Does any fast trading really work?

Absolutely! The odds of me (or my robot) getting it right when forecasting the next few bars are better (I think) than the odds of us correctly guessing the next few hundred bars. Anyway, I don't see "time in market" as more definitive than "take profit early and often" when defining what scalping actually is.

For example, when a rally is on, I don't put a single order, I put a string of pending orders, with space in between. That way, I book profits on the way up, only risking the order that lands on the inevitable reversal. If I am lucky, I might see the reversal coming via my indicators (AC is good for this) and delete that last order. Or, if the AC goes red after a buy stop has triggered, I can put a 15 pip trailing stop loss on it, locking in a smaller profit. If I am not so lucky, well, that's what stop losses are for.

I've tried swing trading, too. It works great with some currencies. USD/CHF is a good swing trading pair, if you have the margin to take out a position on the daily chart and wait for days (or weeks) to hit your target. If I were much more liquid than I am at the moment, I would do that as well... but it would be rather boring, no?

Well, scalping on the M30 or H1 chart is also kinda slow, but it works as well. Depending on the volatility, working the M30 or H1 can be the way to go.

I guess I am not very rules conforming... I just go where the market seems to be leading and try to get whatever profits I can, by any trade necessary. ;)

BTW, while typing this message, I just made 194 pips scalping AUD/USD on M5, trading exactly the pattern I just talked about. Woohoo! Well, I was only trading micro lots, so it's not like I got rich or anything, but what the heck.

MM
 
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Each to their own style and ideas, but your idea of probability music man is as spooky as a diminished E chord.

The USD/CAD chart attached has my blue sell line marked on it. I sell once and monitor the trade until I can put my stop loss to breakeven (plus the spread).

At this point my trade is zero risk, I can't lose, and in fact as the trade develops I move that stop loss to lock in profit, day after day more stress free pips come rolling in and no spread payments. How satisfying is that? very.

Your in and out technique are the six little red crosses, five times you pay the spread, five times you could lose, five times you stress, five times you have to work out your entry, five times you could be doing something less boring instead.... music perhaps ;)

..... whatever rocks your boat

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No problem. As you say, to each his own. I realize that I could theoretically just place an order and chase it up with an SL. That would mean I would have to hang around, eying the thing, modding the SL, etc. It's really not that much trouble to go into and out, and I am not worried about the spread so much as I am the profit.

I have EAs that follow your approach more or less... at least the follow the trade up part. One puts 2 trades, at 80 and 20% of the calculated total lot size. The bigger order gets a TP, and the smaller one does not. Instead, once it gets into profit a certain amount, the SL is dynamically modified to follow it up.

It works pretty well... sometimes.

BTW, I was kinda in a hurry got confused in that earlier post... it was actually 388 pips.

:)

MM
 
..... mmmm 388 pips.... that's one hell of a scalping system you've got there music man.
 
Well, at a penny a pip, it's less than 4 bucks, so don't compliment me too much. Wait to see if I manage to trade my way up to doing the same thing with a standard lot. Then, I'll be notable. Until then, I'm just talkative. :)

Anyway, I'll be the first to admit that I'm a newbie FX trader. At software, I am an old hand, but I am still learning the FX game. Probably many here are better traders than I am, especially now when I am in experiment mode.

BTW, when you calculate "plus spread", how do you calculate it? I see spreads fluctuate quite a bit. Do you use an averaging approach, or just the spread of the moment?

MM
 
Well, at a penny a pip, it's less than 4 bucks, so don't compliment me too much. Wait to see if I manage to trade my way up to doing the same thing with a standard lot. Then, I'll be notable. Until then, I'm just talkative. :)

Anyway, I'll be the first to admit that I'm a newbie FX trader. At software, I am an old hand, but I am still learning the FX game. Probably many here are better traders than I am, especially now when I am in experiment mode.

BTW, when you calculate "plus spread", how do you calculate it? I see spreads fluctuate quite a bit. Do you use an averaging approach, or just the spread of the moment?

MM


Your such a good scalper. :p
 
Sell EUR/USD at 1.49078, close order at 1.48916 for 162 points profit. Time in market, 33 minutes (15:40 to 16:13), working the H4 chart (the lower ones are a bit choppy).

It is a scalp? I dunno.

I kinda wish I'd stayed in longer, as we are now at 1.48759, but there were rumors of Asian buying interest and I didn't want to get caught in a sudden updraft.

All things considered, I'm just happy for the win. :)

MM
 
If your numbers are correct I make that 16pips music man, and yes I'd call that a scalp. I personaly wouldn't have hit it there as the price had already dropped and was finding support to move higher, which it did. 30pips out of the ballpark to win 16 is risky trading. The 4hr chart contains the same choppiness as a 1min chart, the price is the price. Get in a bit closer and be precise with your entry, your risk to reward ratio will be much more in your favour.

Just my friendly advice :)

How do you scalp a 4hr chart? how do you see what's happening with the price action?
 
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