Mike | The Lab
Published on
Jun 25, 2025
The belief that more trades equate to higher profit is among the most frequent errors made by traders. However, overtrading is frequently the quickest way to deplete your funds and lose confidence when trading futures.
In reality, how many trades should you make in a day? Your approach will determine the answer, but one rule is always applicable: less is more.
Why Overtrading Destroys Consistency
Every deal you make demands concentration, discipline, and mental energy. You're gambling, not trading, if you're clicking every few minutes without any discernible advantage.
Overtrading frequently results in:
Enforcing configurations that don't fit your requirements
Ignoring your trading plan; entering out of boredom or frustration; and become emotionally exhausted
Your duty is to wait for high-probability setups that fit your method, not to chase activity.
Find Your Ideal Trade Frequency
How many trades a day is appropriate will depend on:
It is possible for a scalper to make five to ten modest trades. Perhaps a swing trader just needs one.
What is your timeframe? Naturally, you will make fewer trades as the timeframe increases.
In order to prevent emotional overload, novice traders should set boundaries.
A solid standard? Commence by making 1 to 3 solid deals per session. Put more emphasis on review, execution, and quality than volume.
TL;DR
Success is not assured by a certain amount of trades. Only making trades that fit your criteria and ignoring all others is what counts. The goal of discipline is to know when to do nothing, not to do more.
