JerryHatfield

noego wrote: "True scalping is something very few people (<3%) can successfully do long term. FACT. No offense... " FACT: 28% of all statistics are made up on the spot. I think you pulled that number out of your ass. Just sayin'. No offense...

Hoo boy, are YOU gonna get flamed over this one! The biggest cliche I've seen on this topic is that scalping is "Like picking up nickles in front of a steam roller." I'm nearly 60, and I can barely recall actual "steam rollers," so it must be an oldie but goodie. I'm not sure who your Forex dealer is. But if it's someone like FXCM, whose spread on the EUR/USD runs an average of about 2.7, and all you're looking for is to make "A dollar," you'll only make a bundle for FXCM or whoever it is you trade with. Now, some people say that my trading style is "scalping." Sure, some trades go VERY quickly, especially when I trade the m1 chart (but that's rare), and I'm happy with ANY gain, but I do try to take more off the table than I leave for the broker. I also have several long-term trend following trades that I'm fine with. Ask ant two people how they trade Forex, and you'll get four or five opinions. Personaly, I find scalping works best for me in a moderately volatile market. Where it fails? Just what you mentioned: "Imagine the same oscillations except with more base capital. 30k equals at least six hundred dollars each hour...that's 5.1k in a day." That, my friend, is the "Greed" half of the trading equation of Fear/Greed which drives the markets. If you possess the confidence and the capital to experiment with, by all means, give it a shot. Please let us know how you did. IMHO, I suspect all those people that are so down on "Scalping" are those that did a bit, made some money, got the big $$$ in their eyes, extrapolated their trading level, and got burned on a reverse breakout. This cliche is called "Sour grapes." :crap: Anyway, best of luck, and ignore the flamers.

Well hell. Your coment got me wondering, so I looked about on the web, and found a searchable copy of Shout!", but didn't find it there, so it must have been the other book I read in the early 90's. I tried looking at a bunch of book covers to jog my memory, and searched several different books. :crap: Also no joy. While I'd love to appear terminally hip and just say "Well, I was there...," I'm not quite old enough to claim that. But I have been to the Reeperbahn in the mid-70's. While it didn't quite meet the description of "Shit or go blind," (I'd been to Amsterdam, afer all), it was still pretty impressive. I am certain I read it in some book on the Beatles or McCartney written by some crony or other of theirs. It amazes me that in all these little compendiums of Lennon quotes, they all missed that one. It's certainly a common enough Brit-ism, and I remember that when I read it, the phrase struck a chord as being something John would definitely have said. Sorry I couldn't be more specific. I tried, but I have a pretty short attention span. We return you to your regularly scheduled forum. Apologies for the deviation. JH

It's been a while, but I'm almost certain I read it in "Shout!; The Beatles in Their Generation." I also believe I saw the same quote in a earlier book, but there have been too many trips to Amsterdam to recall the exact name. Seems that one was more of a McCartney-oriented book. Do you fact check everything someone posts just to keep busy or what?

Dear Scientist, You seem to have a methodology that is working for you. This is more than the group in the 90% loser statistic I see bandied about. Personally, I use MT4. I don't need too much stuff for the way I trade, and MT4 has plenty of features to keep me happy without becoming overwhelming. My personal attitude is that if I have too much information, I'll never pull the trigger, as I'll second-guess my system. Ask any two traders what software is "best," and you'll get five different opinions. There is so much stuff out there, and so much promotional noise, that as John Lennon fameously said when he saw the Rheeperbhan in Hamberg: "We didnt know whether to shit or go blind." I prefer less complicated. If you like lots of bells and whistles (and overhead), you might like TradeStation. I mentioned in a prior post that I don't care to learn how to program various setups, run back testing, and so forth. You need to look about and determine the level of complexity you're after and comfortable with. Remember there will be a learning curve to contend with, as you adapt your methodology to whichevr platform you choose. Only a fool tests the water with both feet. Best advice I can offer: 1. Look around. Look some more. 2, No ones' opinion is Gospel 3. TAKE YOUR TIME - It's not a contest, really. 4.When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time. Best of luck! Jerry

Sorry I screwed up the quoting. Mark Twain also said: "Differences of opinion are what make horse races." Differences of opinion also make markets.

Hey Phantom! I'm been lurking in here for a while, and have very much admired your patience with some of the other posters in this thread. You know, those folks that assume you're selling something, running a scam, and so forth. All I've seen you post is EXCELLENT tidbits of very helpful, concise, and if used properly, potentially very profitable infromation, tools and techniques. Please don't let those dense, argumentative knuckleheads deter you from what you obviously love doing. I believe it was Mark Twain who said something like: "You should never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time, and it annoys the pig." Some just can't stand that someone might actually know more than they do. Cheers Jerry

"You need to grow a pair?" Listen, if you have the nerve to EVER pull the trigger, you're doing better than many people out there. I know that even with my most reliable Forex strategey (85%+ [when STRICTLY followed]), I still have that little bit of trepidation. Dude, if your testicles are coming way up into your stomach before every trade, you might want to rethink your "elegantly simple" trading method. Go drive a cab for excitement. There's no rule that you HAVE to let your max loss be 5%. If that's too much for you, trade smaller, or further refine your system. This will HORRIFY many readers, but I initially do no go in with any stops or limits, especially when I'm scalp trading. Oh, I have a ballbark idea where I think things will go, but I dont run a trailing stop until I'm well in the money and don't have time to sit there and babysit the trade. In my case it's 90% TA, 5% FA, and 5% gut instinct. I have a lot of confidence in my TA and system, and it's working extremely well. I very often net 50 pips before that second cup of coffee. There have been occasions where I didn't do all of the (simple) steps that pretty much ensure success, and have a trade turn bad REAL quick. Salvaging these can be a gold-plated pain in the butt, but It can often be done with Forex, and probably easier than with securities. A friend who also trades came by recently right after a trade that I didn't put the homework into was around 600% against me. He was aghast. I explained that I went back and found my oversight, and a "reason" for the trade going against me, and that it'd be cool in a couple of hours. He hung around and watched the reversal (where I added to my position - cost averaging, ya'know), and came out with a couple of hundered pips net. Was there some damage to my stomach lining? Maybe a little at first. After I redid everything, I felt a little chagrined that I made that thoughtless a mistake, but calculated it'd turn around. It turned out okay. Unfortunately, some wags will say that was the worst thing that could have happened, since it would do dreadful things such as "make me overconfident," re-enforce bad trading methodology" and so on. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are a few hard-and-fast precepts you need to abide by when trading, and I don't need to repeat any here. As for the rest of it all, for every person you find that says "Do this," you can find another who'll swear that is the worst thing you can do. You've tested your system, know what it can do, and know it has "Bad days." I suggest that you devise a metric to help you predict or at least anticipate those bad days in advance, and then you can take the day off and go play golf or whatever. Is it possible for you to reverse your strategey to make money on those bad days? Personally, I assume EVERY trade will be a loss, and am pleased that very few are. Retest your system with a few more parameters, giving it a little more room to run, and see if there is any improvement. "Stops" are just that: they STOP you from making any money on a trade, or any possibility of turning it around. See if you can adjust your system to better fit your comfort zone, and do what you KNOW works for you. Good luck and good trading!