# A pre-market routine with Scalpel

> A step-by-step routine from 04:00 ET to the open: connect, scan for gappers, check dilution and borrow, load your desks and set your risk before the bell.

Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/premarket-routine
Guide 14.2, Tips and tricks. Intermediate, 6 min read.
Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team.

**In short:**

Log in to TWS or IB Gateway and start Scalpel before 04:00 ET, check MODE and your risk settings, then let the IBKR scanner find the gappers as the pre-market opens. Shortlist names with a real catalyst and no fresh dilution, load two to four onto trader desks, and trade small while the book is thin. Stop when your plan or your daily loss limit says so, not when the bell rings.

Scalpel is built first for the pre-market, 04:00 to 09:30 ET, when small caps with news can move 30% before most people are at their desks. That window rewards preparation: the scanner, the intel and your desks should be ready before the first gapper prints. This routine is a starting point; adjust the times to your own day.

The method behind it is small-cap momentum, in the style taught by Ross Cameron of Warrior Trading: stocks gapping up on news, with low float and heavy relative volume, traded with hotkeys off Level 2 and the tape, with a small fixed risk and a daily loss limit. [Guide 14.6](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/momentum-method) explains the method and how Scalpel maps to it. Scalpel is independent software and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ross Cameron or Warrior Trading. Trading this way carries a significant risk of loss and is very difficult; many people who try it lose money.

**Before you start:**

- Scalpel connected and the IBKR scanner on ([guide 1.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/connect-interactive-brokers), [guide 8.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/set-up-ibkr-scanner)).
- Intel set up with your SEC contact email ([guide 9.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/set-up-intel)).
- Your keys and sizes practised in SIM ([guide 14.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/first-week-in-sim)).

## The routine

### 1. 03:45: log in and start Scalpel

Start TWS or IB Gateway and log in (approve the two-factor prompt on your phone), then start Scalpel. Check the **IBKR** pill in the status bar reads **Connected**. Both IBKR programs need a fresh login every day unless you set up their auto-restart.

Check **MODE** in the header: **SIM** while you are practising, **LIVE** only with the red **LIVE ORDERS** badge showing and your mind made up ([guide 6.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/go-live)). **DAILY P&L** and the daily loss limit count from New York midnight in both modes, so the day starts clean on its own ([guide 7.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/daily-loss-limit)).

*Screenshot: The clock in the header just after 04:00: the session reads Pre-market with an amber dot. Demo data.*

### 2. Set today's risk before you see a chart

Open **Settings > Risk** and decide the day's numbers while you are calm: **Daily loss ($)** (and **Auto-flatten on daily loss** if you want the exit forced), **Fat-finger ($)** and **Max position ($)**. Then **Settings > Sizing** for your four buy presets; a fixed dollar risk per button keeps every trade the same size of loss ([guide 4.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/trade-fixed-dollar-risk)). Check **Extended-hours fills** is on in **Settings > Trading**: pre-market buys need it. Your exits do not: every LIVE sell, stop exits included, is always sent for extended hours.

*Screenshot: Settings, Risk with a small account's numbers: the daily loss limit, the caps and auto-flatten set before the session.*

### 3. 04:00: let the scanner find the gappers

At 04:00 the voice says "Pre-market is open. Good luck!" Put one empty desk on **SCAN** (the toggle in its header; a desk that is the only one showing a position stays a trader desk) with an **IBKR scanner** panel; add **High-of-day momentum** and **Running up** panels if you have the room ([guide 8.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/premarket-scanning)).

The IBKR scanner runs five of IBKR's own scans at once (top gainers, 3 minute volume spikes, halts, hot by volume and gappers) and merges them into one live list, ranked by percent change. **Gappers** stays empty until 09:30; **Top gainers** counts the pre-market move from the start. To match the momentum criteria, set **Settings > Connection > IBKR scanner** to **Price min** 2, **Price max** 20 and **Min change %** 10 (the default).

### 4. 06:00: check the overnight filings

SEC EDGAR holds most filings submitted after 17:30 ET until the next morning, so an offering priced last night often reaches you as a 424B filing around 06:00. Scalpel watches the live filings feed every 5 seconds from 06:00 ET. Glance at the **INTEL** column for red chips like **Selling 21h** and **Warrants near** on anything you like ([guide 9.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/check-dilution)).

### 5. Shortlist two to four names

For each name near the top of the list, read across the row:

| What you want | Where it shows in Scalpel |
|---|---|
| A price of roughly $2 to $20 | **PRICE**, kept in range by the scanner's **Price min** and **Price max** |
| Up 10% or more | **CHG%** and the rank |
| Volume about 5x normal or more | **RVOL** (relative volume, against IBKR's 90-day average) |
| A real reason to move | A catalyst chip such as **FDA 4m** or **Deal 2h**; hover it for the headline ([guide 9.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/catalyst-grading)) |
| A small supply of shares | **SHS OUT** (shares outstanding from SEC filings; IBKR does not provide [float](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/glossary#float)) |
| Nobody about to sell stock into you | No red dilution chips ([guide 9.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/intel-chips)) |
| Shorts who may have to buy | **SQZ** and the borrow chips ([guide 8.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/shares-out-short-interest-squeeze)) |

Fewer, better names beat a screen full of tickers.

### 6. Load your names on trader desks

Click a scanner row to load it onto a desk, or use the small squares on the row to send it to a particular desk. A scanner toast can be clicked to load the symbol too. On each desk, note the pre-market high and where price sits against [VWAP](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/glossary#vwap) (anchored at 04:00, so pre-market volume counts).

### 7. Trade small while the book is thin

Pre-market books are thin and spreads are wide. Your marketable limit only fills inside its offset, a 1,000-share clip can walk the asks, and a stop-out can slip. Use your smallest risk preset, watch the [Level 2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/glossary#level-2) and the tape, and let the stop do its job: Scalpel's app-monitored stops are built for this session, where stop orders at the broker cannot work ([guide 5.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/how-stops-work)).

### 8. 07:00 to 09:30: second wave and the open

At 07:00 the voice calls "Mid-morning open." Volume usually builds through the pre-market; new names and setups keep calling out from your scan panels. Before 09:30, decide what you hold into the open. At 09:30 you hear "The market is open. Good luck out there!" and the **Gappers** scan starts filling.

### 9. Stop on plan, then review

Stop when you hit your daily goal, your daily loss limit or your trade count, whichever comes first. Then open **Analytics** and look at **NET P&L BY HOUR (ET)** under **Breakdowns**: over a few weeks it shows which part of the morning actually pays you ([guide 6.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/analytics)).

## What can go wrong

- **The scan panels say "Waiting for TWS".** Scalpel is not connected yet; check the IBKR pill ([guide 13.7](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-scanner-off)).
- **No Level 2 before the open.** Your market-data subscriptions decide what you get, and IBKR limits how many books you can stream at once ([guide 1.6](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/ibkr-market-data-for-day-trading)).
- **An order sat unfilled.** Pre-market buys need **Extended-hours fills** on, and a marketable limit fills only within its offset on a thin book ([guide 13.6](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-order-not-filled)).
- **TWS logged you out mid-morning.** One username, one trading session: logging in elsewhere signs Scalpel's connection out ([guide 13.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-tws-signed-out)).

## Questions

**What time does the pre-market start in Scalpel?**

04:00 ET. The header's clock shows Pre-market from then until 09:30 ET, the voice announces it, and orders are allowed from 04:00.

**Does the IBKR scanner work in the pre-market?**

Yes. Top gainers, volume spikes, halts and hot by volume all run from 04:00. Only the gappers scan, which compares the open to the previous close, is empty until 09:30.

**Why does Scalpel show shares outstanding instead of float?**

Interactive Brokers does not provide float through its API, and Scalpel uses no paid data feeds. Shares outstanding from SEC filings is never below the float, so a small number is a sure low float.

**Do stops work in the pre-market?**

Yes. Scalpel watches the stop itself and sends a marketable limit sell flagged for extended hours, which exchanges accept before the open. Scalpel must be running and connected.

**How many stocks should I watch pre-market?**

Few. Two to four trader desks you can actually read beat a long list. The scan desk keeps watching the rest and calls out new names.