FX Scalping usually involves opening and closing a position in seconds or minutes for a few pips of profit. Even though scalping involves the use of leverage and higher leverage means higher risk, the short period of time a forex scalper is in a trade decreases the exposure risk that's inherent in trading or investing due to the holding of a position. If done correctly, scalping provides this additional degree of "risk control" that is not even present in regular day trading.
Forex scalping is a popular method involving the quick opening and liquidation of positions. The term “quick” is imprecise, but it is generally meant to define a timeframe of about 3-5 minutes at most, while most scalpers will maintain their positions for as little as one minute.
The popularity of scalping is born of its perceived safety as a trading style. Many traders argue that since scalpers maintain their positions for a brief time period in comparison to regular traders, market exposure of a scalper is much shorter than that of a trend follower, or even a day trader, and consequently, the risk of large losses resulting from strong market moves is smaller. Indeed, it is possible to claim that the typical scalper cares only about the bid-ask spread, while concepts like trend, or range are not very significant to him. Although scalpers need ignore these market phenomena, they are under no obligation to trade them, because they concern themselves only with the brief periods of volatility created by them.
Forex scalping is not a suitable strategy for every type of trader. The returns generated in each position opened by the scalper is usually small; but great profits are made as gains from each closed small position are combined. Scalpers do not like to take large risks, which means that they are willing to forgo great profit opportunities in return for the safety of small, but frequent gains. Consequently, the scalper needs to be a patient, diligent individual who is willing to wait as the fruits of his labors translate to great profits over time. An impulsive, excited character who seeks instant gratification and aims to “make it big” with each consecutive trade is unlikely to achieve anything but frustration while using this strategy.
Scalping also demands a lot more attention from the trader in comparison to other styles such as swing-trading, or trend following. A typical scalper will open and close tens, and in some cases, more than a hundred positions in an ordinary trading day, and since none of the positions can be allowed to suffer great losses (so that we can protect the bottom line), the scalper cannot afford to be careful about some, and negligent about some of his positions. It may appear to be a formidable task at first sight, but scalping can be an involving, even fun trading style once the trader is comfortable with his practices and habits. Still, it is clear that attentiveness and strong concentration skills are necessary for the successful forex scalper. One does not need to be born equipped with such talents, but practice and commitment to achieve them are indispensable if a trader has any serious intention of becoming a real scalper.
Scalping can be demanding, and time-consuming for those who are not full-time traders. Many of us pursue trading merely as an additional income source, and would not like to dedicate five six hours every day to the practice. In order to deal with this problem, automated trading systems have been developed, and they are being sold with rather incredible claims all over the web. We do not advise our readers to waste their time trying to make such strategies work for them; at best you will lose some money while having some lessons about not trusting anyone’s word so easily. However, if you design your own automated systems for trading (with some guidance from seasoned experts and self-education through practice) it may be that you shorten the time which must be dedicated to trading while still being able to use scalping techniques. And an automated forex scalping technique does not need to be fully automatic; you may hand over the routine and systematic tasks such as stop-loss and take-profit orders to the automated system, while assuming the analytical side of the task yourself. This approach, to be sure, is not for everyone, but it is certainly a worthy option.
Finally, scalpers should always keep the importance of consistency in trade sizes while using their favored method. Using erratic trade sizes while scalping is the safest way to ensure that you will have a wiped-out account in no time, unless you stop practicing scalping before the inevitable end. . Scalping is based on the principle that profitable trades will cover the losses of failing ones in due time, but if you pick position sizes randomly, the rules of probability dictate that sooner or later an oversized, leveraged loss will crash all the hard work of a whole day, if not longer. Thus, the scalper must make sure that he pursues a predefined strategy with attention, patience and consistent trade sizes. This is just the beginning, of course, but without a good beginning we would diminish our odds of success, or at least reduce our profit potential.
Now let’s take a look at the contents of this article where forex scalping is discussed with all its details, advantages and disadvantages. Our suggestion is that you peruse all of this article and absorb all the information that can benefit you. But if you think that you’re already familiar with some of the material, to shorten your route, we present the table of contents of this article.
Contents
1. How scalpers make money: Here we will take a look at the logic behind scalping, and we’ll discuss the best conditions and necessary adjustments which must be made by a scalper for profitable trading.
2. Choosing the right broker for scalping: Not every broker is accommodative to scalping. Sometimes this is the stated policy of the firm, at other times the broker creates the conditions which make successful scalping impossible. It is important that the novice scalper know what to look for in the broker before opening his account, and here we’ll try to enlighten you on these important points.
3. Best currencies for Scalping: There are currency pairs where scalping is easy and lucrative, and there are others where we advise strongly against the use of this strategy. In this part we’ll discuss this important subject in detail and give you usable hints for your trades.
4. Best times for Scalping: There is an ongoing debate about the best times for successful scalping in the forex market. We’ll present the various opinions, and then offer our own conclusion.
5. Strategies in Scalping: Strategies in scalping need not differ substantially from other short-term methods. On the other hand, there are particular price patterns and configurations where scalping is more profitable. We’ll examine and study them in depth in this section.
a. Range Scalping: Some traders consider ranging markets better suited for scalping strategies. Here we’ll examine why, and how to scalp under such conditions.
b. Breakout Scalping: We’ll examine news breakouts, and technical breakouts separately and discuss suitable scalping strategies for both.
c. Trend Scalping: Here we’ll take a general look at forex scalping in trending markets.
6. Trend Following while Scalping: Trends are volatile, and many scalpers choose to trade them like a trend follower, while minimizing the trade lifetime in order to control market risk. In this part we’ll examine the usage of Fibonacci extension levels for scalping trends.
7. Disadvantages and Criticism of Scalping: Scalping is not for everyone, and even seasoned scalpers and those committed to the style would do well to keep in mind some of the dangers and disadvantages involved in using the style blindly.
8. Conclusions: In this final section we’ll combine the lessons and discussions of the previous chapters, and reach at conclusions about who should use the forex scalping trading style, and the best conditions under which it can be utilized.
Forex Scalping - What Is It?
Forex scalping is a trading style which looks to take profits on very small price changes, usually soon after a trade has been entered into and becomes profitable. It is a trading strategy that does not look to capture 50+ pip moves, rather it is more about watching the price action and getting in and out of trades for quick 5-15 pips which little by little add up.
This might sound risky however scalping can be quite a low risk strategy if performed correctly. As you are aiming to profit from a lot of small movements, the downside risk should be similarly kept to a very tight range. A strict exit strategy must be implemented because one large loss could eliminate the many small gains that you have worked to obtain. Needless to say, discipline to get out of bad trades and risk management is extremely important and if implemented properly, intra-day forex scalping strategies can be done at low risk.
Forex Scalping - The Problems
There is a problem with scalping however as most dealing desk brokers are aware of this practice and don?t look too kindly upon it. This is because if they allowed scalping of - in and out of a trade in seconds - they would go out of business. The reason for this is because they need time to use a dealing desk so if you are scalping (less than a minute) they dont have the time to deal your money. Basically you are just taking their money.
How Do Brokers Differentiate Scalping From Short Term Trading?
It is a very thin line between scalping and short term trading. Generally if you hold trades for a minute or less, you may have problems with brokers. They could warn you and then if you continue shut down your account. However, if you trade in minutes or more, most likely you will not have problems with dealing desk brokers. Non dealing desk (ECN) brokers allow scalping where you can hold a position for seconds however the minimum to open an account is higher. ($2,000 and above).
Tips and Facts about Scalping in Forex
The only way to make small account big in a short period of time is through the use of really high leverage. But wait... do not jump of the cliff right away. Start with reasonable leverage for scalping, for example 20:1 or at most 50:1, then move on as you see scalping skills improve. But even before that do not be lazy to demo trade your scalping system – make sure it will not disappoint you later...
The only way to trade with high leverage without risking blowing up an entire account in only 10-15 trades is by trading with a tight stop loss. Trading without stop loss will “kill” your investment in no time.
It is wise to decide on the size of the trading lot and exposed risk in advance.
Do a simple math: calculate the worst possible situation, e.g. 10 consecutive losses in a row; then see if your account will survive and if there be something left to move on. And, although 10 losses in a row is a very unlikely scenario, you cannot deny it...
Although Forex is active 24/7, not every hour is suitable for scalping.
No scalper wants to sit in front of the monitor for numerous hours bored and disappointed with the “sleeping” price as it literally moves nowhere.
Scalpers hunt for volatile, liquid market. There are 4 major market sessions: London , New York Sydney Tokyo
Another thing to keep in mind is spread which brokers charge for different currencies.
The higher the spread the harder it will be to collect desired pips(because once trading position is opened, trader must cover spread cost – earn pips for broker first – and only then collect own pips).
And, of course, the lower the spread the easier/faster it is to accumulate pips.
Another factor to consider is an average daily range of the price for chosen currency.
The wider it is the more realistic is an opportunity to profit from price moves.
One of the scalpers’ favorite currency pair is EUR/USD with its low spread and good daily price range.
While using high leverage combined with high frequency trading, scalpers should be very cautious about the cost of actual trading, as each pip here makes a dramatic difference after a large number of trades.
This means being very careful with entries and exits, stops and limit orders, and also be very realistic about profit targets.
Once in the trade, scalpers should manage trading risks by:
1) moving stops to break-even as soon as situation permits;
2) taking profits at a logical levels: at round market price numbers: 00, 10, 20, 50 etc., at previous support/resistance levels, atFibonacci levels etc.
3) getting out of the trade if the price freezes for longer time than expected.
Scalp-trading is very demanding and requires a lot of concentration, constant monitoring of the price and very quick decision making. Also, short time frames used in scalping strategies, require a good grasp of trading complemented with sound technical analysis skills. It is not a place where beginners feel very comfortable as it demands from traders a good chunk of experience.
Scalping involves substantial risks
A lot of beginners have common problem when trading highly leveraged accounts – they tend to maximize profits by trading with full capital at once. Do not do that! Maximizing chances for higher profits goes hand in hand with maximizing risks! The size of positions opened must be calculated very accurately so that your entire account will not be wiped out with just one(!) very unfortunate trade.
Another factor that increases risks for scalpers is the spread traders pay when open a trade.
Each time a new trade is open, the spread cost is paid to the broker, thus opening 10 small trades instead of 1 long term trade increases the cost of trading in 10 times.
If to measure risk/reward ratio of such scalping activity it may show very risky and potentially losing trading.
Example:
With GBP/USD currency pair a scalper sets profit target of 10 pips and stop loss of 10 pips. So far it is 1:1 risk/reward ratio.
In the next step, when the spread is added, the picture changes. For example, the spread his broker charges for GBP/USD is 4 pips.
When scalper opens a position he is -4 pips (the spread has been charged). Now in order for him to reach the target of 10 pips profit, the price has to move +4 and +10 pips = 14 pips.
On the other hand, in order to trigger his stop loss the price should move... -4 is already in place... so, only -6 pips and he will be stopped at total of -10 pips... the risk-reward ratio has changed in over 2:1, not very promising situation indeed...
To understand the full challenge of scalping as a trading style, consider this: hard work and small gains accumulated over a decent period of time could easily be wiped out with one large loss. Finding a balance between profit levels and size of acceptable losses presents the most difficult challenge to scalper’s strategy.