Алексей Боровков – Scalping: The Art of Microscopic Profits. A Complete Guide for Traders (страница 1)
Алексей Боровков
Scalping: The Art of Microscopic Profits. A Complete Guide for Traders
Chapter 1: Scalper's Philosophy: A Fly on an Elephant's Skin
1.1. What is this game really about?
Imagine two people watching the ocean. The first person is standing on a cliff and sees the huge waves, their size, rhythm, and direction. They say, "Today is a strong tide from the northwest." The second person is lying on a surfboard a meter away from the shore. Their world is the foam of a specific wave, its local curvature, speed, and strength. They see not the ocean, but a single wave that is about to break. His question is not "where is the ocean going," but "where is this particular crest going in the next three seconds?"
A scalper is a surfer on a board, not an observer on a cliff.
A long-term investor looks at weekly charts, fundamentals, and macroeconomics. Their horizon is months and years. A swing trader works on daily and hourly intervals, capturing movements of a few percent. His horizon is days.
A scalper's horizon is measured in minutes, or more often, in seconds. His universe is a 5-minute or even a 1-minute chart, the price cup (Level II), and the tape of all trades (Time & Sales). For him, there is no such thing as Tesla; there is only the ticker "TSLA," which currently displays a cluster of buy orders at $245.67 and resistance in the form of a large limit sell order at $245.70.
1.2. The essence in numbers: the arithmetic of a scalper
Let's decompose the philosophy into cold numbers. This is a business of statistics and probabilities, not predictions.
· The goal per trade: Take from 0.01% to 0.1% of the instrument value. On a $200 stock, this is 2-20 cents. On a futures contract for the RTS index, this is 50-500 rubles. · Number of trades: From 30 to 500 per day. An active scalper on a liquid futures can open and close a position every few tens of seconds.
· Success rate (Win Rate): The goal is 60% to 80% of profitable trades. Not 100%. Even 55% can be profitable with the right risk-reward ratio.
· Risk per trade: Clearly less than the potential profit ideally, but often equal or slightly more (risk 1 point, profit 0.7 points). Compensated by a high winning percentage.
· The main enemy: Broker commission and spread (the difference between the buy and sell price). They are the walls of your prison. If the spread + commission "eat" 2 ticks, and your average profit is 3 ticks, then your real earnings are only 1 tick. The whole strategy is built around this equation.
Conclusion: Scalping is not about being right in your prediction. It is about being statistically right enough times with strict loss control.
1.3. Metaphors of a scalper
1. A fly on the elephant's skin (as in the epigraph): It doesn't matter to you whether the elephant is going to the watering hole or to battle. What matters is whether you feel the tension of the muscles under you right now, so that you can jump into the hollow in time and not be crushed, and then onto the crest of the fold, so that you can catch the movement.
2. A bee in a blooming field: The flowers (profitable situations) are everywhere, but they are small. You need to work constantly, make hundreds of "flights" (deals) to collect honey (profit for the day). It's dangerous to fly far from the hive (from your proven strategy). Each flight must be effective and predictable.
3. The harvester (glider) after the harvest: The big players (harvesters) have collected the main wave of harvest (trend). You follow them and pick up the remaining individual ears of grain (micro-movements) that they didn't find it worthwhile to collect.
1.3. Metaphors of a scalper
1. A fly on the elephant's skin (as in the epigraph): It doesn't matter to you whether the elephant is going to the watering hole or to battle. What matters is whether you feel the tension of the muscles under you right now, so that you can jump into the hollow in time and not be crushed, and then onto the crest of the fold, so that you can catch the movement.
2. A bee in a blooming field: The flowers (profitable situations) are everywhere, but they are small. You need to work constantly, make hundreds of "flights" (deals) to collect honey (profit for the day). It's dangerous to fly far from the hive (from your proven strategy). Each flight must be effective and predictable.
3. The harvester (glider) after the harvest: The big players (harvesters) have collected the main wave of harvest (trend). You follow them and pick up the remaining individual ears of grain (micro-movements) that they didn't find it worthwhile to collect.
1.4. Psychological code
The philosophy dictates a special mental state:
· No ego: Your opinion about the market doesn't matter. Only what the glass and tape tell you matters. If the market goes against your "genius" idea – you close on a stop instantly, without discussion.
· Accepting losses as a business fee: Loss-making trades are not mistakes, they are the cost of doing business, like renting an office for a businessman. They should be planned, small and painless.
· Readiness for monotonous work: This is a conveyor. The same operation repeated dozens of times. The excitement of one successful trade and the bitterness of one loss-making one should be reduced to zero. Only the result of the day is important.
· Hyperfocus and exhaustion: 2-3 hours of pure scalping are more exhausting than 8 hours of swing trading. It's like a sprint versus a marathon. Recovery and regimen are part of the strategy.
1.5. Who is this philosophy NOT suitable for?
· Those who are looking for a "grail" and easy money.
· Those who emotionally attach to a position ("he should finally grow!").
· Those who do not have the means for professional equipment (fast computer, stable Internet) and low commissions.
· Those who like to "think", "analyze" and "make an informed decision". A scalper simply does not have time for this.
1.6. Summary of the chapter: The cornerstone
The scalper's philosophy is based on three pillars:
1. Microscopicity: The goal is a small but frequent profit.
2. Probability: Edge (advantage) is in statistical advantage, not in individual feats.
3. Discipline: Unquestioning adherence to the system and risk management is more important than any, even the most obvious, market opportunity.
You are not a hunter of big game. You are a master of continuous microscopic collection. Your strength is not in the power of your blow, but in the incredible precision, speed, and tirelessness. If this picture of the world resonates with you, then welcome to the most demanding and technical craft in the financial markets.
In the next chapter: We will look in the mirror and create a psychological portrait of a person who can not only understand, but also survive in this philosophy.
Chapter 2: Psychological Profile: Who Is It For and Who Is It Not For?
2.1. Why do we need this portrait?
Before you study the order book and hotkeys, study yourself. Scalping is not just a trading method; it is an extreme psychological and physiological challenge that requires a unique personality. Choosing the wrong trading style can lead not only to financial losses, but also to emotional burnout, neurosis, and a loss of self-confidence. This chapter is a mirror. Look at it honestly.
2.2. Traits of the IDEAL scalper
1. Discipline as a second nature.
· Manifestation: The ability to do the same thing 200 times a day: see a signal, enter, set a stop, take profit, exit, forget. And so on again. Without variations, without "what if", without "today is a special day".
· Control question: Can you go to bed and wake up at the same time for a week in a row, with an accuracy of 5 minutes?
2. Sapper's composure.
· Manifestation: A losing trade does not cause either anger or a desire to “get even”. It is just a figure in the log, a statistical error. The signal to the input appears 10 seconds after the stop – you take it as coolly as the previous one.
· Control question: If you accidentally break your favorite cup, would your first reaction be to clean up the pieces and buy a new one, or to express your frustration by saying, "I'm so clumsy!"?
3. Determination and speed.
· Manifestation: You have 2-3 seconds to make a decision. Thinking and weighing the pros and cons is a missed opportunity or turning a profit into a loss. Your thinking should be binary: "Is there a signal? Enter. Has the signal disappeared? Exit."
· Control question: In a fast chess blitz (3 minutes per game), do you feel excited and engaged, or do you feel panicked and unable to think?
4. A penchant for analysis rather than narrative.
· Manifestation: You think in numbers, probabilities, graphs. You don't create "stories" ("The company is good, so it will grow"). You see: "The price is testing VWAP, the buy volume is 1.5 times higher than the sell volume, enter."
· Control question: Do you prefer mathematics/programming/physics or literature/philosophy/history?
5. High stress resistance and the ability to recover.
· Manifestation: The market is noise, pressure, and chaos. Your psyche must be “anti-fragile” – not just withstand blows, but also become more stable from them. After 3 hours of trading, you are exhausted, but not irritated, and can rest.