The thing is, charts are not really that important for my entries. It's not like I see something in the chart and decide to enter into a position. I only look at the chart to determine the general price level I would be interested in and then watch the booktrader window to find the actual spot. Let me do this: I will tell you exactly what my charts look like and then post my executions for the day. That way you get better information than just a chart window with a bunch of arrows. I really just use a 5 min bar chart showing the current day and a 15 min bar chart that spans 2 days, both with volume, no other indicators.
I thought this question would eventually come up, and the only honest answer I can give is, I don't know. If I did, I would write a computer program and have it do the work for me. The closest I can come to describing a typical entry is, when three or more levels of bids all but evaporate and then there comes a level that looks like it's going to put up a fight, that's where I feel I should go long.
lobster - are you flying by the seat of your pants? ie no plan, 100% discretion - you see a move, you jump. not saying this is wrong, just getting a handle on whats up here.
When I think about what I have been doing, I can't deny two observations: 1. So far my profit is about one tick per trade before commissions on average, and 2. Almost every trade I enter into gives me a chance to take a 1 or 2 tick profit within a few seconds. So why don't I lower my risk by taking profits sooner? Today I have been gently migrating in that direction. Let's see how that goes. I can't say I'm too happy with it so far; virtually all the trades I cut short would have been bigger winners.
This is the classic 1-lot dilemma. "Should I book my 1 tick profit and wait for the next entry signal or should I wait for a bigger move to happen, with the risk of turning my winner into a loser?" I have been there (like every trader I guess) when I learned to scalp the DAX and it is very frustrating indeed. I got round it by implementing a 2 step process: 1. Using an automated stop profit of 1 or 2 ticks (depends on the product) and trading one lots like that until the hit ratio is about 80% (necessary to go to step 2) 2. Using a (3 lot) multi-stop profit strategy combined with an auto-breakeven (I use Ninja Trader): first stop: 2 ticks, second stop: 3 ticks. At the same time (3 ticks), the auto break-even is triggered. I now have a third contract left and basically a free ride (I made money on the first two contracts and I'm safe thanks to the B/E Stop). This is the most efficient way to scalp in my opinion because you never let a profit turn into a loss and if a big move develops, you don't have to chase the market because you're still in the market with one contract. By the way, I'm currently testing my strategy on the 6EZ5 and so far it is working with the exact same setup. Cheers
Wow! What a day. Experimenting around with my strategy and fighting a strong trend, I didn't really expect to make a killing, but this is kind of discouraging: Today: 23 R/T $(475.00) before commissions $(604.72) after commissions Total: 67 R/T $25.00 before commissions $(352.88) after commissions Maybe I should quit while I'm ... hmmmm... alive.
imo (as I only know scalping conceptually), probably not worth doing scalping, in terms of returns vs risks. Be careful, and good luck!