# Scale out and flatten > Sell half, a quarter or the whole position at the bid, ask or mid, and flatten everything with Esc or Flatten All. What each exit does in SIM and in LIVE. Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/scale-out-and-flatten Guide 4.5, Placing trades. Beginner, 7 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team. **In short:** To scale out, press `Ctrl`+`X` to sell half your position at the bid, `Ctrl`+`C` for a quarter, or `Ctrl`+`Z` for all of it; `Ctrl`+`A` and `Ctrl`+`S` offer half at the ask or the midpoint instead. To get out of everything at once, press `Esc` (with nothing open) or click **Flatten All** in the header: every desk holding a position sells it all. Sells are always capped to the shares you hold, so no exit can put you short. Taking part of a winner off into strength and letting the rest run is the core of scalping a momentum move: it pays you for being right and keeps a piece for the bigger move. Scalpel gives each common exit its own key and button, on the focused desk. **Before you start:** - A position open on the focused desk ([guide 4.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/entries-and-fills)). - The market open (04:00 to 20:00 ET). When it is closed the sell keys and buttons are blocked; only Flatten All still sends. ## The exits at a glance | Key | Button | Sells | Priced at | |---|---|---|---| | `Ctrl`+`Z` | **Full** | The whole position | Bid minus the sell offset | | `Ctrl`+`X` | **1/2** | Half, rounded down | Bid minus the sell offset | | `Ctrl`+`C` | **1/4** | A quarter, rounded down | Bid minus the sell offset | | `Ctrl`+`A` | **1/2 Ask** | Half, rounded down | The ask | | `Ctrl`+`S` | **1/2 Mid** | Half, rounded down | Halfway between bid and ask | | `Esc` | **Flatten All** (header) | Everything, on every desk | Bid, crossing harder in LIVE (below) | Rounding is down to whole shares: half of 333 is 166, a quarter of 166 is 41. The **Sell** row on the order bar under the chart has a button for each, with the sell **Offset** stepper at its right end (10c a click). *Screenshot: The Sell row with a position open: Full (1), 1/2 and 1/4 at the bid (2), 1/2 Ask and 1/2 Mid (3), and the sell Offset (4). B/E, Trail and Cancel sit between them. Demo data.* ## Scale out of a winner ### 1. Take half at the bid With ABCD at 5.69 bid on a 400-share position from 5.50, press `Ctrl`+`X`. Scalpel sends a sell for 200 shares limited at 5.69 - 0.10 = 5.59, so it fills at the bid and, on a thin book, can take lower bids down to 5.59. You hear "Out, half." ### 2. Check what is left The Positions tab now shows 200 shares open and a closed row for the 200 you sold, with the P&L net of fees and in R. Your stop and take-profit stay armed on the shares you still hold. *Screenshot: After Ctrl+X: 200 shares still open, +1.7R on paper, and 200 closed at 5.69 for +$35.32 (+1.5R) after fees. Demo data.* ### 3. Protect the rest Press `B` to move the stop to your entry, or `Shift`+`T` to let it trail ([guide 5.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/breakeven-and-trailing-stops)). The runner now cannot turn into a loser at the stop, short of a gap. ### 4. Take the rest Press `Ctrl`+`C` for another quarter of what is left (50 shares), or `Ctrl`+`Z` to sell the remaining 200. You hear "Out, full." and the position closes. ## Bid, ask or mid - **At the bid** (Full, 1/2, 1/4) sells into the buyers who are there now. It is the exit that fills. The sell offset lets it reach a few cents under the bid on a thin book; set it in the order bar or **Settings > Trading**. - **At the ask** (1/2 Ask) and **at the mid** (1/2 Mid) are for selling into strength: they rest as a limit at that price and fill only when buyers trade up to it. In SIM they rest the same way and fill from prints on the tape at or above your price. If the move stalls, they sit unfilled while price drops away. If a resting ask or mid sell is not filling and you want out, just press a bid exit: `Ctrl`+`Z` or `Esc`. You do not need to cancel first. When a sell would need shares that a resting sell already offers, Scalpel cancels the resting sell and sends one order for what it covered plus what you asked for, at the lower of the two prices. If your stop fires while one is resting, the stop's exit replaces it the same way. **Careful.** A resting ask or mid sell can sit unfilled. Do not count on it in a falling stock: your stop still guards the shares, and a bid exit replaces it at once. ## Flatten everything with Esc or Flatten All **Flatten All** is the red button in the header, with **Esc** printed on it. It sells the whole position on every desk that holds one, in the mode you are in, and shows a **Flatten all sent** toast; you hear "Flattened.". It first cancels any buy still working on those symbols, so a partly filled entry cannot keep adding shares after you are out (**Sell full** does the same for its desk). *Screenshot: The header, cropped at Flatten All with its Esc hint, and the toast it raises. Demo data.* How a flatten is priced: - **In LIVE**, each exit is a limit 1% under the bid, so one press sweeps the book down to that floor and clears the position, filling at the best bids on the way. If a sell is already working on that stock (a stop's exit, a resting 1/2 Ask), Flatten All replaces it rather than adding a second order: Scalpel cancels it, waits for IBKR to confirm, then sends one sell for everything you hold at the lower of the two limits. - **In SIM**, each exit fills against the bids on the book. If the book is too thin for the whole position, Scalpel keeps selling the rest as fresh bids arrive until you are flat. A plain `Ctrl`+`Z` differs only in LIVE: it keeps your sell offset (10c under the bid) instead of crossing 1%. **With the market closed** (nights, weekends, holidays), Flatten All still sends, because getting out must always be possible, and the toast tells you what happens to it: in LIVE, **Flatten all sent. The market is closed: IBKR may hold the sells until pre-market opens at 4:00 ET**; in SIM, **Flatten all sent. The market is closed: SIM fills at the last prices it saw**. **This can cost you money.** **Esc flattens everything whenever nothing is open, even while you are typing a symbol.** If a symbol suggestion list or an overlay (the cheatsheet, Settings, a panel's settings) is open, the first Esc only closes it. A second Esc flattens every position on every desk. Never use Esc to clear a symbol box. Flatten only sells positions on a desk. A position whose symbol is on no desk is not flattened (and its stop is not watched; Scalpel warns you). ## Never short by accident Every sell is capped to the shares you hold, minus shares that sells you already have working are offering. So pressing `Ctrl`+`Z` twice, or a stop firing while your manual exit is still working, never sells more than you own: the new sell replaces the working one, for what you still hold. A sell with no shares at all is refused with **No long position to sell**. More in [guide 7.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/long-only). ## What can go wrong - **Nothing happens on Ctrl+X.** A text box had the key: click the desk. Or the market is closed, or you hold no shares on this desk. - **The half only partly filled.** A scale-out sells what the bids take down to your limit and stops; it is not retried. Press it again for the rest, or use a full exit. - **The ask exit never filled.** That is a resting order: see above. A bid exit replaces it. - **Esc flattened a trade you wanted to keep.** See the warning. Consider making it a habit to click the desk before typing a symbol, and to read the suggestion list before pressing Esc. ## Questions **How do I sell half my position in Scalpel?** Press Ctrl+X (Cmd+X on a Mac) or click 1/2 on the order bar. It sells half, rounded down to whole shares, at the bid minus your sell offset. **What is the difference between Sell full and Flatten All?** Sell full (Ctrl+Z) sells the focused desk's position at the bid minus your sell offset. Flatten All (Esc or the header button) sells every desk's position, and in LIVE prices each exit 1% under the bid so it clears in one press. **Does Esc close a position even when I am typing?** Yes, when no list or overlay is open. With a symbol suggestion list showing, the first Esc closes the list and the second flattens. **Why has my sell at the ask not filled?** A sell at the ask or the mid is a resting limit, in SIM and LIVE alike: it fills only when buyers trade up to your price. To get out now, press Ctrl+Z or Esc, which replaces it with a sell at the bid. **Can a sell make me short?** No. Scalpel is long only: every sell is capped to the shares you hold, minus shares that working sells already offer.