I was going to go on about the advantages of the micros, but I just noticed you are talking about using options. That means I must bow out, because I know the fuck-nothing about options. And I never will. Good luck! Ask PoopyDeek about options advice. He's good at them last I saw.
Actually, my plan is to scalp the underlying as eventual support for my options trading. Being attuned to order flow will help me time and manage my hedges on my option positions for which I would be using the underlying. Based on what I'm hearing and feeling now, I know it is better to go live to start. Painful mistakes are more likely to be learned and become deep seated than unpainful mistakes. Therefore, this journal will show my scalping performance using real money on micro index futures contracts. My risk capital shall be $5000. Maximum daily loss, $180. And maximum per trade loss of $60. I will scale my trade size according to my win rate and overall profitability, eventually increasing my per trade and per day risk allowance as my account value and competence increases. Screenshots documenting my trading performance will be provided.
the problem with scalping is that you do not get many opportunities. if you disagree with this then you misunderstand scalping: scalping needs very high probability and high probability trades does not take place often or that has been my experience. if you take low probability trades then you will get stopped out often and that will blow your account because your reward is so small. the only advantage is that you can use big position sizing........
For those who know how to profitably scalp, each trade they take is high probability. If I was sure I knew what I am doing, then yes, I would know which trades are high probability setups and allocate significant capital towards them. This is to test a new idea, to learn, and to be a source alpha on my overall trading results. Starting with real money is ok, but no point taking on large size before be knowing where one is at using a new trading style that, as I see it, involves subjective analysis to a degree, requires considerable skill developed over years of practice, and decisiveness. The type of scalping I will be doing involves a lot of trading for those that do this. Reading the ebbs and flow of transactions and noting the various price levels will be a key aspect of my decision making involving scalping. Appreciate your input.