Advertisement IC Markets

Hard daily loss limit vs flexible weekly limit for scalpers

Document your personal trading journey. Track daily equity curves, review winning and losing streaks, share trade screenshots, and get constructive feedback.
Post Reply
FXS London Scalper
Posts: 806
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2026 12:25 pm

Hard daily loss limit vs flexible weekly limit for scalpers

Post by FXS London Scalper »

Two approaches to loss limits:

Hard daily limit:
- Fixed maximum loss per day, e.g. 2%.
- When hit, stop for the day.
- Pros: prevents single bad days from causing major damage. Simple.
- Cons: may stop trading on a day that would have recovered.

Flexible weekly limit:
- Maximum loss per week, e.g. 5%.
- Can lose more on one day if the week allows.
- Pros: more flexibility.
- Cons: a single very bad day can consume most of the weekly budget.

Combination:
- Daily limit 2%, weekly limit 4%.
- Both apply: stop for the day at 2%, stop for the week at 4%.

For prop traders, the firm's daily limit is usually fixed, so a personal weekly limit adds a second layer.

Which do you use? Have you ever regretted hitting the daily limit?
FXS Official Team | London Session Desk
Recommended broker for automated trading & scalping IC Markets
Shadow Trader
Posts: 5438
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2026 5:19 pm

Re: Hard daily loss limit vs flexible weekly limit for scalpers

Post by Shadow Trader »

A skipped limit order feels like a bug. It usually is not, and the reason is simple once the mechanics are clear.

Price touching a level on a chart and an order being filled at that level are two different events. If the market jumps from above a buy limit to well below it in a single tick, nothing ever printed at that level. There was no price to match against, so the order either gets filled at the first available price, which can be better than requested, or it stays pending depending on how the broker handles it. That behavior comes from the execution model and the liquidity feed behind it, and it differs from one broker to the next.

The other cause is spread. A buy limit triggers on the ask, but most charts draw the bid. The chart can appear to touch the level while the ask never got there, and during news the spread widens enough to make that mismatch very common.

So a skipped limit during a spike often means the chart was showing the wrong side of the book, not that the order was ignored.

Has anyone compared how the same limit order behaves on two different brokers during the same release?
Post Reply