Learning to trade by scalping?

[easyrider]

One thing I have discovered is that my profits are inverse to the number of trades on any given day. The more I trade the less I make. Even small commissions add up at the end of the day.

 

[candletrader]

Don't confuse frequency of trading with scalping... you may only have one scalp trade a day, but you can make good money if you caught it nicely...

 

[ArchAngel]

candletrader -

The definition I was offering involved frequency AND target gain. Higher frequency was generally a byproduct of small target gains.

Could you offer an example of someone doing one scalp trade in a day and making a lot of money at it? Are you thinking of something like a guy taking a 1/4 point on 20,000 shares and then calling a day? If you were thinking of a guy riding a 1-2+ point move intraday, that wouldn't be a scalp.

 

[nitro]

nitro, i'll beat your a$$ any day in chess! it would be my pleasure hehe!

Name the time and place...

PS what a braggard :-|

Not shy here (that's why I don't continually change my handle , ) especially when debunking crap about scalpers likened to video game players, or members foaming at the mouth about chat rooms.

I see you are not too shy either:

GeeTO69 says:

Well...i reluctantly admit i am kind of a babe magnet.. hehe :-D

nitro

 

[candletrader]

Originally posted by ArchAngel
candletrader -

The definition I was offering involved frequency AND target gain. Higher frequency was generally a byproduct of small target gains.

Could you offer an example of someone doing one scalp trade in a day and making a lot of money at it? Are you thinking of something like a guy taking a 1/4 point on 20,000 shares and then calling a day? If you were thinking of a guy riding a 1-2+ point move intraday, that wouldn't be a scalp.

I was just referring to the notion of being selective while scalping, I suppose... some days may be busy (upwards of 20 scalps) and some days may have few or no scalps...

 

[GeeTO69]

you bet i'll be back to name the time & place ...soon as i get down how the horsey moves.

 

[GeeTO69]

candle, do you use MA 's or MACD or the like when scalping?

 

[candletrader]

Well a moving average is a good thing initially, but soon you won't need anything except a keen eye and concentration on price levels...

 

[GeeTO69]

candle by that i assume you mean the ebb & flow and the waxing & waning of very short term price cycles as they bounce to & fro of ethereal S/R levels etc?

 

[nitro]

ArchAngel says:

Could you offer an example of someone doing one scalp trade in a day and making a lot of money at it? Are you thinking of something like a guy taking a 1/4 point on 20,000 shares and then calling a day? If you were thinking of a guy riding a 1-2+ point move intraday, that wouldn't be a scalp.

Candletrader says:

I was just referring to the notion of being selective while scalping, I suppose... some days may be busy (upwards of 20 scalps) and some days may have few or no scalps...

There are days where I don't do many scalps, and there are days where I do 30-40. Average is about 15.

75%-80% profitable, 15%-20% small losses. Therefore, based on a high watermark of 2000 shares, which is rare for me, but peanuts to scalper friends at Schoenfeld:

2000 shares * .25c profit = $500 * (75% of 15 = 11) = $5500 - 2000 shares * .25c loss = -$500 * (25% of 15 = 4 ) = -$2000 - commissions ($600 at 30 roundturns at about .01c/per share for me, at Schoenfeld, no commission, but 25% payout!)

Net gain = $2900/day, on a good day. A bad day is +/- $200. A really bad day is -$4100 (when the 75% and the 25% goes flip.)

nitro