Set Daily loss ($) in Settings > Risk (default $1,000; 0 turns it off). When your realised plus open P&L falls to minus that amount, Scalpel trips its kill-switch: a red RISK LOCK banner appears, every new buy is refused, and, if you tick Auto-flatten on daily loss, every open position is sold. Sells, stops and Flatten All keep working. The day counts from midnight New York time. Resume trading on the banner lifts the lock; it comes back only if the day's loss grows by another quarter of the limit, and a new day starts with the full limit again.
A daily loss limit is the rule that saves your account on a bad day. Momentum day traders (the style taught by Ross Cameron of Warrior Trading, among others) treat it as non-negotiable: after a set loss, you stop, because the trades you take angry or tired are the ones that turn a bad day into a disaster. Scalpel enforces the rule for you, so you do not have to win an argument with yourself at 10:15. (Scalpel is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Ross Cameron or Warrior Trading.)
This style of trading carries a significant risk of loss and most people who try it lose money. A hard daily limit, small fixed risk per trade and plenty of SIM practice are the basics, not extras.
Press Ctrl+, (or click Settings in the header) and choose Risk. The limit is under Kill-switch caps.
02
Enter Daily loss ($)
Type the most you are willing to lose in a day, in whole dollars. A common rule of thumb is a small multiple of your per-trade risk: with $100 a trade, a $300 to $500 limit stops you after three to five full losers. 0 turns the limit off.
Settings, Risk: Daily loss ($) set to 500, and Auto-flatten on daily loss ticked.
03
Decide on auto-flatten
Tick Auto-flatten on daily loss to have Scalpel sell every open position the moment the limit trips. Leave it off and the lock only stops new buys: open trades keep their stops and you exit them yourself.
04
Click Apply
The new limit applies straight away, no restart.
What counts toward the limit
Scalpel adds up realised P&L (closed trades, after fees) and open P&L on the positions you hold, and checks the total against the limit on every price change. Open P&L counts, so a big open loser can trip the limit before you sell it.
"The day" starts at midnight New York time, in both modes:
SIM counts the SIM trades closed since midnight, plus open P&L. A new day starts clean on its own, with no reset needed. The header's DAILY P&L is the realised part and UNREAL P&L the open part.
LIVE counts the trades Scalpel has closed since midnight, including any closed before you restarted Scalpel, plus open P&L. Trades you make outside Scalpel (in TWS) are not counted.
When the limit trips
ACCOUNTSIM
NET LIQ$24,496.80
MARGIN USED$2,280.009.3%
DAILY P&L-$431.20
UNREAL P&L-$72.00
Flatten All Esc
RISK LOCK - Daily loss limit hit (-$503). New entries blocked.Resume trading
Risk locked: Daily loss limit hit (-$503)
Down $503 with a $500 limit: the header P&L, the RISK LOCK banner with Resume trading, and the toast when a buy is refused. Demo data.
A red banner sits under the header: RISK LOCK - Daily loss limit hit (-$503). New entries blocked. The amount is your P&L at the moment it tripped.
The voice says "Risk limit hit. Entries blocked."
Every buy, from a key or the order bar, is refused with Risk locked: Daily loss limit hit (-$503).
Sells, scale-outs, stops, take-profits, breakeven, trailing, cancel and Flatten All all still work, so you can always get out.
With auto-flatten on, every open position on a desk is sold at once: in LIVE, priced 1% under the bid to clear in one go.
Resume trading
The banner's Resume trading button lifts the lock ("Risk cleared.") and you can buy again. Scalpel remembers where your P&L stood when you pressed it, and the lock comes back only if:
the day's loss grows by another quarter of your limit from that point. With a $500 limit, resumed at -$503, it locks again at -$628;
or, on a later day, that day's own loss reaches the full limit: the count starts over at midnight New York time.
A lock lifts by itself at New York midnight, even if Scalpel was left running: the new day starts with your full limit.
Other things that also lift the lock:
Raise Daily loss ($) in Settings > Risk (or set it to 0), then click Resume trading.
Reset SIM account while MODE is on SIM: it zeroes your SIM P&L and lifts the lock.
Switch modes between SIM and LIVE: the lock lifts, and each mode is checked on its own figures.
Related caps
The daily loss limit works alongside two per-order caps, the fat-finger cap and the max position cap (guide 7.2). Every Risk tab option is in guide 11.4.
Questions
What is a daily loss limit in day trading?
The most you allow yourself to lose in one day. Once you reach it you stop trading until the next day. Scalpel enforces it by refusing new buys and, if you choose, flattening your positions.
How much should my daily loss limit be?
Many traders use a small multiple of their per-trade risk, for example three to five times. It should be an amount you can lose without it changing how you trade tomorrow.
Does the daily loss limit close my open trades?
Only if Auto-flatten on daily loss is ticked. Otherwise open trades keep their stops and you exit them yourself; only new buys are blocked.
Why did RISK LOCK come back after I clicked Resume trading?
The day's loss grew by another quarter of your limit after you resumed. With a $500 limit that is a further $125. It does not come back for a smaller move.
Does the daily loss limit reset at midnight?
Yes, at midnight New York time, in SIM and LIVE. In LIVE it also remembers trades closed earlier that day if you restart Scalpel.