05 · Concepts
Stand-Down Line: Your Pre-Committed Daily Stop
Your stand-down line is the point you decide, while calm, to stop for the day. Limbix counts the trades you take past it, and never blocks or scores them.
A stand-down line is the point you decide in advance, while calm, that you stop trading for the day: after a number of rule breaks, after a loss measured in R, or both. Limbix counts the trades you take past your own line. It never blocks a trade, and the count never feeds your Risk Score.
Why your stand-down line is counted, not enforced#
A rule made mid-drawdown is a negotiation. A line drawn the night before is a contract with yourself, and Limbix's job is to show whether you kept it.
It counts, and never blocks. Limbix is a journal with read-only access to your trades. It can't stop an order, and a line it enforced for you wouldn't be your pre-commitment anyway.
It leads with the count, not the outcome. Crossing the line is partly luck. Carrying on past it is a choice. So the headline is how many trades you took past the line, and the net result follows, unedited, whichever way it went.
The crossing trade isn't past the line. Limbix checks your state before each trade opens. If your fourth trade takes you to −3R and you stop there, you kept the line. Only a trade opened after the crossing counts.
It stays out of the score. Your line is personal. A score built on it would mean something different for every trader, so it is reported, never composed.
Example#
Your line is Stop after this much loss, in R: 3. Each R you risk is about €100.
| Trade | Realized R | Day so far | Past the line? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | −1.0R | −1.0R | No |
| 2 | −1.2R | −2.2R | No |
| 3 | −0.9R | −3.1R | No, this one crossed it |
| 4 | +0.5R | −2.6R | Yes |
| 5 | −1.0R | −3.6R | Yes |
Two trades past your line, net −0.5R (about −€50). If you had stopped after trade 3, the day would read as a kept line, even at −3.1R.
Where it affects your numbers#
- Discipline & Risk shows Your stand-down line: on how many of your trading days in the last 30 days you traded past it, the trades after the line and their net R. With no line set, it shows Draw your line →.
- Settings, NEX, How the line went repeats the count under the two fields.
- The pre-trade check-in shows where today stands against the line before you trade. Check-ins need Pro.
- Not the Risk Score and not the Discipline Score. Exposure Discipline scores your max daily loss, which is a separate limit.
Frequently asked questions#
How do I set a stand-down line?#
Go to Settings, then NEX, and find Your stand-down line. Fill Stop after this many rule breaks, Stop after this much loss, in R, or both. Enter 3 for −3R. Leave both empty and there is no line: Limbix never picks one for you. Step by step in Set your risk limits.
What counts as a rule break?#
A rule you wrote in a playbook, on a trade linked to that playbook, marked as not followed. Nothing else: no auto-detected mistake counts. An impulsive trade has no written rules, so it can't trip a rule-break line. If your worst days are unplanned ones, add a line in R, which catches them.
Does Limbix stop me trading when I reach my line?#
No. Limbix can't place, modify or cancel an order, and nothing in it blocks a trade. The pre-trade check-in tells you when today's line is already reached. Whether the next trade happens is your decision, and the count on Discipline & Risk records it.
What if a trade has no R?#
It adds zero to the day's R total. A trade with no stop and a winning result has no R, so it can't move you toward an R-based line. Losers with no stop are measured from their exit, so they do count. Record your stops to make the R line accurate. See R-multiple.