So, it’s that time… Time for a bit of spread betting strategy. In this article we’ll be looking at four different trading styles, scalping, day trading, swing trading and position trading all in the context of spread betting.
Spread betting offers plenty of flexibility, but how you approach it is deeply influenced by your personality, risk tolerance, and trading goals. Some prefer to be in and out of the market quickly, while others are comfortable holding positions for days, weeks, or even months.
Whether you’re a scalper, day trader, swing trader, or position trader, each style brings its own challenges and rewards. So, let’s break down what defines each type and which might best suit you.
Scalper: The Short-Term Opportunist
1. Timeframes
Scalpers thrive on speed, often holding positions for just a few seconds to minutes. They tend to focus on the smallest price movements to make quick profits. In spread betting, this often means leveraging small changes in high-liquidity markets like major forex pairs (e.g., EUR/USD), commodities like gold, or indices like the FTSE 100.
2. Instruments Traded
High-volatility instruments with tight spreads, such as forex, are ideal for scalping due to their constant price fluctuations. Other common choices are popular indices or highly liquid stocks.
3. Holding Period
Seconds to minutes.
4. How They Trade
Scalpers are usually driven by technical analysis—focusing on price action, chart patterns, and momentum indicators (like RSI, Bollinger Bands, and Moving Averages). Scalping is less about the fundamentals and more about finding those tiny price shifts to capitalize on.
5. Personality Fit
Scalping requires lightning-fast decision-making and a high tolerance for stress. It’s suited for traders who thrive on high-paced action and can handle small, frequent losses without getting emotionally involved.
6. Automation in Scalping
Automation can help remove emotional bias when scalping, as trades are executed within milliseconds. Tools like Expert Advisors (EAs) can help with placing trades based on specific indicators, reducing the need for human intervention.
7. My History
I rarely scalp to be honest as it requires too much time at the charts and generally for too little reward, I know there are some famous influencers who recommend scalping as you can be in and out of the charts quickly and are not subjected to too much volatility but in reality the spreads are often too wide for spread bettors to scalp meaningfully and the profits are simply too small for the analysis required. If i was to scalp, I’d automate the strategy and use a reputable broker like Pepperstone’s Razor account to get the most value I can.
Best Spread Betting Broker for Scalping
Given the Razor accounts Pepperstone offer, where spreads start from 0.0 pips and you only get charged on commission, Pepperstone is our recommended broker for scalping & using automated strategies. You can automate your scalping strategies on cTrader or MT4 giving you multiple automated scalping options.
£500 Recommended Deposit
Best Reputation
Pepperstone is a Melbourne-based broker that offers an excellent selection of trading instruments in the financial trading markets, including commodities, shares, ETFs and more.
75.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading on margin with this provider
Day Trader: The Daily Navigator
1. Timeframes
Day trading is like trying to guess which way the wind is blowing that day, but it’s more like is it east or west vs all four points of the compass given it’s usually a binary movement (up or down). A day trader typically holds positions for anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, but all trades are closed before the market ends. Unlike scalpers, day traders aim to take advantage of larger price moves within a single trading day.
2. Instruments Traded
Like scalpers, day traders often focus on forex, commodities (like oil), and indices. However, they may also trade highly liquid individual stocks if they see opportunities.
3. Holding Period
Minutes to hours, but positions are always closed by the end of the trading day.
4. How They Trade
Day traders rely on technical analysis, but they may also keep an eye on fundamentals, especially around key economic announcements (like GDP or unemployment reports) that could create short-term volatility. They’ll use tools like the MACD, Fibonacci retracements, and support/resistance levels to guide their trades.
5. Personality Fit
Day trading is great for traders who want to stay active but not as intensely as scalpers. It suits those who have a moderate risk tolerance and can manage multiple trades over a few hours without being overwhelmed by stress.
6. Automation in Day Trading
While automation can still be helpful, many day traders prefer a hands-on approach. However, using automated systems to monitor certain price levels or execute pre-determined trades can help.
7. My History
I day trade but manually and usually on stocks or indices. The reason is that the volatility in stocks is much more evident at the beginning of the day and I don’t want to be exposed to gap-risk the following day so closing before the end of the day just makes sense.
Best Spread Betting Broker for Day Trading
One of our top brokers forex spread betting brokers, ActivTrades provides excellent charting tools on their proprietary platform and has consistently won the awards for top forex broker so is our leading pick for day trading if you are spread betting.
£250 recommended deposit
Best for Forex
Founded in 2001, ActivTrades is a gloablly regulated and widely-recognised broker offering excellence in their proprietary platform.
83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Swing Trader: The Market Trend Follower
1. Timeframes
Swing traders typically hold positions for several days to a few weeks, aiming to capture medium-term market swings. They’re less focused on day-to-day fluctuations and more interested in catching a broader trend.
2. Instruments Traded
Swing traders typically trade forex pairs, stocks, and commodities, but are less concerned with spread size and more focused on the overall trend. This makes larger moves in equities or commodities (like gold and oil) appealing to them.
3. Holding Period
Days to weeks.
4. How They Trade
Swing traders often combine technical and fundamental analysis. They’ll use price action and trends but also pay attention to news, earnings reports, or macroeconomic data that could affect market sentiment over the medium term.
5. Personality Fit
Swing trading is ideal for someone who prefers a slower pace and doesn’t mind holding positions over several days. You’ll need the patience to let trades develop and the resilience to handle temporary market dips.
6. Automation in Swing Trading
Automation can be used to help place trades based on specific criteria, like entering or exiting a trade when a certain price level is reached, but many swing traders still prefer a more manual approach. However, automated strategies can take emotion out of trading, making it easier to stick to your plan.
7. My History
I am a swing trader, not afraid to admit it. I hold positions for around 3 days, sometimes longer. The goal here is to capture large trending moves either in the direction of the trend or for trend reversals and so i don’t have to worry too much about the spreads when spread betting. I usually do this with currencies or commodities that tend to trend for longer.
Best Spread Betting Broker for Swing Trading
As the only spread betting broker with fixed spreads, TradeNation is one of the best spread betting brokers for swing trading as you don’t have to worry about getting variable (wide) spreads when there is low volatility. It is our recommended swing trading broker.
£250 Recommended Deposit
Best for Beginners
TradeNation offers a proprietary trading platform with fixed spreads resulting in an easy, reliable trading environment for those just getting started.
Position Trader: The Long-Term Strategist
1. Timeframes
Being a position trader is like viewing a football field as a manager vs a player. They often take fundamental approaches to trading basing their decisions on fundamentals and holding for weeks, months or even years. They’re not concerned with short-term volatility but instead focus on the big picture. They aim to profit from long-term market trends.
3. Instruments Traded
This type of trading is often associated with equities, ETFs, and sometimes forex. Position traders typically look for long-term economic trends that will drive market behavior over months or years.
3. Holding Period
Weeks, months, or even years.
4. How They Trade
Unlike scalpers or day traders, position traders rely heavily on fundamental analysis—think of long-term trends like interest rate cycles, geopolitical events, or corporate earnings reports. They may also use technical analysis to refine their entry and exit points.
5. Personality Fit
Position trading is for patient traders with a high tolerance for risk. These traders need to be comfortable with holding positions through potential drawdowns, relying on their broader outlook.
6. Automation in Position Trading
Automation is less common here, as position traders often rely on longer-term market analysis and manual trade execution. However, automated alerts for specific price levels or technical setups can still be useful.
7. My History
Whilst through swing trading I do develop thoughts on position trading quite naturally, I don’t have the patience to ride out the volatility and watch my positions turn red or even see paper losses for that long, so as much as I would like to be this kind of trader, it’s simply not me. I actually started on IG, then I moved to Pepperstone and now have tried pretty much all spread betting brokers under the sun like City Index and AvaTrade – hence why I started Spread Bet, but enough about me!
Best Spread Betting Broker for Position Trading
As a position trader you need a broker that does not charge inactivity fees as your positions might be taken once a month or even once every several months. That’s why our recommended spread betting broker is Vantage Markets. Not only is there no inactivity fee but it’s also one of our best all-round brokers.
£500 Recommended Deposit
Best All-Rounder
Vantage Markets in a seasoned provider of both CFD & Spread Betting tools with a range of over 1000+ instruments to trade
70.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs and Spread Bets with this provider.
Which Strategy Suits You?
Ultimately, the trading style you choose often depends on your personality, goals, and risk tolerance. Here are a few things to consider:
- Risk Tolerance: Scalpers and day traders need to be comfortable with smaller, more frequent losses, while swing and position traders must be able to ride out market fluctuations.
- Time Commitment: Scalping and day trading require a lot of time at the screen, while swing and position trading can be done with less frequent monitoring.
- Market Volatility: Scalpers and day traders thrive on volatility, but if constant market swings make you nervous, swing or position trading might be a better fit.
Mixed Strategies: You Don’t Have to Pick One
Don’t feel that you have to stick to just one style! Some traders successfully combine multiple strategies. For example, you might be a swing trader most of the time but occasionally scalp the markets during key news events.
This is hopefully what I’ve expressed in ‘My History‘ I don’t assign myself to swing trading or position trading etc. I am flexible, it depends on the conviction of the trade, the instrument i am trading and my view on the market.
How Automation Might Help
Automation can be incredibly useful, especially for scalpers and day traders, who benefit from faster trade execution. Automated trading systems, or Expert Advisors (EAs), can follow predefined rules, eliminating emotional bias from decisions and allowing you to stick to your plan.
Swing and position traders might use automation less frequently, but they can still benefit from tools that set price alerts or even trigger trades when key levels are hit.
Final Thoughts
The type of spread bettor you are depends on your personality, risk tolerance, and trading goals. Some thrive in fast-paced environments, while others prefer a slower, more deliberate approach.
Each trading style has its own merits, and the key is finding one (or a combination) that works for you. Whether you’re scalpin or holding a position for months, understanding your trading style will help you stay disciplined, manage risk, and ultimately become a more successful trader.
Sources / Further Reading
James is a former FTSE100 AI Director and trader with 10+ years trading his own capital. He is the Managing Director of SpreadBet.AI and currently trades his own capital through both CFD trading & spread betting as well as working with one of the leading prop firms in the world.
