​Not nearly as dangerous as you might think.

In his best-selling book, The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb talks about "the problem of silent evidence." He points out that people look at history from the perspective of the winners - those for whom the positive scenario has occurred.
But what about the losers?

Trading, especially scalping, is no different. Traders rarely talk about the dangers of scalping.

Yet they call scalping one of the easiest trading techniques to make quick money.

True, if it is done correctly.

Whether you're trading forex, stocks, cryptocurrencies or commodities, scalping requires dedication, attention and some knowledge. Proper, in-depth technical analysis is key here. And while these aren't skills you just learn overnight, it doesn't take decades to master them.

After you get comfortable with technical analysis, you need to choose or develop a trading strategy.

And then you follow that strategy to the letter.

Scalpers often do not know which signal to choose. This is usually because they clutter their trading charts with multiple technical indicators that contradict each other.

The solution?
Keep it simple!

You don't have to use ten trend indicators or momentum indicators.
When scalping, less is more.

That's why I have developed a scalping technique with the Heikin Ashi chart that does just that: It allows you to see at a glance if you should scalp or not.
And believe me, the process to develop this technique did not come by adding.
I developed the technique by leaving things out.

Leaving out more and more:

• Simplify charts (Heikin Ashi!)
• Omit indicators
• Omit overinterpretation
• Omit overtrading
• Omit second-class signals

 I omitted until things became crystal clear and simple.
And guess when I became profitable?
Exactly.
After I took all these steps to simplify.
Success has more to do with omitting than with adding....

​There are a lot of scalping strategies, but what is the best forex scalping system?
If you trade, you've probably heard of Heikin Ashi charts (see picture). 

​Candlestick charts are more popular, but Heikin Ashi charts are more effective if you want to scalp currencies.

Heikin Ashi charts allow a trader to spot emerging trends early. If the color changes from green to red you have a short signal. If the chart changes from red to green, you have a buy signal and you know that you have to close your sell position from before.

If the signal is correct, the risk/reward ratio is usually in favor of the trader.

And that is exactly the advantage you want to have as a scalper.

Rice traders in Japan used Heikin Ashi charts as early as the 17th century to identify major trends. They filter out the wrong signals.

When scalping, it's a good idea to set yourself modest profit targets that deliver consistent gains.

They should, of course, outweigh the losses that will occur from time to time.
To trade with Heikin Ashi charts you will of course need a trading platform that offers them. Check with your broker to see if they offer Heikin Ashi charts.
If not, find one that does.

One thing is for sure: Heikin Ashi charts will dramatically simplify your life as a trader.
And it's thanks to that simplification that you'll finally become profitable.
​
Check it out in this free workshop. 

​Watch me scalping the USD/JPY on the 5 minute heikin ashi chart.

​People ask me why I prefer scalping to day trading. After all, with both trading styles you have no open positions at the end of the trading day.

My answer is that scalping is more lucrative.

Day trading is about scanning the markets for opportunities, trading and waiting. The trade can last five minutes, a few hours, or more, but no longer than the end of the trading day.

Trading opportunities in day trading can arise from unusual circumstances, such as an overbought level on the daily time frame.

A scalper, on the other hand, naturally looks at minute charts.
He wants a quick profit, as quick as possible...
For a scalper, the ideal trade would have to take less than a minute.
Get in - take profit - get out. 
What about slippage, the day trader may ask in his defense?

Slippage (when you get a worse price than you wanted) is one of the main criticisms of scalping. When the market moves too fast, slippage leads to poor execution. This leads to increased trading costs.
But slippage is a small price to pay in scalping.

Sure, it may cost you a little more here and there, but a scalper loves volatility. Volatility creates opportunity – which is much more important than slippage.

And what about the time spent glued to the screens? Scalping requires constant market watching, perhaps even on multiple screens, and it can be exhausting. That's one argument that opponents use.

No one said you have to trade all markets right away.
Trade 3-4 markets as a scalper. That is enough.
Small tip on the side: Focus on events with increased volatility potential.

For example, when inflation data is released in the United States. It is guaranteed that volatility will increase before, during and after the release.
So, by filtering out important economic events, you gain flexibility.
Wait a minute... Isn’t scalping just a technical trading style?
No.
Scalping works from both a technical and fundamental perspective. All that matters is that the market moves - who cares why?

So yes, I prefer to scalp: in, out – in, out.
What could be better than that?

​Some forex traders want to get 50 or more pips per day out of the market.
I think that targeting a certain number of pips per trading day is unrealistic.
As a professional trader, I don't trade with X number of pips in mind.

Why?

Because I know that the markets do not move predictably. So, I can't bet on a specific number of pips per trading day.

The number of pips you can make in a day depends on your individual goals and strategy. Some traders aim for big profits by taking opportunities with position trades. Others scalp and try to make frequent small profits.

As we know, not all trades yield positive results. Therefore, if you try to meet unrealistic expectations by setting daily pip targets, you are doomed to fail.

It is better to trade more when your strategy works well and trade less when it fails.

Focus on what's more important: creating a winning strategy!

The more pips you try to achieve per trade, the lower the win rate will be. Conversely, if you bet on fewer pips per trade, your win rate will usually increase.

If you scalp, you can make significant profits even with 3-6 pips on average.
But you will succeed only if you know how to scalp the market with a profitable strategy.

So, you need to have a plan.

The biggest mistake that the majority of traders make (unknowingly) is “revenge trading”. Because they have set a certain target, after a few losing trades, they try to reach their pip quota with a "revenge trade". This is one big trade that is intended to fix the losses and save the day.

You can predict the outcome....

All this is of course the result of fixed goals.

And of negating the market situation.

Some days you can get 200 pips. But there are also days when you can't get anything.

So, the real work is to recognize what type of day it is.
​
Can you make money today (because the market is perfectly in line with your strategy), or are you better off walking the dog?

​Most beginner traders think that the forex market is a quick money-making scheme and simple scalping is the only way to take an instant benefit from the market, but that is not correct.

Scalping is a process used to make money from the short-term price movement of a trading instrument. Scalpers usually wait for a specific market condition to appear and jump into the trade as soon as the market condition favors. 

All beginner and expert traders see the same chart, and they probably even use the same strategy, but beginner traders usually lose money from scalping.

Why?

Let me explain the biggest mistake of beginner traders regarding scalping: Scalpers usually take trades on 5-minute or 1-minute charts and look for quick moves of 5-50 pips. But behind the story, professional traders spend a lot of time finding the market direction from a higher timeframe analysis.

For example, before taking a buy trade on EURUSD based on scalping, a good trader should find the price direction from daily to H1 and wait for an active session. Here the active session means the London and New York session when banks and other institutes remain open, which provides liquidity to the market. 

On the other hand, if a new trader opens a position on EURUSD by looking at the 5 min chart only at a random time, he has a higher probability of failing. 

What should a Beginner trader do?

The core part of scalping is understanding the market structure. If the overall market context based on technical analysis, fundamental analysis or market sentiment shows a buying possibility, only then should traders scalp on the bullish direction; otherwise, skip it and wait for another setup.

Besides, while taking trades, beginner traders should follow a profitable trading strategy. The strategy might be based on technical indicators or price action. But traders should confirm that the strategy has a good track record of providing profitable trades for at least three quarters.

Overall, scalping is the quickest way to earn money from forex, and many professional traders use it. However, beginner traders should do extensive research regarding how to get the price direction and match it with the right scalping strategy to get the maximum benefit.