Do the cost arithmetic first
If your target is ten pips and your spread is two, you are giving away a fifth of the trade before it starts, and a commission on top of that. Over a hundred trades that difference is the difference between a method and a hobby. Work out your cost as a percentage of your target on your own account, at the hour you actually trade — if it is above about a fifth, scalping is not available to you at that broker, and no amount of skill fixes it.
The setup
A level that a busy session is already respecting: the session high or low, yesterday’s high or low, or a round number that has held twice this morning. Scalping without a level is clicking. The level is what gives a five-pip stop a reason to be where it is.
Entry and stop
Trade only in the direction of the last clear push on the fifteen-minute chart, and only in the first two hours of London or the New York overlap. Entry on a rejection candle at the level; stop just beyond the level, which on a major pair is usually five to ten pips. If the stop needed to clear the level is wider than your target, there is no trade.
Target
One to one and a half times the risk, taken at the next minor level rather than at a number you like. Scalping does not produce three-to-one trades often enough to build a method on, so the win rate has to carry it — which is exactly why the cost matters so much.
Ten trades, then stop
A hard count, and a daily loss limit as well. Scalping produces enough opportunities to lose money all day, and the losses come from tired decisions in hour three, not from the setup. When the count is reached, the session is over whether it went well or badly.
Who this does not suit
Anyone on a wide spread, anyone whose platform lags, and anyone who cannot sit through twenty decisions in two hours without the twenty-first being made out of irritation. That is most people, and it is not a character flaw — the swing version of the same skill costs far less to run.
In short
| First test | Cost as a share of target, under about a fifth |
|---|---|
| Setup | A level a busy session is respecting |
| Session | London’s first hours, or the New York overlap |
| Stop | Just beyond the level, not a fixed pip count |
| Target | 1 to 1.5 times the risk |
| Limit | Ten trades, and a daily loss limit |
Common questions
How many pips should a scalp target?
Whatever the next minor level is worth, measured against a stop placed beyond your level. A fixed pip target ignores where the trade is actually wrong.
Is scalping better than swing trading?
It is more expensive, more demanding and more frequent. Frequency feels like progress and is mostly what makes the costs add up. Neither style is better; they suit different lives.
Can I scalp during news?
The spread that decides whether scalping works at all is at its widest exactly then. Be flat through the release.
Trading forex and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk. Most retail accounts lose money. Nothing on this page is financial advice or a recommendation to trade.