Scalping lives and dies by the numbers. With tight stops of 5-15 pips and profit targets measured in seconds to minutes, you need to verify your R:R ratio before every entry. This calculator shows your ratio, breakeven win rate, and dollar exposure so you can filter out marginal setups and only execute trades that fit your scalping parameters. For advanced pattern recognition, see our harmonic patterns cheat sheet.
Risk/Reward Calculator
Why R:R Discipline Separates Profitable Scalpers from the Rest
Scalping compresses everything into minutes or even seconds. With an 8-pip stop and a 12-pip target, your R:R is 1:1.5. That requires a 40% win rate to break even. If your edge gives you a 60% win rate on 1-minute chart breakouts, the resulting expectancy is strongly positive across 5-8 trades per session. But if you loosen your stop to 15 pips while keeping the same 12-pip target, your R:R drops to 1:0.8 and now you need a 56% win rate just to break even. The calculator exposes these shifts instantly.
Commission costs hit scalpers harder than swing traders because you take more trades. A $7 round-trip commission on a $50 scalp profit is 14% of your gain. Before entering, check that your R:R remains positive after factoring in realistic spread and commission costs for your instrument.
Reading the Chart for Scalp Entries
The visual chart below shows tight red (stop loss) and green (take profit) zones relative to your entry. For scalps, these zones should be close together. If the red zone appears disproportionately large compared to green, your stop is too wide for the profit target. Tighten the stop to a micro-structure level (e.g., just below the previous 1-minute candle low) or skip the trade. The chart trains your eye to reject setups that look visually imbalanced before you commit real money.
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Free Trading GuideFrequently Asked Questions
Many profitable scalpers use 1:1.5 or 1:2 with a 60-70% win rate. The tight stop losses (5-15 pips on forex, $0.10-0.30 on stocks) mean you can take many trades per session. Even 1:1 works if your win rate exceeds 55% after commissions.
On a 1-minute EUR/USD chart, scalpers typically use 5-10 pip stops. On a 5-minute chart, 10-20 pips is common. For stock scalping, $0.10 to $0.30 stops work on liquid names like AAPL or TSLA. The key is placing the stop just beyond a micro-structure level, not an arbitrary distance.
Quality over quantity. Most consistent scalpers take 3-8 high-probability setups per session. Using this R:R calculator before each entry ensures every trade meets your minimum criteria. Taking 20+ trades usually signals overtrading.
Significantly. A 1-pip spread on a 5-pip stop loss eats 20% of your risk. Scalpers must trade during high-liquidity sessions (London/NY overlap for forex) when spreads are tightest. Factor in realistic spread costs when evaluating whether a scalp setup truly offers 1:1.5 or better.
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Free Trading GuideThis calculator is provided for educational use only. Intraday trading involves substantial risk of capital loss. Historical results do not guarantee future performance. Includes affiliate links.