What Is a Second Entry? 2EL & 2ES Price Action vs. Al Brooks’ H2/L2
In second entry price action, a second entry is the second attempt price makes to break out or reverse in a given direction after an initial attempt pulls back. In price action trading, a Second Entry Long (2EL) is the second attempt higher after a pullback in an uptrend, and a Second Entry Short (2ES) is the second attempt lower after a pullback in a downtrend. Traders favor the second attempt over the first because the first push often traps the wrong side of the market, and the second push tends to follow through with fewer of those trapped traders left to fight it.
This guide breaks down what 2EL and 2ES setups look like on a chart, how they compare to Al Brooks’ H1/H2/L1/L2 bar counting, how Higher Lows (HL) and Lower Highs (LH) confirm them, and what happens when they fail. It also covers how a second entry indicator handles the hard part, which is spotting them in real time. That’s the problem Advanced Second Entry was built to solve.
Short version: price rarely reverses or breaks out cleanly on the first try. It usually takes two attempts: a first one that pulls back or fails, then a second entry with better follow-through. 2EL is that second attempt higher in an uptrend, and 2ES is that second attempt lower in a downtrend. A Higher Low or Lower High is the structure that confirms the second attempt is holding. It’s the same core idea as an Al Brooks H2 or L2, described in different terms.
Why the Second Attempt Beats the First
Second entry trading is built around a simple observation: markets rarely trend or reverse cleanly on the first push. A breakout attempt often stalls, pulls back, and forces early entries to give up their position before the real move happens. The trader who waited for a second attempt, after the first has already shaken out the impatient side, tends to get a cleaner, higher-probability entry with a tighter, more logical stop.
This is the core idea behind second entry price action trading, sometimes called 2-legged pullbacks: the first leg establishes the level and traps traders on the wrong side, and the second leg is where disciplined traders actually get involved. It’s a scalping-oriented concept most commonly applied to fast, liquid futures like the S&P 500 (ES) and Nasdaq (NQ) on lower timeframes, though the same structure shows up across instruments and timeframes.
2EL: Second Entry Long
In second entry trading, a Second Entry Long (2EL) occurs when price makes a second attempt to move higher after a pullback inside an uptrend. The sequence looks like this: price pushes up, pulls back, makes a first attempt higher that fails (often where early longs get stopped out), then pushes up a second time. That second push, the 2EL, is the higher-probability long entry, because the pullback has already cleared out the weaker hands from the first attempt.
2ES: Second Entry Short
A Second Entry Short (2ES) is the mirror image: price makes a second attempt to move lower after a pullback inside a downtrend, or after a rally that fails to make a new high. The first push down gets bought back up, and that’s the trap. The second push down, the 2ES, is where the trend has a better chance of resuming, because the buyers who stepped in on the first pullback have now had their attempt fail too.
Here is how a second entry indicator marks both setups on a live NinjaTrader 8 chart:
Second Entry Price Action vs. Al Brooks Bar Counting (H1, H2, L1, L2)
If you’ve studied Al Brooks‘ price action material, second entry price action will look familiar. Al Brooks bar counting is a method he popularized for numbering pullbacks: in a bull pullback, the first bar that trades above the prior bar’s high is a High 1 (H1), and if the pullback keeps going and a later bar again trades above its prior bar’s high, that’s a High 2 (H2). Bear rallies are counted the same way with lows, as Low 1 (L1) and Low 2 (L2).
Where second entries and Al Brooks bar counting agree
Both approaches start from the same observation: the first attempt to resume a trend often fails, and the second attempt is usually the better trade because the pullback has had two legs to complete. Both also use the same mechanics for the entry, which is a stop order one tick beyond the signal bar so you only get filled if price actually breaks in your direction. An H2 buy in a bull trend and a 2EL describe the same kind of setup, and an L2 sell and a 2ES do too.
Where they differ
- Vocabulary and scope. Brooks keeps counting (H3, H4 and beyond) and reads each count in context, such as wedge pullbacks or trading ranges. The 2EL/2ES vocabulary comes from a different price action school and focuses on the second entry itself.
- Confirmation. The 2EL/2ES approach leans on signal bar quality and HL/LH structure to decide whether a second entry is worth taking. It’s covered in the next section.
- Exact counts. Small rule differences, such as how equal highs or lows reset a count, mean a 2EL won’t always land on the exact bar a Brooks trader would call an H2. If you trade Brooks’ method, treat a second entry indicator as a fast way to find candidate H2/L2 bars, then apply your own read of context.
Advanced Second Entry follows the 2EL/2ES rules of second entry trading, not Al Brooks bar counting. If you also want to see the first attempt, roughly the H1/L1 in Brooks’ terms, turn off the Only Show Second Entries setting.
Confirming Second Entry Price Action: Higher Lows and Lower Highs
A 2EL or 2ES on its own is a signal, not a guarantee. What separates a second entry that’s likely to work from one that’s about to fail is the structure around it, specifically whether the market is still making Higher Lows (HL) in an uptrend or Lower Highs (LH) in a downtrend.
A Higher Low confirms a 2EL by showing the pullback low held above the prior low, which means the uptrend’s structure is still intact and buyers are still stepping in earlier each time. A Lower High confirms a 2ES the same way in reverse: each rally attempt is topping out below the last one, which is exactly what you want to see before trusting the next leg down. A good second entry indicator labels this structure right next to the signal. When a second entry lines up with the right structure, it’s a meaningfully stronger setup than a second entry that shows up against structure that’s already breaking down.
When Second Entry Price Action Fails: F2EL and F2ES
Second entries don’t always follow through, and knowing the failure case matters as much as knowing the setup. A Failed Second Entry Long (F2EL) is a 2EL that doesn’t continue higher and instead reverses. That’s often a signal the uptrend has run out of buyers, and sometimes the start of a trade in the opposite direction for traders who track failures deliberately. A Failed Second Entry Short (F2ES) is the same idea on the short side: a 2ES that reverses instead of continuing down. Brooks makes the same point about failed H2 and L2 signals, which often mean the market is in a trading range or turning.
Experienced price action traders don’t just watch for 2EL and 2ES. They watch for the failures too, because a clean failure at the right structural point can be as informative as a clean continuation. This is part of why manually tracking second entries takes real screen time: you’re not just marking one pattern, you’re tracking whether each one plays out or fails. A second entry indicator handles the marking consistently, so your attention goes to the outcome.
Why Manual Spotting Breaks Down
Reading second entry price action off a chart in hindsight is straightforward. Doing it in real time, bar by bar, on a fast tick chart, is a different problem entirely. Signal bars vary in quality. Some are clean, decisive closes near the edge of their range, and others are small, indecisive bars that technically qualify as a second entry but carry a much lower success rate. Without a consistent filter, it’s easy to mark every technical second entry as tradeable and end up taking a string of low-quality signals in choppy conditions.
The example below shows the difference a signal bar filter makes:
That’s the practical gap between knowing the definition of a second entry and being able to trade it consistently: telling a clean signal bar from a noisy one, in real time, on every bar, without the benefit of hindsight. Closing that gap is the job of a second entry indicator for NinjaTrader 8.
How a Second Entry Indicator Automates It
Advanced Second Entry is a second entry indicator for NinjaTrader 8 that marks 2EL and 2ES setups on your chart as they form. It works on any market, timeframe or bar type NinjaTrader supports. The settings that matter most:
- Strict Signal Bars only keeps signals where the signal bar closes strongly, near its high for longs or near its low for shorts. This is the filter that removed the noisy 2ES in the example above.
- HL / LH markers label the confirming structure next to the entries, so you don’t have to draw it by hand on every chart.
- Projection lines draw optional entry, stop and target lines, with the target distance set in ticks.
- Alerts play a sound when a qualifying setup appears, so you don’t have to stare at every bar.
- Order entry marker places a diamond marker that Chart Trader can attach orders to (right-click the chart, then Attach to indicator).
The Advanced Second Entry documentation lists every setting, including the recommended setup for clean execution.
Trading Second Entry Price Action in NinjaTrader 8
Once your second entry indicator marks the setup, spotting it is only half the job. The other half is getting the order in on time with the stop and target already attached. There are three ways to do it, depending on how hands-on you want to be.
Discretionary: second entry indicator plus Chart Trader
Keep the indicator on the chart, make the final call yourself, and enter from Chart Trader with a buy or sell stop one tick beyond the signal bar. Attaching orders to the indicator’s entry marker saves you placing that price by hand. If you’re new to entering from the chart, our NinjaTrader Chart Trader guide covers order types and hotkeys. Our NinjaTrader ATM strategy guide covers attaching the stop and targets automatically.
Semi-automated: Next Bar Entry
Second entries trigger on the bar after the signal bar closes, which is exactly what Next Bar Entry does. You arm a buy or sell from Chart Trader. It snapshots your account, quantity, TIF and ATM template, then submits the order on the next bar in breakout stop, retracement or market mode, with an optional Strong Close filter. Unfilled entries cancel at the end of that bar. The Next Bar Entry vs. Close Bar Entry comparison explains when each entry style fits, and the Next Bar Entry docs cover setup.
Automated: Advanced Second Entry Strategy
The Advanced Second Entry Strategy trades the indicator’s 2EL and 2ES signals for you. It submits a stop entry one tick beyond the signal bar on the bar the signal confirms, applies a structural stop at the signal bar’s opposite extreme, and runs through your ATM template. Because ATM strategies only run on live, Sim or Market Replay connections, it can’t be backtested in Strategy Analyzer, so validate it on Sim or Market Replay first. The strategy documentation covers every parameter.
Whichever route you take, put a hard limit on the account. PAT Risk Manager enforces daily loss limits and contract limits for the same NinjaTrader workflow.
Free Second Entry Indicator for TradingView
If you chart on TradingView, there’s a free, open-source second entry indicator: a port of the same code written in Pine Script v6. It marks 1L/1S first entries and 2EL/2ES second entries, and it has the Strict Signal Bars filter, HL/LH markers, projection lines and alerts. Get Advanced Second Entry for TradingView and see how it works before you move to NinjaTrader 8.
Where to Go Deeper
This guide covers the core definitions of second entry price action. For the fuller rule set the 2EL/2ES terminology comes from, including market structure, signal bar quality, channel drawing and the broader price action scalping approach, see the Price Action Trading strategy guide. For Brooks’ own bar counting, his books and Brooks Trading Course are the primary sources. To see where a second entry indicator fits next to other tools, browse our list of the best NinjaTrader indicators for price action traders.
Second Entry FAQ
What is a second entry in trading?
In second entry trading, a second entry is the second attempt price makes to resume a move after a pullback. A 2EL is the second attempt higher in an uptrend, and a 2ES is the second attempt lower in a downtrend. Traders prefer it because the first attempt often fails and traps traders on the wrong side.
What is Al Brooks bar counting?
Al Brooks bar counting numbers each attempt a pullback makes to end. In a bull pullback, the first bar that trades above the prior bar’s high is a High 1 (H1) and the next attempt is a High 2 (H2). Bear rallies are counted with lows as L1 and L2. The second attempt is commonly the better entry because the first one often fails.
Is a 2EL the same as an Al Brooks H2?
They describe the same idea: the second attempt to resume a trend after a pullback, entered on a stop one tick beyond the signal bar. The vocabulary comes from different price action schools, and small rule differences mean a 2EL won’t always land on the exact bar a Brooks trader would count as an H2.
Does the second entry indicator work on any timeframe?
Yes. Advanced Second Entry works on any market, timeframe or bar type NinjaTrader 8 supports, including tick, minute and range charts.
Can I automate second entries in NinjaTrader 8?
Yes. The Advanced Second Entry Strategy trades the indicator’s 2EL and 2ES signals through your ATM template. It runs on live, Sim or Market Replay connections and can’t be backtested in Strategy Analyzer, so validate it on Sim or Market Replay first.
Is there a free second entry indicator?
The NinjaTrader 8 version has a free trial, and the TradingView version is free and open source. Both mark 2EL and 2ES setups with the same Strict Signal Bars filter.
Final Take
Second entry price action exists because markets rarely give you a clean first attempt. Whether you call it a 2EL or an H2, the trade is in recognizing when the second push is the one worth taking, and confirming it with the structure around it before committing size. A second entry indicator doesn’t change that logic. It puts the setup on your chart in real time, filtered for quality, instead of asking you to spot it cold on every bar. Advanced Second Entry sits alongside the rest of our NinjaTrader indicators for price action traders.