# Breakeven and trailing stops > Move the stop to breakeven with one key, trail it by your stop, cents, percent or 1-minute candle lows, and make both start by themselves at a set R. Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/breakeven-and-trailing-stops Guide 5.3, Stops and targets. Intermediate, 6 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team. **In short:** Press `B` (or **B/E** on the order bar) to move your working stop up to your entry price, so the trade can no longer lose at the stop. Press `Shift`+`T` (or **Trail**) to make the stop follow new highs, by the distance you entered with, a set number of cents, a percent, or the low of each finished 1-minute candle. In **Settings > Stops** you can make both happen by themselves once the trade is up a set number of R. A winner that turns into a loser is the most expensive mistake in scalping. Breakeven and trailing are how you lock the gain in as the trade works, without staring at the stop line. Both move only the working stop, and both are watched by Scalpel like every other level ([guide 5.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/how-stops-work)). **Before you start:** - A position open, with its stop armed ([guide 4.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/entries-and-fills)). - You know what R is: your stop distance ([guide 5.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/r-multiples)). Our demo trade: 400 ABCD bought at 5.50 with a 12c stop at 5.38, so 1R is 12c, or $48. ## Breakeven Press `B`. The working stop jumps to your entry price, 5.50, and the voice says "Breakeven.". The chip on the stop now reads +0.00 (+0.0R): if it is hit, you are out flat, less fees and any slippage on the exit. *Screenshot: After B: the stop sits on the entry at 5.50. Demo data.* `B` only ever moves the stop up. If trailing (or a drag) has already lifted the stop above your entry, pressing `B` leaves it where it is, so a late press never gives back locked-in profit. If you add shares, breakeven means your new average price: buy 400 at 5.50 and 400 more at 5.60, and `B` puts the stop at 5.55. Adding never moves the stop by itself; it stays wherever you had it. Moving to breakeven too soon is its own trap: on a stock that swings 10c either way, a stop at entry gets tagged by normal noise. A common rule is to wait until the trade is up at least 1R. ## Trailing Press `Shift`+`T` or click **Trail**. The button lights up and the voice says "Trailing.". From then on, each time price makes a new high, the stop is pulled up behind it. It never moves down. Press again to stop trailing ("Trail off."); the stop stays where it got to. *Screenshot: Trailing by the stop distance: the high was 5.70, so the stop has followed to 5.58, locking in +32.00 (+0.7R). The Trail button is lit. Demo data.* While trailing, the R on the entry line and in the orders panel is measured to the current stop rather than the one you entered with, and it goes blank once the stop is at or above your entry: there is no risk left to measure against. ## Choose how the stop trails ### 1. Open Settings, then Stops, and scroll to Trailing stop Press `Ctrl`+`,` and choose **Stops**. The **Trailing stop** section is at the bottom. ### 2. Pick Trail by Open **Trail by** and pick one of four: *Screenshot: Trail by: Same as my stop (the default), Cents, Percent, and 1-min candle lows.* | Trail by | The stop sits | High 5.70 | High 5.84 | |---|---|---|---| | **Same as my stop** | Your entry stop distance (1R) under the highest price since trailing started | 5.58 | 5.72 | | **Cents** | **Distance (c)** under the high, 20c by default | 5.50 | 5.64 | | **Percent** | **Distance (%)** under the high, 3% by default (0.1 to 50) | about 5.53 | about 5.66 | | **1-min candle lows** | One tick under the low of the last finished 1-minute candle | Moves at each candle close | Moves at each candle close | **Same as my stop** suits most scalps: the trade keeps the room it had when you entered. **Cents** is predictable. **Percent** gives a pricier stock more room. **1-min candle lows** gives a runner room on the way up and gets you out on the first candle that makes a lower low; it ignores ticks and only moves when a candle closes, by one tick (1c on stocks over $1). ### 3. Set the automatic switches Two boxes make it hands-free, both measured in R from your entry: - **Breakeven at (R)**: once you are up that many R, the stop moves to your entry by itself, once. It only moves the stop up, never down. - **Start trailing at (R)**: once you are up that many R, trailing turns on by itself. **0** turns either off (the default). The **Trail** button and `Shift`+`T` work any time. *Screenshot: Trail by Cents at 20c, Breakeven at (R) 1 and Start trailing at (R) 1.5.* With those settings on our demo trade: at 5.62 (+1R) the stop jumps to 5.50; at 5.68 (+1.5R) trailing starts, and from then on the stop sits 20c under each new high. ### 4. Click Apply The trailing mode applies to open positions from the next price change; the R switches apply from the next tick too. **Tip.** Set **Start trailing at (R)** below your **Take profit (R)**. The target is checked first, so with trailing set to start at 2R and the default 2R target, the target closes the trade before trailing ever begins. For a runner, set **Take profit (R)** to 0, or drag the target higher ([guide 5.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/drag-stops-and-targets)). ## Things to know - **Breakeven and trailing move only the working stop.** The catastrophe net stays where it was. - **R is always the stop you entered with.** A trade on another stock never changes how this one trails, and adding shares does not change it either. - **Switching trailing off sticks.** If **Start trailing at (R)** turned trailing on and you switch it off with **Trail** or `Shift`+`T`, it stays off for that position. Press it again to turn it back on. - **The keys work when the market is closed.** `B` and `Shift`+`T` still work outside 04:00 to 20:00 ET; the order bar buttons are grey. - **You can still drag a trailed stop.** Grabbing it does not snap it back under your entry; it is only held a tick under the last price ([guide 5.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/drag-stops-and-targets)). Dragging can move it down, though, which trailing never does. - **No stop is a guarantee.** A trailed stop fires on the first trade through it, and in a fast drop the exit can fill below it. ## Questions **What is a breakeven stop?** A stop moved to your entry price, so if it is hit you get out with no loss other than fees and slippage. In Scalpel, press B or click B/E, or set Breakeven at (R) to do it automatically. **What is the best trailing stop for day trading?** It depends on the stock. Same as my stop keeps the room you started with; 1-min candle lows lets a runner breathe and exits on the first lower low. Test them in SIM on the stocks you trade. **How does a trailing stop on candle lows work?** Each time a 1-minute candle finishes, Scalpel moves the stop to one tick under that candle's low, if that is higher than the stop already is. It never moves down. **Can the trailing stop move down?** No. Trailing and B only ever raise the stop. The only thing that can lower it is you, by dragging it on the chart. **Why did my take profit close the trade before trailing started?** The target is checked before trailing. Set Start trailing at (R) below Take profit (R), or set Take profit (R) to 0.