9 Intraday Trading Tips And Strategies You Should Know

Published Date: January 12, 2026
Updated Date: January 12, 2026
By Team Choice

Intraday trading is the practice of buying and selling stocks within the same trading day to capture short-term price movements. It attracts traders due to strong liquidity, intraday leverage, and consistent volatility in indices such as Nifty and Bank Nifty.

That said, successful intraday trading is not about predicting the market. It is about managing probabilities, controlling risk, and maintaining emotional discipline. Without these, even the best setups fail.

This blog covers practical intraday trading tips, actionable trading strategies, risk management rules, and market-specific insights to help beginners and active traders trade more confidently and responsibly.

Intraday Trading Tips for Beginners

For beginners, intraday trading should focus on survival and learning, not quick profits. Here are some free intraday trading tips for beginners:

1. Liquidity and Stock Selection:

High liquidity is a critical requirement for intraday trading. In the Indian market, liquid stocks offer tighter bid–ask spreads, smoother order execution, and lower slippage. As market participation and algorithmic trading have increased, slippage has become a more significant cost factor in low-volume stocks.

Traders should focus on actively traded stocks, particularly those within the Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty. In addition, reviewing market depth helps ensure sufficient buy and sell interest at nearby price levels. Stocks classified under Trade-to-Trade (T2T) or Enhanced Surveillance Measure (ESM) categories should generally be avoided, as they are subject to intraday trading restrictions and limited liquidity.

2. Managing the Market Open:

The initial phase of the trading session is often marked by heightened volatility driven by overnight global developments, corporate announcements, and institutional order adjustments.

For this reason, many experienced traders avoid taking positions immediately at the open. Instead, they wait for the opening range to form, typically between 9:15 AM and 9:45 AM, before evaluating trade opportunities. This approach allows price direction and market sentiment to become clearer and helps reduce impulsive entries.

3. Importance of System-Based Stop-Loss Orders:

Placing a stop-loss order is essential for controlling downside risk in intraday trading. Relying on a “mental” stop-loss often proves ineffective, as emotional bias can delay exit decisions when prices move unfavourably.

Traders should ensure that a system-based stop-loss is placed immediately after the entry order is executed. When supported by the broker, Good Till Triggered (GTT) or predefined stop-loss orders can help automate exits and enforce discipline, particularly during periods of rapid price movement.

4. Understanding Realistic Risk and Market Outcomes:

Despite best practices and risk controls, intraday trading carries significant risk. As per data released by SEBI in July 2025, approximately 91% of individual traders in the equity derivatives segment incurred net losses.

Beginners are therefore advised to start with equity cash intraday trading before participating in derivatives. Equity intraday trading is comparatively simpler and does not involve complexities such as time decay (theta), which directly impacts options positions. Gradual progression allows traders to build foundational skills while limiting exposure to higher-risk instruments.

Intraday Trading Tips for Mid-Level Traders

Once the basics are clear, traders should focus on consistency rather than frequent experimentation. Here are some of the best tips for intraday trading that mid-level traders can use:

1. High-Volume Market Hours:

In India, the 9:15 AM – 3:30 PM window is not equally profitable.

The Power Hours (9:15 AM – 10:30 AM): High institutional volume. Best for Breakout and Momentum strategies.
The Mid-Day Slump (12:00 PM – 1:30 PM): Often a "Sideways Trap." Volumes dip, and spreads widen. This is where mid-level traders often lose their morning profits due to over-analysis.
The Closing Swing (2:30 PM – 3:20 PM): Position squaring and "MOC" (Market on Close) orders create a second wave of predictable volatility.

2. Strategy vs. Execution:

At the mid-level, you likely already have a strategy that works (e.g., ORB or Pullbacks). Your failure points are now likely Execution Gaps:

Entering too early (jumping the gun before confirmation).
Exiting too early (fear of losing a small profit).
Hesitating on a valid signal because of a previous loss.
Instead of adding a 5th indicator like RSI or MACD, focus on Market Depth (Level 2 data) to see where the big "Iceberg Orders" are sitting.

3. The "Anti-Overtrading" Rule:

Mid-level traders often suffer from "Chart Hypnosis." Staring at 1-minute candles for 6 hours leads to decision fatigue.

Professional Tip: Limit yourself to 3-5 high-quality setups per day. If you reach your "Daily Profit Target" or "Max Daily Loss" by 10:30 AM, shut the terminal. Protecting your mental capital is as important as protecting your cash.

4. The Digital Trading Journal:

In 2026, a simple notebook isn't enough. Mid-level traders use journaling to find their "Statistical Edge." Don't just track P&L. Track MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) - how much the trade went against you before turning, and MFE (Maximum Favourable Excursion) - how much profit you left on the table.

Why: If your winners always go 5% higher after you exit, you need to refine your "Trailing Stop-Loss" logic, not find a new entry strategy.

5. Ignoring the Random Tips:

Social media (FinTwit/YouTube) is flooded with "Intraday Tips Today." By the time a "tip" reaches a public Telegram group, the institutional move is often over. Relying on your own VWAP + Price Action analysis ensures you are trading what you see, not what you're told.

The Trader’s Mindset: Why Psychology Matters More Than Strategy

Intraday trading is often said to be 20% strategy and 80% psychology. Many traders fail not because of poor indicators, but due to emotional behaviour.

Two common psychological traps are:

Revenge Trading: Trying to recover losses quickly after a bad trade
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Entering late into fast-moving stocks

It is important to set realistic expectations. A 50–60% win rate is considered very good in intraday trading if risk-reward is managed properly.

For example, if you risk ₹500 to make ₹1,000 (a 1:2 risk-reward ratio), you can remain profitable even if only half your trades succeed. Discipline and consistency matter more than being right every time.

Best Intraday Trading Strategies for Indian Markets

Here are some of the best trading strategies you can consider for intraday trading in the Indian stock market:

1. Opening Range Breakout (ORB) Strategy:

The Opening Range Breakout (ORB) is one of the most widely used intraday trading strategies in the Indian equity markets, particularly on the NSE and BSE. It is commonly applied to highly liquid stocks and index constituents.

With the increasing presence of algorithmic and high-frequency trading, the initial minutes after the market opens often display elevated noise and erratic price movement. As a result, many traders now prefer to define the opening range over 15 to 30 minutes, typically between 9:15 AM and 9:45 AM, to allow early volatility to stabilise before taking positions.

A breakout above or below the opening range is considered more reliable when supported by volume. In practice, traders often look for the breakout candle to register 1.5 to 2 times the average volume observed during the opening range. This helps filter false breakouts and improves trade quality.

2. Momentum Trading:

Momentum trading in the Indian market is frequently influenced by sectoral rotation, where capital flows into specific sectors such as PSU banks, IT, metals, or energy for short periods.

To identify momentum candidates, traders monitor pre-market data and scanning tools to detect stocks opening with significant price gaps, typically above 1.5%, accompanied by higher-than-average volume. Such stocks often attract continued participation during the early trading hours.

Given the fast-moving nature of momentum trades, exits are managed dynamically. A commonly used method is the 9-period Exponential Moving Average (9 EMA) as a trailing stop-loss. If the price closes decisively below the 9 EMA, it may indicate weakening momentum, prompting an exit to protect profits.

3. Pullback Trading (Buying Within a Trend):

Pullback trading focuses on entering trades within an established trend rather than chasing price extensions. This approach generally offers a more favourable risk-to-reward ratio and lower execution risk.

In strong uptrending stocks, such as large-cap index constituents, traders wait for the price to retrace toward a defined value area, often near the 20 EMA or a prior resistance level that has turned into support. This retracement allows participation at relatively lower risk levels.

Trade entry is typically confirmed through price action signals. A bullish candlestick pattern, such as a Hammer forming at the support zone, provides additional confirmation that buying interest is returning.

4. Price Action: Interpreting Buyer-Seller Behaviour:

Price action analysis focuses on understanding market behaviour through candlestick formations, which reflect the interaction between buyers and sellers.

A Hammer candle indicates rejection of lower prices, suggesting that demand has absorbed selling pressure. When such a formation occurs near key reference levels, such as pivot points or VWAP, it often carries greater significance.
A Shooting Star reflects an attempt by buyers to push prices higher, followed by strong selling pressure that forces the price lower. This pattern frequently appears near intraday highs and may signal short-term weakness.
Engulfing patterns represent a decisive shift in control. A bullish engulfing formation indicates that buying strength has fully absorbed prior selling pressure, while a bearish engulfing pattern suggests the opposite.

These formations are particularly effective when aligned with broader trend direction and volume confirmation.

Why Volume Is Critical in Intraday Trading?

In the Indian stock market, volume plays a critical role in validating price movements.

A breakout without volume often leads to false moves.
Rising price with rising volume signals strong participation.
Low-volume moves are less reliable.

Volume helps confirm whether a price move has real strength behind it.

Technical Indicators for Intraday Trading

Commonly used indicators include:

20 EMA and 50 EMA for short-term trend direction
RSI for momentum and overbought/oversold conditions
MACD for trend strength
VWAP, widely used by institutional traders

VWAP Pro Tip:

If the price is above VWAP, focus on buy setups. If the price is below VWAP, focus on sell setups.

This simple rule helps traders avoid going against institutional flow.

Risk Management in Intraday Trading

Risk management is non-negotiable in intraday trading. The objective is capital protection first, profits second.

1. Core Risk Rules:

Risk only 1–2% of the total capital per trade
Maintain a minimum 1:2 risk–reward ratio
Fix a maximum daily loss limit and stop trading once it is reached

Why 1%? If you have ₹1,00,000 and risk 1% (₹1,000) per trade, you would need to lose 100 times in a row to go broke. If you risk 10%, you are only 10 bad decisions away from a total wipeout.

By risking a fixed percentage, your "position size" naturally shrinks when you are losing (protecting you) and grows when you are winning (accelerating growth).

2. Position Sizing & Leverage:

Size positions based on stop-loss distance, not conviction.
Use leverage cautiously; higher leverage increases drawdowns.
Under SEBI peak-margin rules, intraday leverage is typically capped at around 4×–5×.

3. Stop-Loss Discipline:

Always place the stop-loss in the system, not mentally.
Use predefined or trigger-based orders where available.
Do not widen stop-losses after entry.

In the current Indian market, especially in Options, never use a "Market Stop-Loss." Always use a Stop-Loss Limit order. A market order during a sudden crash can execute far below your intended price, causing a much larger loss than your 2% limit.

Most major Indian brokers now allow GTT (Good Till Triggered) for intraday, which helps automate your exit even if you lose your internet connection.

4. Position Sizing & Leverage:

Size positions based on stop-loss distance, not conviction.
Use leverage cautiously; higher leverage increases drawdowns.
Under SEBI peak-margin rules, intraday leverage is typically capped at around 4×–5×

Remember that SEBI takes 4 "snapshots" of your positions daily. If your intraday loss exceeds your available margin during one of these snapshots, your broker will automatically trim your position to avoid a penalty.

In the Derivatives (F&O) segment, there is no extra leverage. You must pay 100% of the SPAN + Exposure margin upfront.

Option buyers must now pay 100% of the premium immediately at the time of order entry, ending the old practice of T+1 settlement for premiums.

Reality Check: Intraday Trading Carries Risk

SEBI data shows that a majority of individual traders incur losses, especially in leveraged segments. Intraday trading involves capital risk and is not suitable for everyone. Beginners should:

Avoid trading with borrowed money
Ignore guaranteed-return claims
Practice paper trading for 2–4 weeks before using real capital

Trading should be approached as a skill, not a shortcut to income.

Intraday Trading Tips for Consistent Profits

Consistency comes from process, not prediction.

Trade fewer, higher-quality setups
Follow one or two tested strategies
Prepare levels in advance using intraday trading tips for tomorrow
Maintain a trading journal
Avoid chasing intraday trading tips free online

Long-term success depends on discipline and patience.

Common Intraday Trading Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some of the common mistakes you can avoid while trading:

Mistake	Why It’s Dangerous	The Fix
Averaging Down	Increases the loss in wrong trades	Exit at stop-loss
Trading the News	Market moves before retail reacts	Trade price action
Using Excess Margin	Small moves cause big losses	Use limited leverage
Revenge Trading	Emotional decisions compound losses	Stop after daily loss
No Trading Plan	Random entries and exits	Define rules beforehand

Conclusion

Intraday trading in India offers opportunities, but only for traders who approach it with discipline, realistic expectations, and strong risk management. By focusing on price action, volume, structured strategies, and emotional control, traders can improve decision-making and reduce unnecessary losses.

The goal is not to win every trade, but to trade consistently and responsibly over time.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general educational and informational purposes only. It is intended to help you understand market concepts and strategies and should not be construed as investment, financial, or trading advice.