What happens when I am not at my desk?

What runs without you

• Entries. A signal that passes your rules is taken. One that does not is skipped and logged.
• Exits. Once the entry fills, your stop rests at your broker. A fixed take profit rests there too; if you use trailing tiers instead, the stop tightens as the trade moves your way and there is no separate take-profit order.
• Limits. Maximum trades per day, maximum open positions and your daily loss limit all apply while you are away, which is exactly when they matter.
• The close. Anything still open is closed at 3:45 PM Eastern, or 3:15 PM on Alpaca. You do not come back to a same-day-expiry position sitting open.

What still needs you

• Choosing the rules in the first place, and changing them when you want different behaviour.
• Turning trading on. It stays off until you switch it on.
• Keeping your broker connection alive. If you revoke access at the broker, execution stops immediately, which is the point.
• Reading the trade log afterwards. Automation removes the watching, not the responsibility.

The honest limits

Being away does not remove risk, it removes hesitation. The rules run whether they are working or not, so a day that goes against your strategy will go against it fully, up to the limits you set. That is what the daily loss limit is for.

Execution also depends on your broker, market data and connectivity. If any of those are delayed or interrupted, an order can be rejected, partly filled, or filled away from the price you expected. Stops are instructions to exit, not guaranteed prices.