Trades lasting seconds to minutes. Sometimes mislabeled as Scalping or the scalper; the platform's term is Scalping.
What this style is
Scalping (Scalping) is the smallest-time-frame style: trades that last minutes and catch small, repeated moves. Each profit is tiny and meant to add up through size and frequency. It is the most tempting style for a beginner and the harshest on one.
Its harsh economics
Its margin is the thinnest there is: spread, commission and slippage take a fixed share of every trade while the target profit is cents. So the style only survives with very deep liquidity, one-cent spreads, instant execution and a high hit rate. A decline in any one of the four turns the whole account negative. It is a professional sport with full equipment.
What it actually needs
Reading order flow and instant liquidity (not larger-time-frame indicators). Discipline to exit at once without bargaining with a loss (one loss held “two more minutes” wipes out a whole morning). And focus that never lapses, because a lapse is a hole and hesitation is a cost.
Hypothetical example
A trader catches index bounces off same-day gamma levels: eight trades in a session, averaging a two-point win and a one-and-a-half-point loss, five of them right. The result is +5.5 points before costs and +3.1 after. Costs ate 44% of the harvest, and that was on a good day.
Common mistake
Turning to it to escape the patience of larger time frames: someone who can't manage a multi-day trade will fail faster managing twenty decisions a minute. The faster style concentrates weaknesses and doesn't cure them. The right start is the slower one, not the reverse.
The math to do before you start
Costs take a fixed share of every trade while the target profit is a few cents: spread plus commission plus slippage. So the style only survives with very deep liquidity, instant execution and a high hit rate. A failure in any one turns the result negative, however good the day looks.
Where to see it on the platform
The same-day gamma board and its live levels are this style's toolkit, with alerts when critical levels are reached.
The same-day gamma board and its live levels are this style's toolkit, with alerts at critical levels.
