Silver Scalper Strategy

For CFDs/spread bets: £2,000-5,000 minimum to handle margin and daily fluctuations. For SIL micro futures: ~$3,500 margin per contract plus buffer ($5,000-10,000 total). Start with minimum size while learning.

Quality over quantity. Beginners: 5-10 high-quality setups. Experienced: 10-30+ depending on conditions. Don't force trades - some days have few setups. Over-trading is a common mistake.

Scalping is advanced due to speed required, spread impact, and psychological demands. Recommend starting with swing or day trading to learn markets first. Scalping works best after you understand price action fundamentals.

Discipline - specifically, taking stops without hesitation and not revenge trading. Technical skill matters but many technically skilled traders fail due to poor discipline. Master psychology first.

Essential: Reliable internet, quality broker with tight spreads. Helpful: Multiple monitors, hotkey execution. Not essential but useful: Direct market access, Level 2 data. Start simple, upgrade as skills develop.

Watch for: Large prints (institutional), clusters at prices (S/R), speed (momentum), color (buying vs selling pressure). Takes practice - paper trade while watching tape to learn patterns. Focus on extremes, not every tick.

Market orders: When speed matters (breakouts, fast markets). Limit orders: When price matters (reversals, pullbacks). Most scalpers use market orders for entry speed and accept the spread cost.

Stop when: (1) Daily loss limit hit - mandatory, (2) 3+ consecutive losses - take break, (3) Focus declining - quit before mistakes, (4) Market conditions change (news, volatility spike). Live to trade another day.

Intermediate scalpers should avoid major news (Fed, NFP, CPI). Spreads widen, moves unpredictable. Expert scalpers may trade news but with special preparation. Stand aside if unsure - opportunities exist every day.

Reduce size (by 50%), review trades objectively (were setups valid?), take longer breaks between trades. If losing streak continues, stop for the session. Analyze patterns - something may have changed in your execution or the market.

Start with clear discretionary rules. Code rules into screening/alert system. Backtest on tick data (expensive but necessary). Paper trade the system. Add execution automation gradually. Always keep human oversight.

Kelly criterion provides mathematical optimum but is aggressive. Use fractional Kelly (1/4 to 1/2). For most scalpers: risk 0.1-0.25% per trade. Scale based on drawdown (reduce in drawdown, increase after consistent profits).

Watch: Bid/ask imbalances, iceberg detection (refilling orders), large prints direction, cumulative delta trend. These show institutional activity invisible on price charts. Requires practice and often specialized tools.

Scale up after: 3+ consecutive profitable months, drawdown under 10%, and system verified over 500+ trades. Increase position size by 25% max at a time. Never double up. Scale back immediately if drawdown increases.

Understand expected variance (calculate standard deviation). Size positions so max drawdown is survivable. Track Monte Carlo simulations of your edge. Accept that even good systems have losing streaks. Focus on process, not short-term P&L.