trading intraday and time frames

What do you mean when u say you make one big trade but play both sides?

 

I initially thought that you meant a 5 minute time frame...but since you're mentioning a 5 second time frame, you must be a high frequency trader who trades with an automated trading system...

 

...You're getting too specific -- I can tell...but I would have to kill you. (just kidding, i'm just a somewhat private guy.)

 

I hear ya... It's no problem, I wasn't looking for advice just clarifying in my head what u meant.

 

I am not. My point was 1 size didn't fit all in trading.

 

He said " YOU COULD " trade at 5S, not " HE DOES" learn the difference

5S still isn't HFT, that's 0.1 area, it's just more information.

You likely watch the BID price, move live ( very near ) as you trade, it moves the same on all TF's ( Scare will be different ofcourse ), doesn't mean your HFT!!

 

Only traders I know that are using time frames less than 1min are scalpers and they're making +50 trades per day on a normal trading day and +100 on a volatile trading day.

Of those scalpers, a few are profitable...they are automated or have a seat on the exchange.

The manual scalpers (no automation), you folks must have fighter jet reaction skills and using more than just charts such as DOM (tape reading).

I've tried time frames less than 1min...my analysis and trade reaction skills are too slow and its too stressful for me as a manual trader (no automation). A few times I almost vomited or got blurred vision. That's when I learned I could never be a scalper.

Congrats to those that are scalping profitably via time frames less than 1min without automation. More congrats if you can maintain that pace for more than a year if full-time.

 

It's not really M1 your watching, your watching every tick of the chart like a tick chart just not graphically ofcourse, be the same on M5 or whatever if you watching live, it's the little traps where price spikes up 6pts say in no time and you think, it's going up, go Long and it stalls and reverses hard, you've got to train yourself not to react to.

You need to formulate a live plan, ie if the market pauses in this area XXXX it's worth risking a long as good odds it'll go higher.

Then you need to stick to the plan and stop reacting and then trade or not, you need to keep updating your plan and not worry about the 1's you miss or that cost you to much.

And not go completely mad at the same time, ofcourse!! ( Few hours I'm burnt out, I admit it )

 

If I ever decide to abandon what works for me and become a scalper...I'll go the automation route and/or get a seat on the exchange to control the costs associated with scalping such large number of trades.

Also, if something moves 6 points up...its already up and I've already concluded its up unless a 6 point move for that particular trading instrument is extremely small in comparison to its normal range. Thus, a 6 point move is just price noise for that trading instrument.

In addition, I notice when time frames less than 1min are mentioned...you keep referring to M1. The only way you can watch every tick...its via the DOM only or a price ladder. My point is that if you're only looking at a 1min chart (no DOM)...each time you blink...you can not see the tick that you missed. In contrast, if you have a decent DOM that keeps the history for more than a few minutes...you can watch every tick and then if you blink or turn your head away...the history is still there in the DOM for every tick. This is something tick watchers can do via the DOM that they can not do via only a chart like the 1min, 2min, 3min, 4min, 5min, 15min, 60min or whatever minute time frame.

Note: All charts have a price quote on the axis to show the change in price but it does not store the recent tick history prior to that price shown on the chart even though you can visually see the interval change for each 1min time frame chart or whatever minute time frame being used.

P.S. I am aware that there's a new definition floating around the past few years about scalping by new traders. I myself prefer to stick with the definition by the exchange...same definition since the 90's.

P.S.S. The tick watchers I know via the DOM, after a few hours of such...they usually are done for the day...mentally draining except for those automated.

 

The 6pts up ( not ES, think DAX with 10pt SL ), triggers that break out response, to newbies.

Haven't had DOM access in 10years or so, I just end up glued to it for 6hours without trading, no real predictive value I could find, prefer to keep it simpler, I don't trade for small enough profits though I guess.

I'm not a true scalper though, Scalpy yes but not 2pts and out, 10 - 20 is the plan, 2 happens at times.