Day Trading Guides
Day trading means opening and closing positions within one trading session. These guides cover what that involves, how to practise it without risking money, and how to choose a first strategy.
Start with the task you have right now. The related guides go deeper into single methods, risk and practice.
Guides in this topic
- Understand day trading
Day Trading for Beginners: Markets, Risk and Practice
Definition, markets, a session from open to close, costs and capital, the 2026 US account rules, study evidence and a practice path.
- Choose a strategy
Day Trading Strategies: Rules, Examples and When to Skip
Opening range breakout, trend pullback and range fade compared, VWAP as a filter, with a win, a loss and a skipped trade on SPY.
Related articles
- Trade the first hour
Opening Range Breakout: Rules, Charts and Common Mistakes
Opening range windows, one fixed rule set and two worked SPY days.
- Join a trend
Pullback Trading: Entries, Stops and Failed Setups
How to tell a pullback from a reversal, two entry types and three QQQ cases.
- Trade a sideways market
Range Trading: Boundaries, Orders and Two Documented Fades
Range boundaries, order types and two documented SPY fades.
- Use VWAP as a filter
VWAP Indicator: Formula, Anchored VWAP and TradingView Setup
Formula, anchored VWAP and the TradingView setup.
- Size each trade
Position Sizing in Trading: Formula, Calculator, Examples
Position size from the stop distance, with a calculator.
- Review your trades
Trading Journal: How to Record and Review Your Trades
How to record each trade and each skipped setup, and review the week.
- Practise without risk
TradingView Paper Trading: Setup, Limits and Tips (2026)
Set up a free paper trading account and place simulated orders.
- Check futures hours
Futures Market Hours: CME Trading Times for ES, Oil and Gold
Trading hours of the main futures contracts in ET, with the daily break.