Quote from fearless9:
If you are a scalper then ....
Always trade only volume instruments (ES)
Always fade the entry.
Always flatten if it does'nt move quickly
Always flatten on a spike
Always short only from resistance
Always buy only from support
If you are not a scalper....
Always ignore my comments
If you are a scalper and do not understand the above......
Always leave scalping alone until you do understand.
regards
f9
I was always under the impression that the best markets to scalp are illiquid ones, where the trader can singlehandedly cut a price level and force people to panic. Regardless, I do OK scalping low and medium liquidity instruments and I do believe contrary to your above statement that I have an understanding of what scalping is.
Also, "only buy from support" and "only sell from resistance," while I hope you do well following those rules, as far as them being general principles of scalping, I must humbly disagree. A great amount of the money I make is from cutting key price levels when I see a sign that the level will break, and going with the level. Most the time even if a break of resistance lacks followthrough, if resistance is a size order if you go long into it and spray some limits you will capture the market prints from the idiots who used stops. Likewise for whacking bids.
Say a stock that trades 750,000 per day - an illiquid stock - is at new lows, down $2 on the day, 25 minutes into the session, 5 red candle bars down... it prints a low of 25.28, and the 200 shares ARCA bid sits there and keeps absorbing stock, absorbing stock, red prints red prints red prints... behind it is a 25.25 3000 NYSE bid, and at 25.00 8000 NYSE and 6000 ARCA, with very little stock in between.
You see they keep pounding and printing the 25.28 Arca, he has taken over 5000 shares, and you look at the ES and see it's breaking down below support on the chart and making new lows. Then, you see 25.28 arca goes away after a print for 3700. At that point anyone watching the stock is an idiot not to short the 25.25 3000 bid - as much as you want - and immediately bid down between 25.08-25.01 To me, even though you're not shorting at resistance, trading a liquid market, you're still scalping... though in the setup I described above, to flatten if it doesn't move quickly is an excellent idea.
Just goes to show how different people's perceptions of what scalping is can be.
