Minimum hold times and what they do to a scalp

[Shadow Trader]

Some brokers set a minimum holding time on trades, often 30 or 60 seconds, and quietly ignore profits from trades closed sooner. Others allow the trade but remove the profit when it's reviewed later.

For an ultra-short strategy, that rule changes the math. A setup designed to capture a 1.5 pip move in twenty seconds is no longer viable. The strategy has to be reshaped to hold longer, which changes risk and the win rate.

The rule is usually in the terms and conditions, in language that reads like boilerplate. "Abusive trading practices" or "latency exploitation" often covers it without naming a number.

A few ways to check: ask support directly, in writing, whether there's a minimum hold time. Search the client agreement for phrases like "high-frequency", "scalping", or "arbitrage". Place a few trades with a 10 second hold and see whether profits stay after a week.

The answer is rarely clean, and some brokers answer differently depending on who is asking.

Is a written confirmation about scalping policy worth chasing, or does it just get ignored later?