Scalping! Can it really be profitable in the long term?

I found his sharing to be true for me. Be disciplined and have your own system

Even if no one reading this: My experience is that scalping is much more... better for my psych. I'm done in minutes mostly but the R:R ratios are really better over few days trading. I can see that on my moneymangement and riskmanagement.

I make much more money on swing trades compared to my risk as on scalping BUT: There are much less chances on swing trades... that is the big problem. On good swings you have to invest a lot, mostly 10 times more than on scalp and that is the problem: Investing is never 100% save. That is the strength of scalping. Lots of trades in a short period of time. Less loss and good for psych.

I would always prefer scalp, risking max. $200 dollars per trade to go home with $200-500 dollars per day than doing 3 swing trades on 3 currencies over 3 days, risking $2000 Dollars or even more (because it is 3 trades, not one like on scalping) to earn $5000 dollars in 7 days. - Even if most times the R:R is much better. Problem is, as I said: You can never be 100% sure - on no f*cking trade. That is the sad part on trading I learned and makes it difficult to just scalp or just swing. I use both techniques and it is very time consuming.

Scalping need discipline and good mentality to perform. That means one's need to practice everyday to bring it as longtime strategy.

Scalping is usually done in M1 to M30. So it's very considered safe but tiring.
To practice scalping the best way during Europe or US opening time. You need to adopt good methodology to read market movement.
Before you have one, don't event try.

For example, the most easily spotted during moments above, the range breakout. Only in the market when the momentum is up, and out immediately if it's settle down. We have to manage our greed, market can reverse and eat our profit without notice.

Scalping can be profitable long term, but only if you’re built for it. Most people think it’s quick money, but the reality is it needs strict discipline, fast execution, and a setup you trust. The hardest part isn’t the strategy; it’s handling spreads, slippage, and the mental pressure of taking 20–50 trades a day. Some traders make it work, others burn out. I’d say it’s less about whether scalping works and more about whether it fits your personality and risk tolerance.

Or have a fully automated system.

If trading manually there are a few things that should be taken into account when comparing to longer term trades.
This game is all about money, so yes imo you must compare with longer term systems.

If you are a manual scalper can you really focus on your screen 8 hours a day?
You may say, well I make a quick 20 pips and I call it a day.
My game is make money as many hours a day as possible.
While a swing system my not make 20 pips in a minute like a good scalp may give you, it can make more pips in several hours.

So for me it's a combination of things.
I want the max. amount of pips with the minimum amount of work each day.
Any good trade starts with a good signal.
If you monitor many charts the chance of a good signal is much higher.
Can you monitor 10 charts when scalping?

One of the keys to success is position sizing and trading uncorrelated instruments.
That will be hard with scalping.

A let's call it a hybrid system may be nice to try.
Determine the prevailing trend, and scalp in that direction.
If the scalp fails just let the trade stay open and treat it as a long(er) term trade.

lots of robots make very high profits in demo account. but in real accounts all are garbage

Scalping can work long term, but only if costs are low and you stay very selective. A clear stop, a daily loss limit, and quitting when the market slows down makes a big difference.

If done right, yes, it can be profitable in the long run. But most people confuse scalping with frequent trading. Professional scalpers trade 2-3 trades per week. That’s all. They wait for the “perfect” setup. Don’t chase it, don’t rush it. And the average pips goal for those positions is around 5 pips, maybe less. But what they do is they load the position size with what would be a shock to a standard retail trader, because it is far from what all teach here to risk 2% per trade.
This is why this trading style is not suitable for everyone. It takes a lot of emotional control and a larger risk appetite. But it’s not gambling when you know what you're doing.

Yes, there are traders who make a living scalping. But it’s a small percentage IMHO. Takes years to get there. Scalping isn’t just “trading noise” if you truly understand market structure, liquidity, and timing. The edge is small…so execution and risk control have to be extremely sharp.
Breaking even on demo actually isn’t a bad sign. Means you’re not randomly losing, which is progress. The big challenges come from spreads, slippage, and psychology.
It can absolutely be done, but it’s a skill-based game. If scalping suits your personality, it may be worth refining rather than abandoning.

Are you sure about the 2-3 trades per week part? Idkkk, that sounds more like swing trading than scalping. By definition, scalping involves taking multiple trades within a single session to capture tiny movements, often holding for seconds or minutes. If someone is only taking 2 or 3 setups a week, they aren't really scalping, they are just being extremely selective entry traders. Also, while pros do use larger size, risking significantly more than the standard 1 or 2% on a regular basis is how most accounts get blown up, even with a high win rate. One slip in execution or a sudden spread widening during those "perfect" setups can wipe out weeks of gains instantly. It feels less like a sustainable strategy and more like a high wire act that only works until it doesn't. So yeah, scalping is sth different in my perspective.

scalping can be profitable....provided that you have a proper strategy,,,,
I dont know, u need to be really inclined for that, like doing lots of tradears super fast....it is not for all, but I know some ppl who live off that. But it is a small minority, yeah, just like in all tradign methods. If u r not worried abt emotiona swings, have coold and calm demeanour, can take loses easily with no crazy emotions kicking in - then, ok...u can do it.

Oh scalping is hard and doesn’t suit everyone. Too much stress, mental pressure, and you need to be constantly alert, because one miss and the price will have no mercy on you. In addition to that, trading on something less than 15 min is too noisy. You can’t really say whether the trend is real or it’s another fake move that hunts for your stops.
But I don’t like patiently waiting for swing trades to be executed, that’s why my choice is day trading. Not that stressful as scalping and not that exhausting as swing trading.
There are some successful scalpers out there, I guess they're okay with stress and have a system that makes them stay in the game. If it doesn’t work on demo, it won’t work on real for sure.

Whether scalping can be profitable in the long term depends on your profit target. If the target is just a few pips to a dozen pips, the profit margin is very small, making it highly susceptible to slippage eating into profits. Additionally, entry timing must be well-controlled, as scalping often gets caught between fixed returns per trade or relying on Martingale to recover losses. My personal advice is that if scalping is high-frequency trading and the profits are insufficient, it’s best not to do it. If it’s short-term trading, the number of daily entries should be well-managed. High-frequency scalping is far more challenging than regular scalping