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Break and retest: wait for the level to be tested.

Price breaks a level, comes back to it, and holds. The break and retest strategy trades that hold instead of the break. Here is what counts as a retest, how long to wait, what to do when price never comes back, and three real MNQ sessions.

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The rule card with exact retest edges, a real session it reached its target, one it stopped out, and one where the rules correctly did nothing. The free overview is below; we also email you the link, so it is one tap away next time.

What is a break and retest strategy?

A break and retest strategy waits for price to close through a level, come back to test that level from the other side, and hold. The trade goes in the direction of the original break, with the stop just past the retest. The idea is that a level that was resistance before the break should act as support after it (and the reverse for a break lower).

It is the patient cousin of the opening range breakout. The breakout enters on the break and accepts a wide stop; the retest waits for a second look and a tighter stop, and accepts that on many days the second look never comes.

Illustration, not market data: price closes above a level (1, the break), dips back into a shaded 5-point zone above it (2, the retest), then closes above the retest bar's high (3, the entry). The stop is one tick under the retest low, at least 10 points away, and the target is 2 times the risk. — **Break, retest, hold.** The stop goes under the retest, not under the whole range. No retest within 30 bars, or no hold within 5, means no trade. Illustration drawn by Tarrow Futures, not market data.

The three questions every retest rule must answer

How close counts as a retest? Our worked example uses within 5 points (20 ticks) of the broken level.
How long do you wait? Up to 30 one-minute bars after the break, then the setup expires.
What if price never comes back? No trade. A break that leaves without you is not chased.

Many descriptions of this strategy skip all three. Without them, "retest" can be fitted to any chart after the fact, which is why it looks so clean in screenshots.

Which level?

Any level can be broken and retested: yesterday's high or low, a round number, a range. To test it, you need one that is objective. Our worked example uses the 30-minute opening range, a common choice: the highest high and lowest low from 9:30 to 9:59 ET. The library's ORB uses 15 minutes and the initial balance uses 60; this sits between them. The level is part of the strategy: pick it before you test, and test it on its own.

The idea in five lines

Break: the first 1-minute close outside the 30-minute range, between 10:00 and 11:30 ET.
Retest: price comes back to within 5 points of the level within 30 bars, without a close more than 5 points back inside the range.
Entry: within 5 bars of the retest, the first close beyond the retest bar's extreme in the break direction.
Stop and target: one tick past the retest's extreme (at least 10 points), target 2 × the risk.
One a day: one trade, or none.

Illustration of the four outcomes after a break: a close more than 5 points back inside (failed break, no trade); no return within 5 points in 30 bars (no trade); a retest with no close above it within 5 bars (no trade); a retest followed by a close above the retest bar (trade). — **Three of four branches end in no trade.** That is the rule set working as written, not a missed trade. Illustration drawn by Tarrow Futures, not market data.

How it sits inside prop rules, and where it bites

The stop sits at the retest, not across the whole range, so it is often smaller than a breakout's, and one trade a day keeps the worst day small. It still moves from day to day: on the two traded MNQ sessions in the full breakdown it was 22.5 and 48.5 points, $45 and $97 per micro contract before costs.

The bite is psychological. On many days the rules say "no trade" after you have watched the break run. Chasing it turns a defined strategy into an undefined one, and that is the trade a daily loss limit punishes.

What is in the full breakdown

The rule cardLevel, break, retest zone, wait, failed-break rule, entry, stop, target and cap, in numbers.
A real session where it workedMNQ, 2 Sep 2026: break, retest and hold, step by step.
A real session where it failedMNQ, 2 Oct 2026: the retest held for a few minutes, then gave way.
A real session where it did nothingMNQ, 18 Sep 2026: the break never came back, and the rules kept you out.
Prop-rule fitSizing from the stop, and why "no trade" days protect the drawdown.

The full breakdown · free with your email

Break and retest: rules, real charts, prop-rule fit

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1. The rule card

Teaching example · not a recommendation

Break and retest of the 30-minute opening range, 1-minute bars

Level. The highest high and lowest low of the 1-minute bars from 9:30 to 9:59 ET (the 30-minute opening range), regular session only.
Break. From the 10:00 bar to the 11:30 bar, the first 1-minute close above the range high (long) or below the range low (short). Only the first break of the day counts.
Retest. Within 30 bars of the break, a bar trades back to within 5 points of the broken level (low at or below the high + 5 for a long; high at or above the low − 5 for a short).
Failed break. Before entry, any close more than 5 points back inside the range cancels the setup for the day.
Entry. Within 5 bars after the retest bar, the first close beyond that bar's extreme in the break direction (above its high for a long). Enter at that close.
No return, no trade. If there is no retest within 30 bars, or no entry within 5 bars of it, there is no trade that day.
Stop. One tick (0.25) beyond the retest's extreme, from the retest bar to the entry bar. Never closer than 10 points.
Target and exit. Two times the risk (2R), measured from the entry. Otherwise exit at 15:50 ET. A bar that touches both counts as the stop.
One a day. One trade at most. After it, or after a cancelled setup, the strategy is done for the day.
Size. Contracts = the money you allow per trade ÷ ((stop in points + your cost allowance in points) × the point value), rounded down. If that is zero, there is no trade.

This is a common form of the strategy, with the 30-minute opening range as the level, taught as a worked example of the rules; that is not evidence it is profitable. MNQ is $2 a point (CME Group contract specs). The examples below use a $200 budget per trade and a 2-point cost allowance (example figures).

2. A session where the rules worked

Real chartSelected example, chosen to show the rulesTarget reached

MNQ 1-minute chart, 2 September 2026, 9:30 to 10:40 ET: the shaded 30-minute opening range with its high at 29,119.00, a 10:14 close above it, a 10:15 dip to 29,119.25 inside the 5-point retest zone, a 10:16 close above that bar's high for a long at 29,141.50, the stop at 29,119.00 and the 2R target at 29,186.50 traded at 10:23 — MNQ1! · 1-minute · 2 Sep 2026, 9:30–10:40 ET · Chart: TradingView (snapshot; levels and labels marked by Tarrow Futures). A past session, selected to show the rules, not a typical result.

Step	What the chart shows	Number
Level	30-minute range high (9:42); the low was `29,017.25` (9:55)	`29,119.00`
Break	10:14: first close above the high	close `29,127.50`
Retest	10:15: the next bar dips back into the 5-point zone (its high: `29,135.00`)	low `29,119.25`
Entry	10:16: close above the retest bar's high. Long at the close	`29,141.50`
Stop	One tick under the retest low	`29,119.00`, `22.5` pts
Size	`$200 ÷ ((22.5 + 2) × $2) = 4.08`, rounded down (example budget and cost allowance)	`4` MNQ
Outcome	2R target `29,186.50` traded at 10:23	`45 × $2 × 4 = +$360`

The break was one close above the range; the rule did not buy it. It waited one bar for the return to the level, then for a close back above that bar's high, which put the stop at the level instead of under the whole 101.75-point range. Risk at 4 MNQ was 4 × 22.5 × $2 = $180. Dollar figures are before commissions and slippage. Hypothetical: what the written rules would have done that day, not a trade anyone placed (CFTC Rule 4.41 notice below the next examples).

3. A session where the same rules failed

Real chartSelected example, chosen to show the rulesStopped out

MNQ 1-minute chart, 2 October 2026, 9:30 to 10:25 ET: the shaded 30-minute opening range with its high at 31,201.75, a 10:01 close above it at 31,203.00, a 10:02 retest to 31,201.50, a long at 31,249.75 on the 10:04 close, and the stop at 31,201.25 hit at 10:11 — MNQ1! · 1-minute · 2 Oct 2026, 9:30–10:25 ET · Chart: TradingView (snapshot; levels and labels marked by Tarrow Futures). A past session, selected to show the rules, not a typical result.

Step	What the chart shows	Number
Level	30-minute range high (9:54)	`31,201.75`
Break, retest	Close above at 10:01 (`31,203.00`); back into the zone at 10:02 (low `31,201.50`, high `31,236.00`)
Entry	10:04: close above the retest bar's high (10:03 closed below it). Long	`31,249.75`
Stop	One tick under the retest low	`31,201.25`, `48.5` pts
Size	`$200 ÷ ((48.5 + 2) × $2) = 1.98`, rounded down	`1` MNQ
Outcome	Best price after entry `31,258.00` (10:05); stopped at 10:11. The 2R target `31,346.75` was not reached	`48.5 × $2 = −$97`

The lesson: the stop decides the size, every time

The retest looked as good as the target day's: a close through the level, a return, a hold. Then it gave way. The difference that mattered was the stop: 48.5 points against 22.5, because the entry came after a fast move away from the level. Sized from the stop, that meant one micro instead of four, so the loss was $97, inside the same $200 example budget. Traded at the target day's size, the same stop would have cost 4 × $97 = $388 before costs.

Rule 9 mattered too. After the stop, price climbed back above the level and reached 31,282.75 by 10:27, still short of the target. A trader who re-entered would have been trading a new, unwritten rule. One trade a day means the stop is the end of the day's risk.

Can you tell a holding retest from a failing one in advance? Traders propose tells: the speed of the return, the volume on the retest bar, the time of day. We do not offer one. Test any filter before trusting it.

4. A session where the rules did nothing (on purpose)

Real chartSelected example, chosen to show the rulesNo trade

MNQ 1-minute chart, 18 September 2026, 9:30 to 10:45 ET: the shaded 30-minute opening range with its low at 29,765.75, a 10:01 close below it at 29,751.50, and the next 30 bars (10:02 to 10:31) never trading back within 5 points of the low; the highest price in that window was 29,757.00 at 10:11, so the rules take no trade — MNQ1! · 1-minute · 18 Sep 2026, 9:30–10:45 ET · Chart: TradingView (snapshot; levels and labels marked by Tarrow Futures). A past session, selected to show the rules, not a typical result.

The range low was 29,765.75. The 10:00 bar dipped under it but closed back inside, which is not a break. The 10:01 bar closed below it at 29,751.50: the break. In the next 30 bars (10:02 to 10:31) the highest price was 29,757.00 at 10:11, 8.75 points away from the level: close, but not within 5. So rule 6 says no trade. Price did come back within 5 points at 10:51, after the setup had expired.

Watching that move go without you is the hardest part of this strategy. Chasing it means an entry far from the level with no retest to put a stop behind, which is a different strategy with a wider stop. A no-trade day (a failed break, a retest that closed back inside, a break that never returned) is the rule set working as written.

CFTC Rule 4.41: Hypothetical or simulated performance results have certain limitations. Unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading. Also, since the trades have not been executed, the results may have under- or over-compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profit or losses similar to those shown.

5. How it fits prop firm rules

Bar chart at a $200 example budget: a 22.5-point stop sized to 4 MNQ risks $180; a 48.5-point stop sized to 1 MNQ risks $97; the same 48.5-point stop at 4 MNQ would risk $388, almost twice the budget. — **The stop sets the size.** Contracts = $200 ÷ ((stop + 2 pts of example costs) × $2), rounded down: 4 MNQ at 22.5 points, 1 at 48.5. Example figures, not results.

Daily loss limit: one trade, one budget

Example figures: one trade a day at a $200 budget makes the worst day by rule $200 plus costs, a fifth of a $1,000 daily limit. Size every trade from its own stop: 4 MNQ at 22.5 points ($180 at risk), 1 at 48.5 ($97), and none once the stop is wider than 98 points.

Trailing drawdown: ten stops is the whole account

At $200 a stop, a $2,000 trailing drawdown is 10 stops in a row, fewer if the floor has trailed up with your profits. Under an intraday trailing drawdown, a trade that runs most of the way to its 2R target and then stops out costs twice. Example at 4 MNQ with a 22.5-point stop: +40 points open (+$320) from a balance high, then the stop (−$180), shrinks the room by $500.

Consistency rule

Example figures: under a 50% consistency rule, a +$360 best day needs $720 of total profit before it fits. Rules and percentages differ by firm; check yours.

Close-out time

The card's 15:50 ET exit is ours. If your firm requires you to be flat earlier, its time becomes the time exit. Check your firm's current rulebook.

Free toolPosition size calculator: contracts from your limit and your stop Free toolDrawdown room calculator: where your floor sits now Free toolConsistency rule checker: does your best day fit? BlogWhy open profit raises an intraday trailing floor

6. Test it yourself before you trade it

Fix the level and the three edges first. The zone (5 points), the wait (30 bars) and the failed-break rule are the strategy. Change one and it is a different test.
Choose the level before you look. The 15-minute range, the 30-minute range and yesterday's high and low are all common. Pick one, and if you try another, judge it on sessions you did not use to choose it.
Count the no-trade days. Know how often your rules trade at all. If they trade on few days, a month is a handful of trades: too few to judge quickly, and long gaps that tempt a chase.
Backtest with costs. Commission and slippage on every fill; a late fill is never better than the backtest price.
Forward-test on a simulator for weeks before any paid evaluation.

Free 32-page guideBuild It, Break It, Then Trade It: backtest and stress-test a strategy, step by step Strategy libraryThe impatient version: the opening range breakout

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Disclosures

Education only. This page explains how a widely known, public strategy is defined and how you could test it yourself. It is not advice, not a recommendation to trade any contract, size or strategy, and not a signal: it shows no setup for any future session. Charts are real past sessions, chosen to show the rules (including a day they failed); they are selected examples, not typical results. The charts are TradingView snapshots (MNQ1!, regular trading hours, one-minute unless the caption says otherwise); diagrams labelled as illustrations are drawn by Tarrow Futures and are not market data. The level, range, entry, stop and target marks and labels on them were added by Tarrow Futures. Bars may differ slightly from those on your platform. Trade outcomes on this page are what the written rules would have done on those days, before commissions and slippage. They are not trades Tarrow Futures placed. Dollar figures for sequences and rules are example figures, not results. Prop firm rules differ and change; your firm's current rulebook decides. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss. Automation does not remove risk.