Am I scalping?

[DionysusToast]

I don't consider myself a scalper really and my first trade on Thursday lasted 4 seconds.

I like to get in to a trade and let it run a bit. I also use Ninja ATM strategies to automatically set my exits, which I can then move around. Sometimes, the market does it's thing before you have time to adjust.

Still - on the ES, my default stop loss is 10 ticks. I like the idea of a scalpers entry which you then manage with a view to catching a larger move. The trick is obviously figuring out how to get out when that larger move looks unlikely... That's where focusing on a single market helps.

 

[Splitlink]

Still - on the ES, my default stop loss is 10 ticks. I like the idea of a scalpers entry which you then manage with a view to catching a larger move. The trick is obviously figuring out how to get out when that larger move looks unlikely... That's where focusing on a single market helps.

What's the matter? Saturday morning and no alarm set but, like me,can't sleep?

Your last paragraph, above, describes, exactly, the reason for my trying this method of getting out of a bad trade fast. To make it a longer term trade, if possible. There is another problem here, though, for me. A 12 point profit often reverses into loss. My problem is whether to snatch that profit or wait ---which is what is a common problem with many, not just me. I suspect that a stop at, or just above break even may be the only answer to that. One has to decide for oneself but, if that happens often, there is a lot of money to be made by that kind of profit taking strategy, although getting a run of small losses gets expensive.

Thanks for your interest. I have got to the age, now, where experimentation is just as interesting as getting there!

 

[NVP]

Yesterday, I lost money on the first two trades and I decided to have another re-think about what I am doing. By lunch I had recouped my losses, with two trades and had completely changed my tactic to a kind of guerilla warfare approach, taking what I can and getting out. Will this work for me in the future? I don't know but, since it is profitable, I am going to continue for a while.

This morning's trades are 4 mins= 14 points; 2 mins=15.5 points;5 mins = 9.5 points; 5 mins= 13,3 points. Total 43 points. Done in 50 mins.

I used no prior planning, just an opinion on what the probabiliites were and entered. I used a 5 min bar chart, with Bollingers and averages.

It's difficult to explain what I am doing because what rule was good for one trade, was not for another. A lot of "feel". I suppose that comes with experience.

What I would say, though, is that I use a spreadbetting account because I believe that a lot of failing traders complain, bitterly, against their company. IMO, it is unwarranted in may cases although, no doubt, there are exceptions.

if you cant explain what you are doing then stop trading until you can :smart:

N

 

[tomorton]

Split – I’m sure you're being wittily provocative as ever. Firstly, very short-term intra-day trading with limited profit targets isn’t scalping, it’s just daytrading. Scalping would require you to exit at the first click on the profitable opposite side of the bid-offer spread from your entry.

With that out of the way though, I suspect you are throwing a light on such very short-term trading, which is often represented as the pinnacle of the art of trading, but which I have a feeling, on such short timeframes, is just random entries and exits which mostly are with-trend. I know daytraders will deploy this or that indicator (or set of) to define their entry point and some rational technique to define their exit. But I do think results would be equally good over any hour in an uptrend by going long for 1 minute every 3 minutes. Once trend is identified and seen to persist, an egg-timer would do just as well as all the indicators known to man.

 

[maxima]

It is not about trading. He has old men life crisis. Most of others would go for a prostitutes wine or suicide. He chose gambling... I wish I will be able to afford the same when I get there.

Autumn. Loneliness. Fear of death.. it sucks...

Instead of giving him trading advice you better try to cheer up. What he really needs is a friend not lost capital in "scalping ".

 

[Splitlink]

Split – I’m sure you're being wittily provocative as ever. Firstly, very short-term intra-day trading with limited profit targets isn’t scalping, it’s just daytrading. Scalping would require you to exit at the first click on the profitable opposite side of the bid-offer spread from your entry.

With that out of the way though, I suspect you are throwing a light on such very short-term trading, which is often represented as the pinnacle of the art of trading, but which I have a feeling, on such short timeframes, is just random entries and exits which mostly are with-trend. I know daytraders will deploy this or that indicator (or set of) to define their entry point and some rational technique to define their exit. But I do think results would be equally good over any hour in an uptrend by going long for 1 minute every 3 minutes. Once trend is identified and seen to persist, an egg-timer would do just as well as all the indicators known to man.

Hi Tom,

Thanks for taking the trouble to read my stuff.

I am fortunate to be able to say that I have started trading fairly late in life. Believe me, that is an advantage that many of us do not have. I am eager to be good at trading but not daft enough to put all my money into it. Nevertheless, it takes up a porcentage of my time and I'm happy about that. I am active, mentally, and do not spend my time sitting on a park bench.

Just let me have a good week, next week. The rest, we'll sort out next Saturday.

 

[new_trader]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for taking the trouble to read my stuff.

I am fortunate to be able to say that I have started trading fairly late in life. Believe me, that is an advantage that many of us do not have. I am eager to be good at trading but not daft enough to put all my money into it. Nevertheless, it takes up a porcentage of my time and I'm happy about that. I am active, mentally, and do not spend my time sitting on a park bench.

Just let me have a good week, next week. The rest, we'll sort out next Saturday.

The advantage being you have fewer years in which to lose everything

 

[tar]

very short-term intra-day trading with limited profit targets isn’t scalping, it’s just daytrading. Scalping would require you to exit at the first click on the profitable opposite side of the bid-offer spread from your entry.
.

It is the way round , scalping is exiting at the minimum loss possible , like for example buying at the bid and exiting your losing trade at the same bid ( scratching ) your loss here is limited to the commission only which is only a fraction of a tick , scalping doesnt mean you always have to take the minimum profit , you should get greedy at times and wait for the extra profit ...

 

[tar]

I am active, mentally, and do not spend my time sitting on a park bench.

 

[Splitlink]

It is not about trading. He has old men life crisis. Most of others would go for a prostitutes wine or suicide. He chose gambling... I wish I will be able to afford the same when I get there.

Autumn. Loneliness. Fear of death.. it sucks...

Instead of giving him trading advice you better try to cheer up. What he really needs is a friend not lost capital in "scalping ".

There you go! It's people like you that get the adrenaline going!

Would you believe me If I was to say that I have no fear of death? Suicide is extremely unlikely, though, because I have a love of life as long as there is no pain.

I do not need friends, either, except you guys. I have one personal friend who I have known since I was twelve. Other than him I have my family and books. I am a real bookworm.

If you were to ask what my main fear was, I would say that I would not like to be penniless.

 

[Atilla]

There you go! It's people like you that get the adrenaline going!

Would you believe me If I was to say that I have no fear of death? Suicide is extremely unlikely, though, because I have a love of life as long as there is no pain.

I do not need friends, either, except you guys. I have one personal friend who I have known since I was twelve. Other than him I have my family and books. I am a real bookworm.

If you were to ask what my main fear was, I would say that I would not like to be penniless.

Hi Splitlink,

Do you need an iPad2?

I think everybody needs an iPad on some part of their anotomy.

You can always throw it into the sea and it might help some Johny Castaway get to see life outside of their deserted island.


Just like to add you're a top chappy and one of my heros.

 

[BeginnerJoe]

I have one personal friend who I have known since I was twelve.

Well, what will you do if he kicks the bucket ? Anyway, you don't seems to be short of a penny. So my friendship is available for hire at your convinience.

 

[Splitlink]

Well, what will you do if he kicks the bucket ? Anyway, you don't seems to be short of a penny. So my friendship is available for hire at your convinience.

Well, he is three months younger than me. Like I said, if I have a good novel, I am happy. Apart from that I can always nag you lot (and you can nag me, of course?)

I do know a lot of people with whom I am on friendly terms. I do not, particularly, want them any closer than that!

Anyway, this is not getting my scalping question fixed and I can see that I am going to have to solve that by myself, because you guys are way too cautious for my health!

 

[neil]

Anyway, you don't seem to be short of a penny. So my friendship is available for hire at your convenience.

Smut -all this talk about meeting in public toilets has to stop

 

[cmmichaels]

Well, he is three months younger than me. Like I said, if I have a good novel, I am happy. Apart from that I can always nag you lot (and you can nag me, of course?)

I do know a lot of people with whom I am on friendly terms. I do not, particularly, want them any closer than that!

Anyway, this is not getting my scalping question fixed and I can see that I am going to have to solve that by myself, because you guys are way too cautious for my health!

Hello Splitlink I guess you gave up with swing trading pin bars then like Dante, did it not work out?

From what you said earlier you sound like Harry Brown, have you seen the film? you should have got out there when the riots were going on vigilante style.

Anyway good luck with your trading

 

[mjmast]

Hi Split
Do not post very often, reasons are irrelavant.
Cannot give you a trading style answer, not competent.
The age thing though, just finished listening to the whole thing, posting the lyrics of the best.
No agenda or advice, just comment.
Enjoy, or not.
Mike

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.

Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
And when I come home cold and tired
Its good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells.

 

[Splitlink]

Hi Split
Do not post very often, reasons are irrelavant.

There is plenty to do, don't worry! The problem for younger people have is their fear of getting old. It is not as bad as that yet ) although, I admit, I gave up retirement through boredom at home. How many of you guys are waiting in the road for the gym to open at 0700? I rarely have the chance to see a film on tv unless it is in bits on the video.

 

[Splitlink]

Hello Splitlink I guess you gave up with swing trading pin bars then like Dante, did it not work out?

From what you said earlier you sound like Harry Brown, have you seen the film? you should have got out there when the riots were going on vigilante style.

Anyway good luck with your trading

Everything works sometimes, nothing works always.

Hourly bars, therefore pins, which is what TD used, did not fit my work schedule. I do the 8-12 watch on trading, with a few exceptions. That means that I didn't have enough bars, in that time, to suit me and pins were, even fewer, apart from not always working! So I went on to 30M. Pins are too frequent on that, though, although Procel works all right with them. I don't like pivots and fibs, so I have had to find alternative signals, so now I am on 15M so that I can do other things without having to look at the screen all the time.

I don't know Harry Brown. I hope that he is not like the misery who wrote the poem!

 

[new_trader]

Everything works sometimes, nothing works always.

That is a myth perpetuated by 'system' and/or 'setup' traders.

 

[Splitlink]

That is a myth perpetuated by 'system' and/or 'setup' traders.

I can't see how it can be a myth. The reverse, certainly, is not true.