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I do both swing (range) and momentum (trend following) trading of stocks, mainly on the NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX.

Swing trading broadly defined is the practice of trying to make profits off of short term (3 months or less) changes (up or down) in the prices of stocks, futures, etc., using probability analysis to weight the odds in your favor. Another common name for swing trading is range trading. I also do what is called momentum or trend following trading, a practice where traders seek to make profits by identifying and then riding price trends (up or down) in the prices of stocks, futures, etc. I prefer trading stocks and my favorite markets are the NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. I sometimes day trade and sometimes do the old fashioned buy and hold investor thing, but swing (range) and momentum (trend following) trading are my favorites. Where else but in America can you make money by having fun? I love it. More information on swing and momentum (trend following) trading can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_trading and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trend_trading

An example of swing (or range) trading would be if you had a stock that has consistently traded between $10 and $15 a share over the past 6 months. Each time the stock price gets down to $10, buyers (bulls) consistently come in and drive the stock price back up. But when the stock price gets up to $15, sellers (bears) consistently come in and drive the stock price back down. Such a stock would be said to be trading within a range of $10-$15, a "tug of war" going on between the "bulls" and the "bears," with $10 being the support (like the floor in a house) price and $15 being the resistance (like the ceiling in a house) price. What a swing or range trader would do is wait for the stock price to hit its $10 low and then bounce up off this $10 support or "floor" level, hopefully headed back up to the $15 resistance or "ceiling" price. The swing trader then buys the stock after the bounce and waits for it to go up as hoped to $15 and then bounce down off that resistance or "ceiling" level, just as the stock has in the past, at which time the swing trader gets out and takes his or her profits by selling the stock. The swing trader would then repeat this process over and over again so long as the stock continues to trade within a profitable range.

An example of momentum or trend (following) trading would be if you had a stock that was consistently increasing or decreasing in price over a given time period. Say 10 days for example. The trend trader would confirm a trend exists using price charts or tools like the ADX and then buy that stock (if the trend is heading up) or short that stock (if the trend is heading down), hoping to ride the trend up or down like a roller coaster until it appears the trend has gone flat or reversed (changed direction) and come to an end. The trend trader would then get out of the stock and take his or her profits. Trend traders work on the theories that (1) a trend in progress will likely continue, and (2) "the trend is your friend, until the end."

Trading and investing in the markets is one of the three basic "roads" to wealth in the United States (the other two are starting and growing a business, and buying, selling or investing in real estate). I prefer trading and investing in the markets as almost anyone can learn to do it and not much start up money is required, unlike the situation that often exists with starting and growing a business or getting into real estate. If you are interested in trading or investing in the markets, I urge you visit www.Investopedia.com, a great website for learning the basics for free. You may need to register an email address, but Investopedia has some great basic tutorials available free of charge. You may from time to time also get emails or see infomercials on TV promising all sorts of great results and riches. Please ignore those emails and infomercials as most of them are either fraudulent or almost fraudulent. As for books, there are thousands of books available for those interested in trading or investing in the markets. Most are overpriced and written by people who make their livings as authors, not traders or investors. Before you buy any book, always check it out on Amazon.com and never buy any book that does not have a 4 or 5 star rating (give great weight to the reviews written by "Amazon Verified" buyers, but not the others, as many of the others are reviewers paid by the author or publisher for a good review and may not have even read the book). Two books I can personally recommend are "Swing Trading for Dummies" (yep that is the real title!) by Omar Bassal, CFA, and "Technical Analysis for Dummies - 2nd Edition" (yep real title again!) by Barbara Rockefeller. Both are good books with a low cost (under $20 each).