My lesson on respecting the 'slow' in Asian trading hours
Been trading for a while, and one mistake that sticks out was trying to force trades during Asian market hours as if it were a high-volatility session in the US or Europe. I remember a specific period chasing intraday moves on the Nikkei 225 future and some Thai equities, $SET. I'd scalp successfully in New York or London, then try to apply the same aggressive entry/exit logic when liquidity and news flow are often much calmer in Asia.
The result? Lots of churn, commissions eating into tiny gains, and frequently getting stopped out on small whipsaws that wouldn't even register as noise during other sessions. It taught me to adjust my strategy and expectations significantly. Now, if I'm active during Asian hours, it's usually on larger timeframes or very specific, confirmed technical setups rather than trying to scalp every tick. Respect the rhythm of each market, or it'll cost you.
It's an easy trap to fall into, especially when accustomed to the pace of other sessions. The liquidity often just isn't there to support that kind of aggressive scalping, leading to worse fills and more slippage than one might anticipate.