4 ticks is difficult to do "scalping"... 2 can be done just with "noise". Find a little range bound area and it just bounces back and forth. I think 4 ticks scalping is excessive. 4 ticks is a move, in my opinion, not a scalp. Again, just my opinion.
@Michael Thompson is correct in one of his opinions. When daytrading the ES, stops do equate to profits, but only a small few realize this, and why. His second point is really dependent on the trader and what way he trades. 2 ticks is easy, I agree, but it is easy on both sides of the entry, so using 2 ticks stop to make 2 ticks will not work consistently enough, but will work much better at certain times compared to other times. The ES is very difficult to trade for consistent profits unless you have traded it for a good while and know when the best times are to take the best trades. I have my own approach, which works very well once I do not get distracted and let my thoughts wander on things that do not really matter. Why does this happen me, well, it is because I am human.
You are correct. I use a 6 tick stop and 2 tick target. You have to be better than 80% correct to profit, after commission. I only do 3 trades each day, then shut it down.
If on the first day you do your 3 trades, and you are stopped out for 18 tics...Since it is 6 tic stop on each trade and you do a 3 trade max... Then how do you feel about the next day? You are down 18 tics. So how many 2-tic winners do you need to break even, after commissions? Quite a few. Like 12? And at 3 trades per day, how many days will it take to get 12 2-tic winners? *curious* This does not seem the way to get to profitability. I should know...I've TRIED IT! So stop talking nonsense!
@Overnight you are not @Michael Thompson nor will you ever be if you keep listening to the likes of @Handle123 and @profitlocker. You know what they say about Flies, don't you?
@Michael Thompson why are you afraid to go for more ticks. Depending on TOD, I will go for anything from 2-4 ticks to 7-10 ticks, depending on what actually happens after I get filled of course. I think you need to add something to your monitoring to assist you with better timing of entries, as you are not maximizing the opportunities when they present themselves if you continue to trade as you described. Of course, the best judge of what you can do is You, not me or anyone else.