MT4 is old-fashioned, like a trusted pocketknife. It boots in seconds, runs charts smoothly, and executes orders without drama. That minimalism comes with quirks, though. Be patient, understand its oddities, and you'll be alright.
Choose a broker with stable price data and a tight spread at high-volume sessions. mt4 scalping
Look at the ping in the status bar; if it's stable, you're good. Try it out on a practice account, and then step into live trading slowly. Be on the lookout for slippage in volatile times. Trade small positions until the platform feels like second nature.
Set up charts once, store them for reuse, and use them again. Profiles organize your workspaces. I like to have one profile for each session: London, New York, and Asia. Use simple tools. A moving average or two, RSI, and volume can get the job done. There are too many toys on the screen.
Shortcuts cut down on clicks. Pressing F9 opens the ticket. One-click trading speeds up exits in a hurry. Use Ctrl+Y to toggle session breaks to see how the session behaves. To measure pips, use the crosshair (middle mouse button or Ctrl+F). A quick drag shows time, range, and levels. Useful when in fast trades.
EAs are the spice and the power. Use Magic Numbers to separate trades. For better modeling, try "Every tick" in Strategy Tester, but trust forward tests more. A VPS located nearby cuts down on latency. Keep logs; the Journal shows what happened if an EA goes out of control.
The kinds of orders matter. Market orders trade at once. Stops push prices further. Limits get reversals. To avoid mistakes, put in stop-loss and take-profit when you open the trade. Partial closure lets you lock gains but leave runners. Trailing stops require MT4 or VPS. So, either don’t shut it down or run a virtual server.
Think about the rules of the broker. Some let you hedge, but others block it. FIFO is how US accounts work. Five-digit brokers use points instead of pips. One pip is generally equal to ten points. Error 130 says "invalid stops" rather loudly. Make the stop more generous. "Off quotes" is what Error 136 signifies. It means connection or liquidity issues. Cut it down and resend.
Make sure your work area is tidy. Use Ctrl+B to get rid of old things. You can change or delete indicators by right-clicking on them. Load "Default" and rebuild if a template stops working. Make a copy of the folders for MQL4, templates, and profiles. Having a copy backed up makes a crash not so scary.
Keep access safe. For read-only sharing, use the investor password. Never use someone else's EA on a live account. Check the code for odd commands or hidden scripts. Your setup can be unique without being unsafe.
Watch out for swaps, commissions, and server time. Note news releases in your workspace. Be very careful while trading during news spikes. Make sure the size of your position fits your risk by double-checking it. Small edges, repeated often, beat big gambles. And if your hand shakes, take a break. After coffee, the chart will still be there.