How To Take Your Forex Scalping To The Next Level

You thrive on adrenaline. You make every second count. You trust your reflexes. Now let’s hone those skills and help you become a great forex scalper. To get you started, let’s address some of the most common questions that new scalpers have.

Why scalp?

While every type of trading has its moments of excitement, scalpers more than any other live for those high-velocity, high-stress price movements that occur across almost every currency pair on a daily basis.

The benefits of scalping lie in the ability to make small returns on a large volume of trades, rather than relying on a small number of trades to do well for you over a longer period.

On the other hand, scalping can be significantly risky, especially due to potential vulnerability to major price spikes in an unfavourable direction. An essential skill for scalpers is therefore the management of risk.

Which timeframes should I be using?

Scalpers typically make use of some of the smaller timeframes available on MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platforms.

There isn’t a hard and fast rule as to which timeframe you must use as a scalper, however, some find it helpful to start with a 30 minute chart as a frame of reference and then using shorter timeframes for execution. A general principle to consider is that the more trades you intend to place in a day, the shorter your timeframe should be.

To find out whether scalping might be right for you, take the quiz!

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How much leverage should I be applying?

Given that scalping relies on relatively small price movements, leverage becomes an important consideration. Whilst it can help traders get the most from the smallest movements, it can also also open them up to significantly more risk.

Scalpers should think long and hard about how much they want to earn and how much they are willing to lose, on each trade when setting their leverage. This is especially true if they’re planning on making multiple trades per day.

Which currency pairs should I be trading?

Traders with Exness get access to 120+ instruments when trading, including cryptocurrencies and precious metals. With so many to choose from, it can be daunting to choose which ones to trade with.

As a scalper you can trade with any pair, dependent on your approach to volatility and risk. If you’re looking for pairs with plenty of liquidity and a general lack of volatility, which is often a good decision for scalpers, then major pairs like EURUSD, GBPUSD, and USDCHF can be a worthwhile choice.

Often, the most important consideration can be not the currency pair but the setup.

Is there a specific time of day I should trade?

With 24/5 trading available on most currency pairs, and 24/7 now available for cryptocurrencies, there are very few limits as to when you can trade.

Having said that, there are two important considerations to take into account when planning out your trading day.

The first is whether there are going to be any major news events or announcements which might cause serious volatility.

And the second is when you as a forex trader can be in the best mindset to trade to your fullest potential.

We explore both of these issues in the ebook that you receive after taking the quiz.

So you’ve got the basics nailed down. Now for the next steps. Download our ebook to dive deeper in the world of scalping, then hit the markets with Exness and make your first trades as a scalper!

Interested in exploring other trading strategies? Check out our guide to being a day trader, and our guide to being a swing trader. Alternatively, take our quiz to find out which style of trading you are best suited to.

TAKE THE QUIZ

This article is a marketing communication and does not constitute investment advice or research. Its content represents the general views of our experts and does not consider individual readers’ personal circumstances, investment experience, or current financial situation. This article is not prepared in accordance with legal requirements promoting independent investment research, and Exness is not subject to any prohibition on dealing before the release of the article. Readers should consider the possibility that they may incur losses. Therefore, Exness is not liable for any losses incurred due to the use of its articles. Please note that past performance of an asset is not a reliable indicator of future results.