"...I doubt I was in a trade longer than 3 minutes. ...High volume, low mark-up -- that was the least-risky value proposition for my trades..." That was my intro to tick-scalping equities 12-13 years ago. Get in/get out/sleep like a baby... ...but then he mentioned that things got to where he was just able to break even, and "...you can't do that -- the value proposition is not there -- the costs will eat you alive..."