?Really? Cutten and bespoke, really good posts... I am scalping ag futures mainly( some metals and energy too ), and I've made 110-120 K since January, no losing week. I don't see so much room to grow in my niches, not more than 300K per year max... Hope I will reach the next level one day, but I'm happy right now... Keep it going.
ok I will share a scalp setup, when a big tech name like Dell, etc reports, wait for the news then sell/buy QQQQ depending on the news, usually good for $.30 to $.40 cent scalp.
See below for definition of Scalping from another post: "Scalping is a trading style specializing in taking profits on small price changes, generally soon after a trade has been entered and has become profitable. It requires a trader to have a strict exit strategy because one large loss could eliminate the many small gains that the trader has worked to obtain. Having the right tools such as a live feed, a direct-access broker and the stamina to place many trades is required for this strategy to be successful. Scalping is based on an assumption that most futures contracts will complete the first stage of a movement (a contract will move in the desired direction for a brief time but where it goes from there is uncertain); some of the contracts will cease to advance and others will continue. A scalper intends to take as many small profits as possible, not allowing them to evaporate. Such an approach is the opposite of the "let your profits run" mindset, which attempts to optimize positive trading results by increasing the size of winning trades while letting others reverse. Scalping achieves results by increasing the number of winners and sacrificing the size of the wins. It's not uncommon for a trader of a longer time frame to achieve positive results by winning only half or even less of his or her trades - it's just that the wins are much bigger than the losses. A successful scalper, however, will have a much higher ratio of winning trades versus losing ones while keeping profits roughly equal or slightly bigger than losses. The main premises of scalping are: Lessened exposure limits risk - A brief exposure to the market diminishes the probability of running into an adverse event. Smaller moves are easier to obtain - A bigger imbalance of supply and demand is needed to warrant bigger price changes. It is easier for a contract to make a 5 tick move than it is to make a 50 tick move. Smaller moves are more frequent than larger ones - Even during relatively quiet markets there are many small movements that a scalper can exploit. Scalping can be adopted as a primary or supplementary style of trading. Primary Style: A pure scalper will make a number of trades a day, between five and 10 to hundreds. A scalper will mostly utilize one-minute charts since the time frame is small and he or she needs to see the setups as they shape up as close to real time as possible. Automatic instant execution of orders is crucial to a scalper, so a direct-access broker is the favored weapon of choice. scalping can be seen as a kind of method of risk management. Basically any trade can be turned into a scalp by taking a profit near the 1:1 risk/reward ratio. This means that the size of profit taken equals the size of a stop dictated by the setup. If, for instance, a trader enters his position for a scalp trade at 800 with an initial stop at 795, then the risk is 5 ticks; this means a 1:1 risk/reward ratio will be reached at 805. Scalp trades can be executed on both long and short sides. They can be done on breakouts or in range-bound trading. Many traditional chart formations, such as M and W formations can be used for scalping. The same can be said about technical indicators if a trader bases decisions on them. A trader enters a position on any setup or signal from his system, and closes the position as soon as the first exit signal is generated near the 1:1 risk/reward ratio Conclusion: Scalping can be very profitable for traders who decide to use it as a primary strategy or even those who use it to supplement other types of trading. Adhering to the strict exit strategy is the key to making small profits compound into large gains. The brief amount of market exposure and the frequency of small moves are key attributes that are the reasons why this strategy is popular among many types of traders."
rjv27 That is what you call scalping, i will not argue the point. Suffice it to say that in my book i stand by the definition as it relates in the industry relative to mkt makers. Now in regards to your explanation. That just proves why 90% end up losing. What you described has zero merit relative to a trading plan, edge, etc, etc. What you described is what can be best explained as "HOPE". Lets just pick one single item apart: Less exposure you claim. Well no shit Dick Tracy, that is what you need when you have "ZERO" plan aside from grabbing a small profit before it gets away. (did you get dumped a lot from the girls in your life?) Your trading is controlled by fear of losing? Why are you such a wussy in thinking you can not control risk aside from running away from it? Forget that question, you answered it already. Trading for small profits is a flawed strategy in the long run, i said it before and i say it again. You will NOT become a winner trading noise. Get a plan, get an edge, get some courage etc and then check back later . PS: Please spend your time convincing yourself because i am just fine with what i say can and will work and what will and NOT work. Good luck in your travels.
How long is your best "no losing day" run with your day/swing approach? I did one month and a half this winter and I didn't have a losing week on this scalping strategy since june 2007. I agree that you cannot get really really rich scalping but if there are scalpers making 1 m, or even 100K, it's still good in my book...
I have been scalping the Dow, but figured that it works out the same as swing trading on a weekly time scale. I don't use any stops and am in and out of the Dow with about 1500 lots a day. However, I find that it is better to swing trade a position and roll up or down as appropriate. Personally, I think scalping is good if you have a big Ego, and that is possibly its only use.