People say they swing trade. What they actually do is buy something that went up and hope it goes up more.

A swing is three numbers written before the fill:

1. Entry — a prior-day or weekly level, not a line you drew after the candle printed

2. Invalidation — the price that kills the idea. Under the level for longs. Above it for shorts. A number, not a feeling

3. Size — 0.5% to 1% of the account to that invalidation. If the math does not fit, skip

If you cannot write all three in 90 seconds, you do not have a trade. You have a guess.

The other leak: managing a 4-day hold like a 5-minute scalp. Check it at the close. Move to breakeven at +1R. Time-stop at 5 sessions if it never paid you.

Day trading around a job is how accounts die. One clean swing a week is the whole job.

That is the process we run in the Lab.