Inplay Scalping and ... edge??

[ronnie2113]

Hi guys.

I hope to find som help/inspiration/guidance here.

I have for a couple of month tried to scalp the 2.5 market, inplay. And for now it is not going as well as I would like it to. After 4 month I'm in a small red and some of it is mistakes that I can do something about.

But I have been thinking about edge in this... From the experience I have with trading now after 2 years is that edge is somehow what you want it to be, speed, price, knowledge etc... But in scalping what is the edge really???

I hear about bots that I can't compete with and highrollers in the market, but still scalping is the only strategy I have found that matches my thoughts about acceptable risk and I really would like to make it work!

Is it because I don't know what my edge is or is it my match selection that is wrong? the principles of scalping is simple but the execution is another matter, I'm timing my positions in the market and try to be in the market for as few minutes as possible.

If any of you have some experience in scalping I'd love to hear thoughts, advice or comments?

Thanks!

[max_usted]

I feel I could write a long treatise in response to your sentence below:

but still scalping is the only strategy I have found that matches my thoughts about acceptable risk and I really would like to make it work!

Why do you consider the risk inherent in scalping to be more acceptable than that in any other type of strategy? Surely the liability versus profit ratio that comes with in-play scalping makes it more inherently risky if anything?

Perhaps you mean more acceptable from an emotional (if I may say so, irrational) point-of-view.

I'm not sure, but I think many people find backing unders and benefiting from time decay to be more "acceptable" in terms of an emotional response to risk, which (I think) should tell you something. Not to say that scalping isn't a great strategy at times (when circumstances suit, like any other strategy).