Server-side stops versus stops that only live in the terminal

[Amanhasnoname]

A stop loss attached to the order sits on the broker's server and survives a closed laptop, a frozen terminal, or a dead internet connection. A stop managed by an EA or script lives only as long as the software keeps running.

For scalpers, that distinction matters more than it seems. The whole point of a tight stop is to cap the damage when something goes wrong, and "something goes wrong" often includes the connection itself. A trade with a client-side exit and a dropped line is an open-ended risk.

There is a reason some traders hide stops from the broker. They worry about stop hunting and about the broker seeing the levels. The trade-off is real, but for most retail scalpers, the risk from a missing stop is bigger than the risk from a visible one.

A sensible compromise is a wide server-side catastrophe stop that sits far beyond the planned exit, with the tight management handled in the platform. The wide stop only matters on the day everything else breaks.

Does anyone still run purely hidden stops, and has a disconnection ever caught them out?