This 1 Minute Scalping Strategy Works Everyday (Stupid Simple and Proven)

Jul 16, 2025

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This 1 Minute Scalping Strategy Works Everyday (Stupid Simple and Proven)

Discover a simple, mechanical opening range scalping strategy for the New York session. Three steps, three entry models, and live examples on Tesla, Nvidia, and QQQ.

The author presents a repeatable, mechanical intraday strategy based on the opening range of a market session. The method focuses on the first 15-minute candle of the New York session and aims to produce consistent profits within the first two hours of market open. According to the author, the strategy does not require a daily bias or indicators, and a valid setup forms every day.

The author reports earning over $65,000 in the past month and shares a P&L graph covering June 15 to July 15, 2025. These results are the author's own and are not independently verified.

Strategy Overview

The strategy consists of three steps:

Mark the high and low of the first 15-minute candle at the New York session open.
Wait for a 5-minute candle to close above the range high or below the range low.
Move to the 1-minute chart and enter in the direction of the break.

The author's method also covers entry models, stops, targets, and confluences. Each is described below.

Trading Ranges and the Opening Range

Large trading ranges are difficult to trade, particularly when the range is wide. The author therefore focuses on the first candle of a new market session instead.

Range high: the high of the opening candle.
Range low: the low of the opening candle.
Opening range: the area between these two levels.

The author states that the opening range of a new session attracts significant liquidity. For this reason, these levels are the areas where the author looks for trading opportunities.

Market Sessions

The author identifies three major sessions that occur daily and apply to stocks, forex, and futures:

Session	Author's Description
London	Pre-market or after-hours session
New York	Session during regular market hours
Asia	After-hours session

The author focuses on the New York session. It opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and has the highest volatility and liquidity among the three. The author notes that the London and Asia sessions can also be used to mark an opening range. However, the New York session is the author's preferred session for this purpose.

Selecting the Time Frame

The author considers the 1-minute, 5-minute, and 15-minute time frames suitable for marking the opening range. Ranges on time frames above 15 minutes are too large to trade effectively.

The author recommends the 15-minute opening range for most beginner traders. The author cites two reasons:

It has the most liquidity.
It allows the trader to combine multiple time frames, which the author says produces the highest-probability opening range.

The author states that different criteria apply when trading the 1-minute range compared with the 15-minute range, but the draft does not specify these criteria.

The Three-Step Procedure

Step 1: Mark the Opening Range

Mark the high and low of the first 15-minute candle that forms at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Step 2: Wait for a 5-Minute Candle Close

Long setup: wait for a 5-minute candle to close above the 15-minute range high.
Short setup: wait for a 5-minute candle to close below the 15-minute range low.

Step 3: Look for Entries on the 1-Minute Chart

After the 5-minute close, move to the 1-minute chart and look for entries in the direction of the break.

Entry Models

1. Breakout (Opening Range Break)

After a strong 5-minute candle close above the opening range, the trader looks for long positions. After a strong close below the range, the trader looks for short positions in the direction of continuation.

2. Break and Retest

The trader waits for price to break the opening range and return to retest it before continuing. The author identifies this model as the author's personal favorite and the one the author uses most consistently.

3. Reversal

If the opening range fails and price breaks back below the range, the author expects a retest followed by a move in the opposite direction. The author notes that reversal setups should be watched for in this situation.

Entries, Stops, and Targets

The author's examples apply the following rules.

Entry: taken on the close of a candle that confirms the setup.
Stop-loss placement: depends on the setup. In the examples, stops were placed below the second candle that formed a bullish gap, below a break-of-structure low, and below the bottom of a key level.
Target: a fixed risk-to-reward ratio of 1:2 in the examples.

Confluences

The author states that confluences make the setup higher probability. The examples use the following confluences:

Price trading above the previous day's high
A bullish gap, which the author treats as displacement
A higher time frame draw that price is expected to move toward
An order block, which the author marked as a key level

Examples

Example 1: Tesla (Breakout)

Context: the author marked the 15-minute range and noted that price was above the previous day's highs, which made the author fairly bullish.
Confirmation: a 5-minute candle closed above the 15-minute range high.
Setup: on the 1-minute chart, price made an impulsive move higher and left a bullish gap. The author treats a bullish gap as a strong signal of continuation.
Entry: long on the close of the candle that formed the gap.
Stop-loss: below the low of the second candle that formed the gap.
Target: fixed 1:2 risk-to-reward.
Outcome: price broke out of the 15-minute range and continued higher. The author states that a retest entry would also have worked.

The author states that a breakout with a bullish gap is one of the best ways to trade the opening range. Retests do not always occur, particularly when price is strongly bullish and a higher time frame draw is present.

Example 2: Nvidia (Break and Retest)

Setup: the author marked the 15-minute range and waited for a 5-minute close above the range high.
Confirmation: a strong 5-minute candle closed above the 15-minute range high.
Price action: on the 1-minute chart, buyers stepped in from a candle low.
Entry: on the retest of the range.
Stop-loss: below the break-of-structure low.
Target: fixed 1:2 risk-to-reward.
Outcome: the 15-minute range held on the retest, and price continued toward the high of the day and above.

The author selected the retest entry because the setup did not include a bullish gap. Without a gap, no breakout entry was available, so the author waited for strong price action on the retest.

Example 3: QQQ (Reversal)

Setup: the author marked the 15-minute range and waited for a 5-minute close below the range low.
Price action: price moved from the top of the range to the bottom.
Initial retest: price retested the range low immediately. Buyers then stepped in and pushed price higher.
Assessment: the author concluded that the session was likely a range day. Continuation trades were not taken.
Reversal signal: price broke a lower high with displacement. The author marked the candle high, extending into the body, as the key level.
Entry: price returned to the order block, and a confirmation candle formed. The author entered long.
Stop-loss: below the bottom of the level.
Target: the high of the day.
Outcome: after a period of consolidation, price reached the high-of-day level and showed a reaction at that level.

The author states that mean reversion is common when trading major indices without a clear trend on higher time frames. The author also states that traders of indices or forex will encounter reversal setups more often. The author personally prefers continuation setups combined with higher time frame analysis.

Summary of Examples

Example	Instrument	Setup	Entry	Stop-Loss	Target	Outcome
1	Tesla	Breakout with bullish gap	Close of gap-forming candle	Below second gap candle	Fixed 1:2	Continuation higher
2	Nvidia	Break and retest	Retest of 15-minute range	Below break-of-structure low	Fixed 1:2	Continuation toward high of day and above
3	QQQ	Reversal	Confirmation candle at order block	Below bottom of level	High of day	Price reached high-of-day level

Introduction and Claimed Results

The presenter claims consistent profits from one simple strategy, showing a past-month P&L of over $65,000 (June 15 to July 15) and promising a repeatable, mechanical method for the first two hours of market open.

Claimed profit of over $65,000 in the past month, shown via P&L graph from June 15 to July 15
Strategy is repeatable and mechanical, requiring no daily bias or fancy indicators
Goal: consistent profits within the first 2 hours of market open
The strategy is broken into three steps

Trading Ranges and Opening Range Concept

Trading ranges are hard to trade when large, so the strategy focuses on the opening range: the high and low of the first candle of a new market session, which carries high liquidity.

Focus is on the high and low of the first candle of a new market session, called the opening range
Opening range of a new session has a lot of liquidity
Three major sessions: London, New York, and Asia
London is described as the pre-market/after-hours session, New York as market hours, and Asia as after hours
New York session is the main focus because it has the most volatility and liquidity
New York session opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time

Choosing the Timeframe

The 15-minute timeframe is recommended for beginners as the best opening range, since it has the most liquidity and combines well with lower timeframes. Timeframes above 15 minutes are considered too large.

Timeframe options: 15-minute, 5-minute, and 1-minute
Anything above the 15-minute timeframe is too big a range
Most beginners should use the 15-minute opening range
The 15-minute range has the most liquidity and gives the highest probability opening range

The Three-Step Strategy

The three steps: (1) mark the high and low of the first 15-minute candle at New York open; (2) wait for a 5-minute candle close above the 15-minute high (long) or below the 15-minute low (short); (3) drop to the 1-minute chart and enter continuation trades.

Step 1: Mark the high and low of the first 15-minute candle of the New York session open
Step 2: Wait for a 5-minute candle close above the 15-minute range high, or below the 15-minute range low for shorts
Step 3: Move to the 1-minute timeframe and look for entries for continuation
Three entry models: breakout (opening range break), break and retest (presenter's personal favorite and most-used), and reversal setup

Entry Models

Three entry models are described: the breakout, the break-and-retest (the presenter's favorite), and the reversal setup, which occurs when the opening range fails and price breaks back inside it.

Breakout: after a strong 5-minute candle close above the opening range, go long on a strong close; for shorts, a break below
Retest: wait for the break and retest, then continuation; presenter's personal favorite
Reversal: if the opening range fails and price breaks back underneath, expect a retest and push downward
A full video on reversal trading was offered to viewers who request it in comments

Example 1: Tesla Breakout

Tesla example: after breaking the 15-minute range high on the 5-minute chart, a bullish gap formed on the 1-minute chart. The breakout entry was taken on the candle close, with a stop below the second gap candle and a fixed 1:2 risk-reward target. Price continued higher.

Trade on Tesla (1-minute chart) after 15-minute range high was broken
A bullish gap formed, described as a strong signal of continuation
Entry: long on the candle close that forms the bullish gap (breakout entry)
Stop: at the break below the second candle that formed the gap
Target: fixed 1:2 risk-reward toward the upside
Presenter notes the retest entry would also have worked
Bullish gap signals displacement; retest is not always provided in strong moves

Example 2: Nvidia Retest

Nvidia example: no bullish gap formed, so the breakout was skipped in favor of a retest. Price broke above the 15-minute opening range high on the 5-minute chart, then retested the level with buyers stepping in.

Trade on Nvidia: 15-minute range marked, then 5-minute close above the 15-minute high
Price on the 1-minute chart pushed above the 15-minute range; buyers stepped in off a candle low
Entry: retest with stop loss at the break-of-structure low
Target: fixed 1:2 risk-reward
Retest held and price continued toward high of day and above
No bullish gap present, so no breakout opportunity; the retest was used instead

Example 3: QQQ Reversal

QQQ example: price fell from the top of the 15-minute range to the bottom, retested it, and then reversed. Because the trend was unclear, the day was treated as a range day, and a reversal setup into an order block was traded with a target at the high of day.

Trade on QQQ: opening range marked on 15-minute, then 5-minute close below range low
Price moved from the top of the range to the bottom with an immediate retest, then buyers stepped in
Major indices without a clear higher-timeframe trend often show mean reversion
Presenter judged the day a likely range day and avoided continuation trades
Reversal setup: price broke structure above a lower high with displacement, then pulled back to an order block
Entry: long on the confirmation candle, stop just below the bottom of the level
Target: high of day, which was hit after a longer wait

Closing Remarks

The presenter prefers continuation setups, while reversal setups are more common in forex and index trading. Viewers are asked to request a reversal video in comments. The video ends with a like and subscribe request and a promise of a new video next week.

Presenter prefers continuation setups, combined with higher timeframes
Reversal setups occur more often when trading indices or forex, where mean reversion is more common
Viewers are invited to request an in-depth reversal trading video in the comments
Video closes with a request to like and subscribe