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I don't get the "point," and I'm going to politely disagree -- a tick is not necessarily a point. ES moves by ticks, with 4 creating one point. So does NQ. However, YM moves by ticks that are also points. A tick is the minimum movement made by a trading instrument. In stocks, that's a penny. Also, scalping is whatever a trader says it is. It may be true that scalping was once just institutions taking advantage of the spread, but electronic trading has changed all that. I am considered a scalper, in part because I am looking for relatively small targets -- 2 to 5 point targets on ES for instance, but also because I am interested in resolving the trade quickly. My trading is based on my psychology, which thrives on short-term, quick action taken at particular levels rather than sustained moves that play out over the course of the day or longer. I'm very good at scalping and really bad at longer intraday trades. It's sort of useless to try to say that one short-term method is scalping and another short-term measure is not. This thread is about people taking short-term trades with small targets and small stops. If that's not "scalping," I don't know what is. Finally, it also doesn't matter if I say my ES target is 8 ticks and you say it's 2 points. The point is not to pigeonhole a particular method -- the point is to make money in the way that suits you best.
it's unreal how someone can read something and let pure emotion take over like michellemorre response to my take from workign at prop firms over the years and your answer went from being some how polite to talknig up some odd psychological method that you use to scalp 2 to 5 "POINTs" in the ES.
Pardon the PUN. the only point i was trying to make is that professionals trade multiple lots at different intervals within a short time period and exit all at once eventhough they may have entered them at different prices and that many actually average down within a set time and or price bucket/interval that and most use ALGO Assist so all they have to do is click 1 button and the machines do the rest as far as fast execution and messaging.
The machines also will try and fill but if unsuccessful say after 300 milliseconds they will then automatically back off and take a tick out of profit inorder to fill so
ask-1 or bid+1 and depending on the size n market perhaps 2 ticks. thats all i was trying to show. that many professionals will actually exit the mkt well below where they started quickly at a nice profit of a 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 ticks instead of say .. buy 10 at 3000 and exit 10 at 3001 thats all it was about.
Points ticks dollars however you trade that doesnt matter again it was only about within x time frame doing multiple contracts at multiple prices and the machines do it all for you. making sure that you are constantly trying to exit and get priority on a couple while instantly paying down a tick to maintain a profit
as far as psychology playing a part in scalping um absolutley zero scalping is all machines because the mkts have never been faster.
yes you can click scalp all you want but truth is you end up losing due to commissions you are like oh boy I am a break even trader or even small profits if it wasnt for the fees n slippage but then you realize well im only trying to gain 2 points so no wonder. but it is to each's own.
I think it has to do with the presentation of your argument.
Most definitions of scalping indicate it is a trading strategy where multiple trades are made every day for the purpose of making numerous small gains, often measured in ticks, but sometimes measured in points, no matter whether entries are spread across different prices to achieve an average or whether they are AI at the very same price. And call it what you want, a point gain is a point gain. Anything else is semantics.
But I think it really went south when you said, "Get it now?" Intentional or not, that probably came across as a semi-veiled insult to most people and they probably read it to mean: "Do you stupid people get it now?"
I kind of did the same thing to Bob West the other day in another thread. I didn't mean it to be insulting, but I was in a hurry and didn't think my comment through. After going back and reading it later, it could very well have been interpreted that way. He didn't come around my place and let the air out of my tires, so I guess he didn't take it personal, but he's pretty laid back.
Anyway, appreciate your explanation as to what you were trying to convey in your original post.
who in the world of blogspace do you think you are!
JUST KIDDING. seriously you are right 150 % i did come across as condescending and i really didnt mean too
so if i offended anyone because no one really knows me or my personality then I am sorry and will try to be more
objective with my posts in the futures.
I am using 5 minute bars trading ES intraday and scalping. My stop are really big and profit target aim is small. i feel guilty taking the win with such small profit targets, but risk is to big to wait around for big rewards.
I agree with you on this part. I would like to set a stop loss and profit target based on price action and structure at the time.
However, the stop loss (risk )I choose is sometimes higher than the profit target I choose from market structure. I use Buy and Sell Stop to enter position after 5 minute bar close.
I can show you example to illustrate my point.
I just do not see the whole taking trades for 1RR and 2RR is ideal.
I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination so please take my comments with a large grain of salt. I consider my self a beginner that has made lot of mistakes and like to think i learned a few things that work for me from said mistakes.
That said, I never take a stop loss greater than my profit target because doing so gives the edge to the market and we need all the edge we can get. When using time charts (which i don't really like), i use ATR as the basis for my stop and profit target. I like a stop loss of ~2 to 2.5 x ATR and a profit target of at least equal to my stop loss. If i need a stop loss greater than what i expect to gain then my chart setting is wrong for the trading conditions. For example, if i'm not comfortable with the stop loss on a 5 minute chart, then i'll switch to a 3 minute chart.