Putting "high-quality scalp" into written rules
Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2026 7:05 am
Ask ten scalpers what a high-quality trade looks like and you'll hear "clean", "obvious", "with the flow". None of that can be checked after the fact. Writing it down forces precision.
An example of a written definition, adapted from several traders' rule books:
A high-quality scalp meets all five:
1. The level was marked before the session started, not drawn during it.
2. The trade is in the direction of the 15-minute structure (higher highs/lows or lower highs/lows), or it is a fade at a level with a defined reason.
3. Spread is within normal range for the session.
4. No scheduled Tier 1 release in the next 15 minutes.
5. Risk-to-reward is at least 1:1.2 after costs.
Anything that fails one point is a B trade. Anything failing two or more is not taken.
The interesting part comes at review time. If the A trades have positive expectancy and B trades are flat or negative, the rule set is working. If there's no difference, the definition isn't capturing what matters.
How do you define a quality trade? Does your definition hold up when you compare it against results?
An example of a written definition, adapted from several traders' rule books:
A high-quality scalp meets all five:
1. The level was marked before the session started, not drawn during it.
2. The trade is in the direction of the 15-minute structure (higher highs/lows or lower highs/lows), or it is a fade at a level with a defined reason.
3. Spread is within normal range for the session.
4. No scheduled Tier 1 release in the next 15 minutes.
5. Risk-to-reward is at least 1:1.2 after costs.
Anything that fails one point is a B trade. Anything failing two or more is not taken.
The interesting part comes at review time. If the A trades have positive expectancy and B trades are flat or negative, the rule set is working. If there's no difference, the definition isn't capturing what matters.
How do you define a quality trade? Does your definition hold up when you compare it against results?