Short-term Trading Tactics — “The Core of Intraday Swing Trading: Discipline Matters More Than Prediction”

Many friends think short-term trading is just “buy fast and sell fast, buy low and sell high.” It sounds simple, but when you actually do it, it all falls apart. When I first started short-term trading, I could make more than ten trades a day, and I ended up paying a lot in fees. When I finally added everything up, I was still losing. Later, I calmed down and studied, and then I realized the core of short-term trading isn’t whether your predictions are accurate—it’s whether your discipline is strict or not. Below are a few practical tips I summarized.

First, only trade strong coins, not weak ones. Short-term trading is all about “riding the trend.” You should look for coins that show clear volume expansion on the 30-minute or 1-hour timeframe and have bullish moving average alignment, rather than trying to catch bottoms of coins that keep sliding. Strong coins usually attract capital, have bigger volatility, and offer more short-term opportunities; weak coins, even if they bounce, often lack strength and are easy to get stuck in losses.

Second, set strict stop-loss and take-profit levels. This is the lifeline of short-term trading. I usually set the stop-loss at 3%-5% below the entry price. Once triggered, you exit unconditionally—no hesitation. Take-profit is set based on resistance levels or prior highs, generally in the 5%-10% range. Short-term trading isn’t about making money on every single trade; it’s about “small losses for big gains”—losing small when you’re wrong, and winning big when you’re right. If you don’t have stop-loss discipline, one big loss can erase all the profits from your previous ten winning trades.

Third, control position sizing—never go all-in on a single trade. Short-term trading has a high level of uncertainty, so the position you commit to each trade must never be too large. I usually use only 5%-10% of total funds per trade, so even if you get several trades wrong in a row, it won’t damage your account. Never convince yourself you’re right and then go all-in—that’s gambling, not investing.