For me its definatly volumes on the order book, ECN arbitrage on big moves, specialist manipulation, and watching for big orders to take advantage of the auto-ex and the delay on the large order fills.
Hi, I would recommend you to study Market Profile. Jim Dalton's book, "Mind Over Markets", is highly recommended. Market Profile is a great tool for scalpers and the book covers basically everything you need to know about it. Good Luck, Alex B
For most index future traders, they look at at least the following, - $PREM - $TICK - relative strengths of all the index futures (ES vs YM vs NQ) - support / resistance of multiple time frames (daily, intraday, etc.)
Depends on your definition of scalping. For me I would say, a good, fast and reliable news service and a stable(I know, a wet dream) execution system.
Yes, 5 cups of strong coffee is most essential. 10-cups definitely gives you that jittery edge needed to snap up those points, in and out, within seconds. I usually keep an entire pot brewing, plugged into my PC's power strip, sitting right next to my six 10-second EUR/USD charts.