Hmm...I typically don't go so microscopic on any equity, but I will try to do this and create a plan around it.
You're "trading/scalping...for intraday moves" and you "scalp intraday" and you consider it microscopic to study price action using a 5-min bar interval. If it's because you're trading options, understandable; scalping with options seems ridiculous to me. You get leverage and precision with futures such as stock indexes, oil, natural gas, bonds, currencies.
Buddy, congratulate yourself that trading Options you have been able to keep account alive or near break even after two years. In my books, Options and derivatives are the fastest way to a blown up account. Congratulations again !!
That is one of my favorites although I got it out of John Hills books from late 70s, it were failed attempt to make a new high or low. It is actually half of what I do scalp Indexes. Whether ES, NQ, YM or TF, and have done well enough in CL, but I have found it to work best by keeping stats on what the average larger swing is in all these markets before looking to do counter-trend trades, like right now it is 9.5 points in ES, so when I see the ES has moved this amount, no more trend trades and look to go other way. I believe CL is .96 right now. So you "Typically I lose money", why are you trading? You lack education is reason you can't predict well. It won't matter if you have a small or large bankroll. You are saying you have no system or Trading Plan and none of it is well backtested and you are trading by hunches. As far as saying dollar amount of what you want to make each month is foolish, you are like forever and a day from that point. I am not trying to insult you, trying to save you from losing all your money. I started in 1978 and until 1999, I worked days and eventually nights full time. Do nine hours between work and travel and another eight hours in front of a screen. You have to put in real time screen time for a few years if you want to do this full time. I started doing long term trading off weekly charts and I still do them, check out stocks in the $2-20 range, ave of one million traded, after price retraces to 20 EMA and breaks last weeks highs=buys. Can do covered calls and Put Credit Spreads for a little extra. You only need one way to get in for now and work on a few dozen ways to either get out, not to take trade at all, identify when chart is screening for a reversal. When you get your trading down to boring, you are doing incredible trading in my book, you want a nice smooth equity curve. Most of us have started with smaller bankrolls cause many of us busted out for years. I became good at long term stocks, but it was the 80s and everything was going up, where I make my mistake was going into futures and being like you, too lazy to backtest over years of data and not put my money at risk. Took few years to learn to code, found all the money was in money management rules and less so in entries. I have found that trading same stocks all the time to be best for me. Each stock has it's own personality, you watch long enough, many show their hands before taking off. I have found for myself, options are horrible for buying and best for selling naked or Credit Spreads and keeping them more than a day, often time weeks. You really need to take a couple years off trading and come back with a well defined Trading plan. You need to be able to read charts, support and resistance. Buying low means risk is low, there are few markets like intraday Crude Oil where buying high works consistently over long haul that I have found that tested well.
by microscopic, I meant, very focused on one stock/contract. As in, no macroscopic monitoring of index, market trend, economics, global activiites, etc. Pretty much, focus on the specific action on that stock/contract and play accordingly. Wasn't referring to time period. Also, yes, I do trade options and projections/expectations become more important than time periods because it's already being priced in.
Haha....thanks. That's a positive way to look at it. Although we won't discuss the one account I blew out...shhsssh...