - Types of Traders - Forex Swing Trading

Forex Swing Traders - This type of trader holds on to their trades for a few days to a week - With the objective of making a large number of pips in profit, 100 to 400 pips.

This type of market trader makes an average of 2 to 5 forex trading transactions in one week, holding onto their trades overnight. Swing forex trading method requires traders who are patient.

This type of trader uses the 1 hour charts to put their orders. Swing traders use the 4 hour chart to determine the trend, if it is going up or down and to decide their entry and exit.

Forex Swing Trader 4 Hour chart time frame trading strategy

A forex swing trader using 1 hour candles charts wants to go short, checks 4 hour candlesticks chart, it looks like the example below, since it portrays the trend is going down, the swing trader will then decide it's okay to Sell/Go Short the currency pair.

Types of Foreign Currency Traders - Swing Traders - Swing Forex - Swing Traders

Position Traders - Types of Traders - Position Trading

Position Traders - This type of foreign currency trader holds on to their trade for weeks or months. With the aim of making a large number of pips, 300 to 1000 pips.

Position Traders place an average of 2 to 5 orders in a year, position trading method requires those who are patient, experienced and have huge account balances that can withstand huge draw-downs.

Position traders use 1 day or weekly charts to put their orders. They use weekly chart to determine the trend, if it going up or down and to decide their entry and exit.

Forex Position Trader Weekly Chart Timeframe Strategy

Position trader using the daily candles charts wants to go short, checks weekly chart time frame, it looks like the example below, since weekly chart time frame shows the trend is going down, the position forex trader will then decide it is okay to sell - Go short.

Types of Traders - Position Traders - Position Forex - Position Traders

What's the best Trader Type? - Types of Traders

The most popular type of trader or the best trader type is the day trader and scalper trader depending on the method of trading of each trader, but these two forex trading methods are the most widely chosen forex trading methods. Scalping forex trading requires those that can make quick decisions while day trading is for those who want their trades to run for longer and have more time when making trading decisions. When starting it is best to try scalping or forex day trading. These methods are the best because you do not leave orders open for too long. At the same time you do not leave trades open overnight and you can trade when you have time to watch the market movements. In trading it is best keep orders open for as long as the trend setup is in your direction and exit immediately once the trend direction starts to reverse.

When it comes to the question about which type of trading style is used by the best traders or by the top traders the two forex trading methods above are the most commonly used forex trading methods. Forex traders can also automate these scalping or day trading styles by implementing their strategies using automated trading robots.

For swing traders, leaving trade transactions too long can also take up your profit & this trading method also requires a lot of skills so it is best to stick to the short term forex trading methods for most beginner traders.

Position trading is not good as it requires a huge account balance and sometime it can result to huge draw-downs.

For swing trading & position trading methods, leaving a trade transaction open for too long, may mean these trades can reverse and move against you with a lot of pip movements and can even wipe your account, for this reason swing trading & position trading methods are not very popular. It is best to stick to scalping and day trading so as to better manage the funds in your account.

It is not recommended for the trader who is a beginner to leave trade orders open overnight, it is best to always close open orders at the end of the day.

Forex News Traders - Types of Traders - Forex News Trading - this news trader places orders during economic news release time, either guessing the news will be positive/negative or placing pending trade orders above & below the market price. Forex News trading method is risky as volatility is massive during these News Release Times, whilst at the same time liquidity may be non-existent. You forex trade orders may not get filled, your order to open a trade may get requoted or your stop loss might not be filled! Forex News method can be suitable for some traders but requires some skills.

Forex Robot Traders - Types of Traders - Automated Traders - the robot trader - automated trader is the type of trader that uses automated trading programs known as Forex Robots - How to Trade with Automated EA Robots - Forex EAs - Robots to trade the online forex currency market. This automated trader will setup an Automated Robot on their trading platform & the automated trading robot will then open and close trades on behalf of the trader based on the automated robot trading strategy that has been used to program this automated trading robot. If you are new to automated trading & would like to find a trader using automated trading robots to help you come up with an automated trading robot, then you can find out more about automated trading on the Forex EAs Article - MQL5 Forex Expert Advisor Robots Forum.