From the link you posted i gather that the software fee Globex Trader using an ISP would be $400/month. The link below states $2.28/RT per e-mini using Globex-trader. so compared to IB you would only have to do more than 160 RT's a monyh to save on commissions. I find that hard to believe. What am i missing here? http://cme.com/risk_management/clearing_house/fees.cfm
good post, I think. Care to elaborate on how to get to 'afterward.' How do you measure volatility? When do you decide it's time to scalp? How do you scalp? Also, are you talking scalping as buy bid sell ask, or something else? If you answer any of these, thanks.
You may have "adequate" execution speed, but I think there is a difference, especially for traders here in Chicago. good day!
There were very good posts earlier. there are several definitions for 'scalping'. however the one that really applies imho is when you try to get A spread (it's not necessarly the inside bid/ask). and scalping refers to 'shaving' the spread. so yes, it's sometimes buying at bid, but that's not really the point. it's about making a market. I do not refer to myself as a scalper, but as a private market maker. a market maker posts 2 prices (a price he's willing to buy at and one willing to sell at ). that's why the direction is secondary. the important thing is volatility. how does the market move ? what's the difference in price between going up and going down, at different (short term) time frames. anyway... learn what tape reading is, market depth, market quality.. not easy to find this kind of information. and with this basic knowledge, you basically have to watch the markets for hours and hours and hours. and trade it live as well with very little size for a very long time, until you understand how the flow goes. there are some theoritical models about this and important research done. but most people doing that (including floor traders or locals and market makers) learn by doing. either get it or not. I learned with a combination of both. also I spent quite some time trading NYSE before I moved to futures for scalping market making style.
Brother Pussy's got a point... although I scalp, I also daytrade... just scalping alone gives me headaches cos it requires immense concentration throughout the day... I am trying to do less scalping and more longer-term stuff (scalping being restricted to where I feel there is no edge for other styles)... in my opinion, it's possible to make just as much $ from any style of trading, as long as you master it: so small size on longer term plays (e.g. 5 contracts held for several hours) can make just as much, if not more, than good size on scalp plays (e.g. 20 contracts held for seconds to minutes)... of course on choppy, whippy days where there is just no action (like on 07-28-03 and 07-30-03), then scalping wins hands down relative to other styles in terms of hit rate, opportunity factor and optimization of trade potential... the problem is, of course, recognizing that the day is choppy, whippy etc before it manifests itself as a retrospectively choppy and whippy day... Having indicated that I am trying to scalp less, I will concede that scalping can be highly profitable for those who specialize in it... but, as was previously mentioned, you need rock bottom commissions and you must forget about the concept of conventional stop losses when scalping (using conventional stop losses fucks up the risk:reward parameterization when scalping)... when scalping, your "stop" should be where the momo stops (which could be at an actual loss, immediately after you enter or at a profit), not necessarily where you have an actual loss...
About the stop losses; I am actually rarely in a position where the momo is with me, so I cannot put a stoploss where momentum ends. My stoploss is extremely tight when the market goes against me. - But, I only trade Nasdaq, which is much different than futures.-
im a daytrading mech system trader and if my system is short and profitable for the day, i will contrarian scavange all day long. then if I can't get back into a falling market, ive lost the ability to make more profit but have not lost actual cash. I can usually make 20 profitable trades a day for 50 cents each plus the profit on my short position. If Im long the day then I scavange sell and get back in on a buy for short small profits. So I guess Im a hedging scavanger.
Ultra scalping can be just playing the spread. Buy on the bid and sell on the offer, preferably in a non-moving market. Commissions are high, of course, but relatively safe, static, and boring. A few hundred times five days a week. Really, that's what market makers and specialists, in a way, do. You do away with just about all of TA. You're just making a market and scalping teenies to a fortune.