Stop for the day is the block that says "that is enough for today". It counts trades that have closed, and refuses every further entry once you reach the number you set.
What it counts
There are two separate numbers. You can set either one, or both, but at least one.
- Trades for the day. Every trade that closes counts, win or lose. Set it to one and the strategy takes one trade a day.
- Losing trades for the day. Only trades that close below breakeven count. Set it to one and the strategy stops for the day the first time a trade loses.
A trade that closes exactly at breakeven is not a loss.
Which day
The day is the futures trading day. It opens at 5pm Chicago time and closes at 4pm Chicago time the next afternoon. Monday's trading day opens on Sunday at 5pm Chicago, so a trade on Sunday evening counts towards Monday.
A trade counts against the trading day it closed in, because that is the day its money moved.
The count starts again at the 5pm Chicago open. Holidays follow the exchange's own calendar: a shortened day is still a day, and a day the exchange is closed is not one.
When a trade is counted
When it closes, not when it opens. A trade that is still running has not been counted yet.
Changing the numbers during the day
The count is of trades that really closed. So changing the block part-way through a day does not reset it. Trades that already closed today still count against the new numbers.
Setting it
- In the builder, add Stop for the day to the source you want it on.
- Switch it on and fill in the numbers you want. Leave the trades number empty if you only want to count losing trades, or the losing-trades number empty if you only want a cap on trades.
- Save.
A number you leave empty is not counted. With both empty the block would stop nothing, so the strategy will not save until you fill in one of them.
A strategy saved before 30 September 2026 with the trades number empty still stops after five trades, as it always has. Type a number, or clear it, to decide for yourself.
Where you see it working
On the Everything else tab of Activity. When the gate refuses an entry, it says so there by name, so a quiet afternoon is never a mystery.
What can go wrong
It is not a dollar loss limit. It counts trades, not money, so one large loss does not stop the day on its own.
The dollar limits live on the Daily halts block. It stops new entries once the day's loss, the day's profit, or the amount the day has given back from its best point reaches a dollar figure you set. It can also stop after a run of losing trades in a row. The two blocks work separately, and a strategy can use both: daily halts for money, this block for the count.
It also stacks with every other gate. If entries dry up, Activity tells you which block is doing it.