Scalping Psychology

lbranjord

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I'd like to share a key piece of information with scalpers out there. First, the definition of scalping for this thread is 1 hour to 5 minute charts.

Winning breeds winning. Losing breeds losing. This is a statement that everyone has heard in one form or another but let's have a look at why. Here is an example of what is likely going through a trader's head during a winning trade, but following a losing trade.

Example 1:
First trade, lost $100.

Current trade, up $30...up $40...up $50...stalling....
Once your trade reaches that stick point, you feel excited at the probability of closing out a profitable trade. The problem is that you won't, because you think you should be patient and wait for it to reach $100 so you can wipe that nasty trade off your account for the day.

Current trade, back down to $40...back down to $30...back down to $20...back down to $10... hits the break even stop loss with a gain of $5.

You ended the trade with only $5.

Example 2:
First trade, won $100

Current trade, up $30...up $40....up $50...stalling....Close out!

You ended with a $50 profit. This is because you didn't need to make up for anything. You were happy just to add to the winning trade and it helped you to not hold on too long.


The moral of the story is that anything you can do to forget a losing trade is beneficial. The more it sinks into your mind, the worse you will trade and the more you will try to recoup that in greedy ways. You get what you get and you don't have a fit, ever heard that one as a kid? The market stalls for a minute and starts going back down, close out. Let yourself be one step closer to the overall goal.

It's been rehashed over and over, but I thought it could use another rehashing because I am a scalper on some trades and would like to see more people become comfortable with the idea that it can be done and done well. Psychologically, most people cannot handle it but just like anything in life, it can be practiced and mastered within reason.

Good luck everyone :smart:
 
Found this and agree with it:

If you can scalp the market you can do anything. It's like understanding how to build a cell; from there it's easy to build a whole organism. Once you know how to use the information and knowledge you have and profit from it in burst trades that don't take more than several minutes, you can build on the same technique to trade longer positions.
 
actually i am still a little afraid of doing scalping since it will take more risks. most of the time traders will make choices not reasonably in these trades. I prefer steady growth strategies and follow them.
 
Yes, your example and Idea both are good. I am not scalper on any trade. Even it helped me to understand more closely to scalper.
 
Don't be hung up on the risk attached to scalping, this is not about time frame. The point is, revenge trading is just as dangerous over a 1hr time frame as it is over 1 year. Never let the performance of your account dictate the management of your next trade. As long as you have an adequate risk management process (only risking max 2% of your account per trade is a basic example) do not let it matter to you personally if the next trade is a loser nor the one after nor the one after that. In the end, your system will make you profitable before your losses become serious.
 
I'd like to share a key piece of information with scalpers out there. First, the definition of scalping for this thread is 1 hour to 5 minute charts.

Winning breeds winning. Losing breeds losing. This is a statement that everyone has heard in one form or another but let's have a look at why. Here is an example of what is likely going through a trader's head during a winning trade, but following a losing trade.

Example 1:
First trade, lost $100.

Current trade, up $30...up $40...up $50...stalling....
Once your trade reaches that stick point, you feel excited at the probability of closing out a profitable trade. The problem is that you won't, because you think you should be patient and wait for it to reach $100 so you can wipe that nasty trade off your account for the day.

Current trade, back down to $40...back down to $30...back down to $20...back down to $10... hits the break even stop loss with a gain of $5.

You ended the trade with only $5.

Example 2:
First trade, won $100

Current trade, up $30...up $40....up $50...stalling....Close out!

You ended with a $50 profit. This is because you didn't need to make up for anything. You were happy just to add to the winning trade and it helped you to not hold on too long.


The moral of the story is that anything you can do to forget a losing trade is beneficial. The more it sinks into your mind, the worse you will trade and the more you will try to recoup that in greedy ways. You get what you get and you don't have a fit, ever heard that one as a kid? The market stalls for a minute and starts going back down, close out. Let yourself be one step closer to the overall goal.

It's been rehashed over and over, but I thought it could use another rehashing because I am a scalper on some trades and would like to see more people become comfortable with the idea that it can be done and done well. Psychologically, most people cannot handle it but just like anything in life, it can be practiced and mastered within reason.

Good luck everyone :smart:


hey all

all good traders know what they are hunting as a Target (T1) from each trade... based on experience and pure probability regarding the ATR of the pair being traded

if they lose $100 on the first Trade it should not effect the target set for the second trade......that should be T1 and business as usual

use solid rules to avoid emotional trading

N
 
nail had been hit twice on this thread

it does not matter what time frame you trade

it matters A LOT that you have defined entry/exit levels before you enter a trade and you religiously adhere to your clear trading rules.

that is it, the end, you need no more "I will teach you to trade" books/seminars etc... there is nothing more to it.

now go do it..... therein may lie the problem.

good luck
 
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