I know a few who make $12+MM per year. The thing with these scalpers is: 1. Most of them don't want to be public figures because they are most effective when they are operating silently. They don't need the ego stroke either. 2. Scalpers are not glamorous. How much can you write or publish on a scalper? I don't think their activities would generate much sales for the publisher.
Scalping needs enormous discipline. A short term trading can be quite profitable like this automated system .. http://elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54170
I scalp for fun. Its great to get in and out of trades real fast.. But I believe I am just break even on my scalps.
Most floor traders I talk too scalp throughout the day and make good money. It is not for everyone though since the skills and fortitude required are much more stringent that longer term trading.
It would not let me edit my post so here is what I wanted to add: Most floor traders and institutional traders I talked too scalp throughout the day and make good money. Many lose money as well. Most scalpers I have met who made money usually get out after a few years because it is a rough and stressful way to make money and if they made good money over a few years time, they have cashed out and found a different way to continue to grow that money. It is not for everyone though since the skills and fortitude required are much more stringent that longer term trading. Also, I tihnk it is too stressful to do full-time. I mainly trade options and only scalp the E-minis with a small portion of my capital and for some additional returns. I cannot imagine putting all my capital into scalping. Tough way to make money.
I second that. I've known a lot of traders who flip things while they are waiting for their strategies to kick in. Basically just addiing (hopefully) to the pl daily, but only putting a small % of their bankroll on the line. Out of the few pure scalpers I have known, only one had made anything substantial (I'm guessing about 4 million) and he literally was a robot trader. I've never met anyone other than him who could make consitently smart trades with such incredible dicipline. That was at a prop shop and even with 24 or 25 other traders watching what he was doing, no one could replicate it. imho, it's a tough way to make a buck. - The New Guy
I put the STOP in where either the next support line (as in pivot points for the day or a previous days support/resist area). A recross of a moving average line is also a "UNKNOWN" stop point, unknown because if i am long from a cross to the upside and then i get a cross back below the moving average that tells me to exit the long because the reason i went long is now invalid. But in general i place the stops where i am wrong... Before i place a trade, i look to see where the stop will go, if the stop needs to be to far away then i might reconsider getting in. I like pre-planed entry and exit based on technical spots. Stop placement is in many ways harder to ascertain than a regular entry, stops can be extremly subjective in a game that is better played as objectively as possible. Ever watch "World poker Tour" on the travel channel? The pros seem to show up at the final table over and over, once in awhile some LUCKY amature gets in but the "PRO's" play the odds, they throw away bad hands. On the flop, if they stayed around for the first round of betting and on the flop received no help for the cards they have, it is best to give up the hand, unless he plans on bluffing all the way. Traders can not bluff, either the trade is winning or it is losing, best to dump the loser and get some better cards..