ICT 20 Pips a Day Strategy — Proven Asian & NY Scalping Model with 1-Minute MSS

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ICT 20 Pips a Day is the proven ICT scalping strategy with minimum efforts. Ideally you need to book at least 20 pips in any day trade you take — but this strategy promises 20 pips almost every day.

Not every day — that is why I said almost every day. One day may have a lot of opportunities and another day has nothing.

You need to do homework and determine what the current market environment is like — is it consolidation, reversal or expansion?

In this guide I walk you through the 20 pips a day strategy — the two sessions (Asia, New York), the four setups (buy/sell × Asia/NY), the 20-pip stop and 20-pip target rule, the step-by-step trade flow, common mistakes and the FAQ.

You can jump to the section you are most interested in from below or continue reading the full article for a complete view.

ICT 20 Pips a Day Strategy — Asian Session

During the Asian session, from 08:00 PM to 12:00 AM (New York local time), price heads toward the short-term liquidity of the late New York session and then moves away.

After this liquidity raid, you can have a good scalping trade setup that may go beyond 20 pips — but 20 pips are a must.

Asian Session Buy-Setup

During the Asian session up to 12:00 AM New York local time, scout short-term lows formed in the late New York session using the 5-minute timeframe.

Wait for price to raid the liquidity of these short-term lows.

After the sweep of short-term lows, you can look for price rejection or an ICT Market Structure Shift on the 1-minute timeframe.

After the price rejection or MSS, take the buy trade with a stop loss of 20 pips and a target of 20 pips.

Price may go beyond 20 pips, but you should at least book 20 pips and let the remaining contract run.

Below you can see the example of the buy setup using the ICT 20 pips strategy during the Asian session.

Asian Session Sell-Setup

During the Asian trading session (until 12:00 AM New York time), locate short-term highs formed during the late New York session on a 5-minute chart.

Wait for price to break above and raid these highs.

After the raid, look for either a price rejection or an ICT Market Structure Shift on the 1-minute timeframe.

If these conditions are met, enter a sell trade. Place your stop loss at 20 pips and set your initial profit target at 20 pips.

Even if price moves further in your favor, aim to secure the 20-pip profit before letting the rest of your trade run.

The chart below illustrates an example of this sell setup during the Asian session using the ICT 20 pips method.

ICT 20 Pips a Day Strategy — New York Session

You can use this strategy during the New York session to trade the NY expansion — when the London session has already posted the daily high or low.

New York Session Buy-Setup

When the London session has already expanded and posted the daily low, you can expect the NY session to retrace back to the London price range.

So, during the NY session up to 10:00 AM New York local time, mark the short-term lows formed after the New York opening on the 5-minute timeframe.

Then wait for price to go below these lows and grab the short-term liquidity.

After the liquidity sweep, you can take the long position — or look for the ICT MSS on the 1-minute timeframe to place the order.

Your stop loss will be 20 pips and the target will also be 20 pips, which may go beyond that — but do not forget to secure 20 pips.

The example of the buy setup for ICT 20 pips during the NY session is given below.

New York Session Sell-Setup

When the London session has already expanded and established the daily high, the New York session often retraces into the London price range.

During the New York session up to 10:00 AM New York time, identify short-term highs formed after the New York opening on the 5-minute timeframe.

Wait for price to rise above these highs, capturing short-term liquidity.

After the liquidity sweep, you can either take a short position immediately or look for an ICT Market Structure Shift on the 1-minute timeframe to confirm your entry.

Set your stop loss at 20 pips and your initial profit target at 20 pips.

While price may continue to move in your favor, it is important to lock in your 20 pips and allow the remaining position to run if appropriate.

Below is an example of a sell setup using the ICT 20 pips strategy during the New York session.

Step-by-Step 20 Pips a Day Trade Flow

This is the exact sequence I run for every 20-pip trade.

1. Read the market environment. Is the higher timeframe in consolidation, reversal or expansion? If unclear, skip the day.
2. Set the chart to New York local time. Every session window in the model uses NY time.
3. Identify the active session. Asia (20:00–00:00 NY) or NY (07:00–10:00 NY).
4. Mark the short-term liquidity. Asian session — short-term highs and lows from the late NY session. NY session — short-term highs and lows from after the NY open.
5. Wait for the liquidity raid. Price sweeps the short-term level on the 5-minute.
6. Drop to the 1-minute for the trigger. Wait for ICT MSS or strong price rejection in the bias direction.
7. Enter the trade. On the post-MSS retest or on the rejection candle close.
8. Set the stop at 20 pips. Strict 20-pip stop from the entry.
9. Set the initial target at 20 pips. 1:1 risk-reward as the primary objective.
10. Book the 20 pips, run the rest. Close most of the position at 20 pips, trail the runner if price extends.

Best Pairs for ICT 20 Pips a Day

The strategy works on every major instrument that respects the Asian and NY sessions — GBP/USD, EUR/USD, USD/CAD, USD/JPY plus metals such as XAU/USD and XAG/USD.

For traders in the United States who follow the CFTC FIFO and no-hedge rules, the 20 pips framework maps cleanly onto NQ and ES futures (CME Group) plus regulated forex pairs through US-based brokers. The 09:50 NY-AM macro window is a particularly strong window for the NY-session setup.

Common Mistakes Around 20 Pips a Day

These are the recurring mistakes I see when traders first start trading the 20 pips a day strategy.

1. Trading every day. Some days have no setup. Forcing a trade on a no-setup day produces stop-outs.
2. Wrong timezone. Asian session is 20:00–00:00 NY time, NY session is 07:00–10:00 NY time. Using broker-server time or local time produces the wrong windows.
3. Skipping the 1-minute MSS. The liquidity sweep is the zone — the entry trigger is the 1-minute MSS. Entering on the sweep alone produces stop-outs.
4. Not booking the 20 pips. The strategy demands locking in 20 pips. Holding for “more” without booking partials breaks the model statistics.
5. Stop wider than 20 pips. The stop is exactly 20 pips. A wider stop ruins the 1:1 risk-reward profile.
6. Trading both sessions back-to-back. Asia and NY are separate setups. Use only one per day to avoid revenge trading after a loss.

FAQs about ICT 20 Pips a Day

Brief answers to the questions readers ask most often about the ICT 20 pips a day strategy.

What is ICT 20 Pips a Day?

A proven ICT scalping strategy that targets 20 pips per session using Asian and New York short-term liquidity raids, with 1-minute MSS confirmation and a 20-pip stop. The model promises 20 pips “almost every day”.

How does the Asian session setup work?

During the Asian session (20:00–00:00 NY), price sweeps short-term highs or lows formed in the late NY session. After the sweep, a 1-minute MSS or rejection candle confirms the entry, with 20-pip stop and 20-pip target.

How does the New York session setup work?

During NY (07:00–10:00 NY), if London has already posted the daily high or low, NY retraces. Short-term highs or lows formed after the NY open get swept, then 1-minute MSS confirms the entry.

What is the risk-reward ratio?

1:1 minimum (20 pips stop, 20 pips target). The model allows letting a runner extend beyond 20 pips, but the 20 pips must be secured first.

What timeframes do I use?

5-minute for identifying the short-term liquidity. 1-minute for the MSS entry trigger.

Why 20 pips specifically?

20 pips is the realistic daily minimum from short-term liquidity raids on major forex pairs. It is small enough to fit inside a single session, and large enough to compound meaningfully when traded consistently.

Does the model work every day?

No — almost every day. Some days have multiple opportunities; some have none. Read the market environment first (consolidation, reversal, expansion) and skip days with no setup.

What if price never sweeps the short-term level?

Skip the trade. Without the liquidity raid, the model’s core trigger is missing.

Where do I place the stop loss?

20 pips from the entry. Stricter scalpers use the swept short-term extreme plus a small buffer — but never wider than 20 pips.

Does the strategy work on indices and gold?

Yes — NQ, ES and XAU/USD all produce textbook short-term liquidity raids during the Asian and NY sessions. Adjust the pip equivalent for the instrument’s tick size.

What is the difference between 20 Pips a Day and ICT Scalping Strategy?

The ICT Scalping Strategy targets 30 to 50 pips using OTE entries on the 3rd daily candle. 20 Pips a Day targets a strict 20 pips using session-based short-term liquidity raids. Smaller target, faster execution.

How is this different from the ICT Intraday Trading Strategy?

The ICT Intraday Trading Strategy targets 50 to 100 pips per session using the Judas Swing across the full session range. 20 Pips a Day is a shorter-horizon scalp targeting only the immediate short-term liquidity grab.