I'm new to Forex. What would you all consider the best charting patterns etc. to look at for someone who wants to scalp? Thanks for the replies.
Agreed. Forex is far too volatile for successful scalping. Add to that spread slippage and brokers who begin to view you as the enemy if you trade that way, and you have a recipe for disaster.
If you must scalp, don't use charts -- those are the people who you'll be making money off of in many cases.
Brokers won't close your account if you scalp......most forex traders consider scalping short term trades anywhere from 1-20 pips, 1-30 min, and that's just a ball park description. No one scalps spreads in forex. The biggest heads up I'd give you on trying to scalp is to be aware in forex that you are given the opportunity to trade less of the move than in other markets due to the buy on the ask/sell on the bid policy most forex brokers have. This gives you twice the spread less of the move to profit off of, which can make those real short scalps very tough as most scalp type reversals will "pop" 2-3 pips and take out your gains real quick. IMO brokers live off this type of scalping and love it. Take a hard look at how wide the swings are on whatever t/f chart your looking at, and try make them more than 10 pip swings. Trying to scalp 10 pip swings is hard because you gotta wait for the entry signal, pay the spread (effectively TWICE) and take the reversal loss. Not to say it can't be done, but at least be aware of the exact nature of what your trying to do. FYI, IB will give you a better chance at this type of trading due to the lower spread and buy on bid/sell on ask with them. I just figured this out sometime last week.......I feel a bit sheepish. I didnt even know there was a world out there where you could buy on the bid and sell on the ask, living inside my forex fishbowl . Kali