The bad boy of stock market investing is day trading.  Those who don't do it either are fascinated by its promise of fast money or claim that it is the work of the Devil.  Though it can be risky and is definitely not for everyone, there is one compelling reason you might want to give it a try.

First let's be completely honest here!  The vast majority of people who try to day trade are going to lose money.


 Some studies have pegged that number as high as 95%.

Day trading doesn't work in the way traditional stock market investing does, as it has no reliance on fundamental factors.  All a day trader wants to see on their screen is movement -- and they don't care what the reason.  Movement for a day trader represents opportunity.  A chance to make quick entries and exits, hopefully with a profit.

Generally speaking, for most market participants, a long-term approach based on value, growth, or dividend strategies is a much more viable way of investing in the stock market.  But, does that mean you should never try day trading.  No!

Successful day traders are the absolute best of the best when it comes to the stock market. They are the elite.  A very small, and celebrated, group of individuals who have achieved trading excellence. This is no different than in any other endeavor where hard work, study, and perseverance can lead to greatness.

Think about it.  What are the chances that you could become a professional athlete?

 A rock star? An astronaut?  What about a doctor?

All these professions, and countless others like them, are open only to an exclusive group that has what it takes.  They are the ultimate jobs, the type that we dream about "taking a shot at."

The difference with day trading is that the barriers of entry are extremely low.  You can't just walk out on court and start throwing the ball around with the Lakers.  You can't jump up on stage and sit in on guitar with U2.  Even if you wanted to be a doctor today, you would have to go through 10+ years of schooling and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition.

With day trading all you have to do is open and fund a brokerage account and you have just as much opportunity to become one of the chosen few as anybody else.  Who knows, you might be one of the 5%.

So just as I would never discourage anybody from chasing their dream, no matter what profession, I won't advise you to avoid day trading.  What I will tell you is that should you attempt it, make sure that you work on a methodology that is risk adverse.  The longer you keep your capital, the longer you can play in the game, and the better chance you have of becoming successful.

And most important of all, never put more money at risk than you can afford to lose.  Then at least if your dream to be a day trader doesn't work out, it won't harm your overall financial health and you can go back to traditional investing.

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