# Settings: Sizing

> Scalpel's Sizing tab: the four buy presets on Shift+1 to Shift+4, each a share count, dollar clip or dollar risk, with the default ladder and examples.

Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/settings-sizing
Guide 11.5, Settings reference. Intermediate, 4 min read.
Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team.

**In short:**

The Sizing tab sets your four buy presets, fired by `Shift`+`1` to `Shift`+`4` and the four buy buttons. Each preset is a kind and a number: a share count (Shares), a dollar clip (Notional), or a dollar risk sized off your stop (Risk (ATR), Risk (Low), Risk (Cents)). The defaults are 100, 250, 500 and 1,000 shares.

Your presets are the sizes you trade. With a risk kind, Scalpel works out the shares the instant you press, from the live ask and the stop, and rounds down so you never risk more than the number. Open **Settings** (`Ctrl`+`,`) and pick **Sizing**.

*Screenshot: The Sizing tab at its defaults: four Shares presets, 100, 250, 500 and 1,000.*

## The options

Each of the four rows has the same three parts:

| Part | What it does for your trading | Default | Allowed values |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Shift+1** to **Shift+4** | Which buy key and button the row drives. Rebind the keys on the [Hotkeys tab](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/settings-hotkeys). | Shift+1 to Shift+4 | Fixed labels |
| **Kind** (the dropdown) | How the number becomes a share count (table below). | Shares | Shares, Notional, Risk (ATR), Risk (Low), Risk (Cents) |
| **Value** | The number, in the unit shown after it: **shares**, **$ / clip** or **$ risk**. | 100, 250, 500, 1000 | Whole numbers up to 9,999,999 |

*Screenshot: The kind list on Shift+1: five ways to size a buy.*

## The five kinds

| Kind | The value is | Shares bought | Stop used | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Shares** | A share count | Exactly that many | ATR stop ([Stops tab](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/settings-stops)) | Simple, fixed clips on stocks in one price range |
| **Notional** | Dollars per clip | Dollars / ask, rounded down | ATR stop | The same dollar exposure on a $2 and a $20 stock |
| **Risk (ATR)** | Dollars of risk | Risk / ATR stop distance | 1.5 x ATR by default | Fixed risk with a stop that fits the stock's volatility |
| **Risk (Low)** | Dollars of risk | Risk / distance to the stop | Just under the lowest low of the last 20 one-minute bars | Fixed risk with a chart-based stop |
| **Risk (Cents)** | Dollars of risk | Risk / Risk (Cents) stop | Exactly N cents under the fill (30c by default) | The simplest fixed risk: you choose the stop |

### Worked examples at a 5.71 ask

| Preset | Shares | Dollars in the trade | Loss at the stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shares 500 | 500 | $2,855 | depends on the ATR stop |
| Notional 5000 | 875 | $4,996 | depends on the ATR stop |
| Risk (ATR) 100, ATR stop 18c | 555 | $3,169 | $99.90 |
| Risk (Cents) 100, 30c stop | 333 | $1,901 | $99.90 |

Fast small-cap scalping carries a significant risk of loss and is very difficult; most people who try it lose money. Small, fixed risk per trade is what keeps a learning curve survivable, so start with the smallest risk preset you can and size up only after weeks of consistent results in SIM.

A risk preset can ask for a lot of shares when the stop is tight. Your [fat-finger and position caps](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/settings-risk) still apply, and they refuse an oversized order rather than shrink it.

## A mixed ladder

The presets do not have to share a kind. Some traders keep a share starter, a dollar clip for adds, and two fixed-risk keys:

*Screenshot: A mixed ladder: 200 shares on Shift+1, a $5,000 clip on Shift+2, and $50 and $100 of risk on Risk (Cents).*

**Note.**

The method dropdown on the order bar sets all four presets to one kind. A preset with no value for that kind gets its default: $2,500, $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 for Notional, and $25, $50, $100 and $200 for the risk kinds. Changing the kind here keeps the number you typed: 500 shares becomes $500 of risk, so check the value after you switch.

Click **Apply** or press `Enter` to save. The buy buttons and the size line above each one update at once. The full guide to choosing sizes is [guide 4.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/sizing-presets), and fixed-risk trading is [guide 4.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/trade-fixed-dollar-risk).

## What can go wrong

- **"Order size resolves to zero shares".** The value is 0, or a Notional clip is smaller than one share's price.
- **The order is refused by a cap.** A tight stop on a risk preset asked for more than your fat-finger or max-position cap. Widen the stop or lower the risk.
- **A buy is refused with a halt toast.** Buys are blocked while the stock is halted: it reopens with an auction gap, so no entry may queue for it. Exits still work.
- **A buy is held with a warning.** That is the [dilution entry guard](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/dilution-entry-guard), not sizing: press the same buy again within 4 seconds to send it.

## Questions

**How many buy presets does Scalpel have?**

Four, on Shift+1 to Shift+4 and the four buy buttons under each chart. Each can be a different kind.

**What is the difference between Notional and Risk?**

Notional fixes the dollars you put in: $5,000 buys $5,000 of stock. Risk fixes the dollars you can lose: $100 of risk with a 20 cent stop buys 500 shares, whatever the price.

**Why did a risk preset buy fewer shares than I worked out?**

Scalpel rounds down to whole shares so the risk never goes over the value. $100 at a 30 cent stop is 333.3 shares, which becomes 333.

**Can I use decimals in a preset?**

No. Values are whole numbers: shares, or whole dollars for clips and risk.