Quote from Girlpower:
That really depends how reliably you do it. If you have a system for doing it that wins 90-95% of trades and loses very small too, then it's a winning proposition.
Best
Natalie
How fundamentally true.
I think one of the greatest handicaps for being a successful trader would be to be assuming or opinionated. A mistake we all make. But the less often, the better!
One the secrets to trading, on the other hand, is to be flexible at all times - Rather than sticking to (unvalidated) maxims like he does, explore the possibilities!
The ES can indeed be scalped - Even tighter than that!
I tend to be ridiculously flexible in my trading - While most of the time, I look at 3-min charts to trade for 6+ points (with ~3pt SL),
I will quite often also trade the 15-mins or dailies for position trades. But scalping, despite its "low" profits is nothing to sneeze at - simply because of its much higher reliability and lower risk (if you do it right!)
I love to scalp when everybody else considers the market "rangebound" or "no conviction not worth it"
Look at this:
1. I've been in a pos trade short ES for almost 2 days now and it looks nice - but I might hold for 1-3 weeks, maybe longer!
2. I shorted the ES on the open today, to play the gap (which is extremely reliable in terms of hitrate as I detailed in the previous post on this board) and because of initial overextension, fibs etc and no reversal, I just held on and locked in a nice profit. Using a 3pt stop.
3. I scalped the ES over the last 2 1/2 hours. I made 14 trades and locked in 2.25 points. How? Watching the ask and bid on the ES while executing off 2m,1m & Tick-Charts (also 32Tick, 64Tick, 128Tick) - Watching the Ask/Bid is extremely reliable and very often tells the truth when the charts "lie"! The inside market leads the price! When I scalp like this, I go for profits between .25 and .75. My stops are 2-3 Ticks. Regardless of the enormous slippage / commission factor, due to its high hitrate it's the most reliable form of trading I know of.
So much for the anti-scalping smartie you replied to
By the way, this is how I started on the Nasdaq, and I sort of miss those days' point-per-point (stock!) action sometimes...
Anybody remember "shadowing the ax", "bid staggering", "market fading", "head fakes" etc?
Oh - And this is probably one of my best trading secrets: I tend to start off scalping with a large position, then take off some as soon as the ask is up a tick, then some more next tick to lock it in, and depending on whether the direction changes after 2-3 T or not, get out of the rest or just a few and hold on to a few (30-50%) for a larger scalp, setting the stop a little wider. I keep this going, "de-pyramiding" gradually, keeping fewer and fewer contracts for longer and longer timeframes. This way, I also get the larger moves! For example, I still had 20% of my initial all the way through to the close move today, starting with a bullish reversal scalp at 3:30!
IMO, this is the finest way to benefit from the maximum amount of moves! Practice this on a simulator and be amazed...
Trading is an awesome job. The only thing I'm scared of right now is myself - My last weeks have been so good on the futures, that I hope I don't step into the "overconfidence" trap.
Maybe I should take a holiday and cool down a bit? Or maybe I should hang in as long as it's really good???
Any fellow advice here on this issue is appreciated!
And my sincere compliments to you Girlpower - You're a very wise Trader! Don't listen to dem nuttas here!
Yours Sincerely,
~The Scientist
