Do you realize how much money you are tossing away when you scalp continuously? Scalpers tend to trade a lot more than most traders. While I have been in a single trade for over two weeks now, during that timeframe there are traders who have been in and out of the market up to a 100, if not more times.

The more you trade, the more you pay to trade. Overtrading itself is a leak in one’s system as every time you enter a trade you are paying a spread. The trade I am currently in, I have only had to pay the spread twice. First time was when I entered the trade on Sept. 16. And the second time was when I added to my position after a retracement. In all, I have not even paid 6 pips of spread. As it currently stands, my open position is up over 500 pips. The total spread is a tad over 1% of my entire position.

Now let’s examine the scalper. Lets assume the scalper has had the same amount of success, where as after two weeks, they are also up 500 pips. Scalpers shoot for a small amount of pips. A lot of times it is under 10 pips, but for this example let us just keep it at 10. Over the course of two weesk the trader would have entered on average 5 trades a day to maintain that 500 pip success. In all that would be 50 trades. If the same amount of spread were paid, the scalper would have paid out 150 pips. That amounts to nearly 30% of their profits. It boggles my mind that someone is so willing to just toss that much money away. Also consider this one factor… this is all assuming that each trade was successful. In reality, the scalper’s trading will not be 100% successful and with each loss that 30% leak only grows. It is not a far stretch to see how it is even possible that scalpers pay up to 50% of their profits in spread.

And this is under the assumption that the scalper is successful. In my years of forex trading, I have only met two successful scalpers. And in both cases, the methods that they traded were proven to be difficult to duplicate to other traders. A successful scalper tends to see the market, as opposed to relying on indicators for all their decision-making.

I view scalping almost like I view extreme sports. Anyone can learn to ride a skateboard. But not anyone can jump the Great Wall of China on a skateboard. Some people are just naturally born with talents, including the talent of scalping.

Moving back to my point of capital preservation. In my trade, I only have to periodically check out the market for a few minutes each day to ensure my trade is progressing nicely. It’s rather a stress less environment. The scalper however has to remain hunkered down at the computer constantly watching the market. Is it really worth it? I think not.

If you have a basic understanding of Forex, yet still struggle at developing a successful system, have a look at the FX Trading Network’s Boot Camp. The Advanced Course goes over indicators as well as price action to give you the tools you need to be successful. You do not have to trade a lot to be a success. You simply need to know how to successfully trade.

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