Brackets & Scale-In

When assisted trading is on, Tempest turns each signal into a bracket order — an entry paired with a protective stop and a profit target — and can add to the position in steps as a trade works in your favor. This page explains the structure so you can read what Tempest places on your behalf.

Note: Trading futures carries a substantial risk of loss. Signals are informational only and are not recommendations or guarantees of any outcome. Assisted trading places real orders with real money at your own risk and direction. You are solely responsible for your configuration and trades.

What a Bracket Order Is

A bracket order is a set of linked orders that surround a position:

1. Entry — opens the position.
2. Protective stop — exits the position if price moves against you to a set level (limits how much can be lost on the trade).
3. Profit target — exits the position if price reaches a set profit level.

The stop and target are placed together in a One-Cancels-All (OCA) group: whichever one fills first automatically cancels the other, so you are never left with both an active stop and an active target after the position has closed.

Tempest does not place the stop and target the instant it sends the entry. It waits for confirmation that the entry has actually filled, then arms the stop and target against the real position. This avoids the broker rejecting protective orders for a position that does not yet exist.

📷 Screenshot: The Positions and Orders panels showing one open position with its matching stop and target orders.

Entry Types: BB, SA, BTC, STC

Each signal carries a short order-type code. The code tells Tempest two things: whether to enter with a market order or a limit order, and how the order is being used.

• Limit entries (BB / SA) wait for price to reach the signal's entry level before they fill. If price never reaches that level, the entry never fills.
• Market entries (BTC / STC) fill right away at the best available price.

Note: The order-type code controls whether the entry is a limit or market order; the buy/sell direction of the trade is carried separately on the signal. The text Tempest shows in the trade-approval window — for example "Buy / new long" or "Sell to Close (close long)" — is the plain-language description of the code.

How Many Scale-In Steps a Signal Has

A single signal can carry zero, one, or two scale-in steps. A scale-in is an additional entry placed at a further price level, in the same direction as the original entry, so you add to a position that is moving your way.

You can tell at a glance how many steps a signal has by looking at the price columns in the Signals view. The columns appear in this order:

Entry | Target | Stop | Entry 2 | Target 2 | Stop 2 | Entry 3 | Stop 3 | Target 3

• No scale-in — only Entry, Target, and Stop are filled in.
• One scale-in — Entry 2 / Target 2 / Stop 2 are also filled in.
• Two scale-ins — Entry 3 / Stop 3 / Target 3 are filled in as well.

Empty columns are left blank (not shown as 0.00), so the populated columns tell you the shape of the trade.

📷 Screenshot: A row in the Signals view with all nine bracket columns visible (Entry through Target 3).

No scale-in (entry only)

Three legs: an entry, a stop, and a target. No additional entries are ever placed.

One scale-in

When the entry fills, Tempest places the protective stop and the target — both sized to the first entry only — plus a second entry (the scale-in) at the next price level, in the same direction. When the scale-in fills, Tempest cancels the original stop and target and replaces them sized for the full position, and the target moves one step deeper.

Two scale-ins

Starts the same as a one-scale-in trade. When the first scale-in fills, Tempest replaces the stop and target for the larger position and places the second scale-in at the next level. When the second scale-in fills, the stop and target are replaced again for the full position and the target moves to its deepest level. No further entries are placed.

Important: The protective stop and target are first sized to the first entry only, not the full intended position. They only grow to cover the additional contracts once the scale-in actually fills. This keeps you from being over-protected (and accidentally flipped to the opposite side) before the scale-in has happened.

The Stop Stays; the Target Migrates

Two rules govern how the protective orders behave as scale-ins fill:

• The protective stop never moves. Once placed, it stays at the same price for the life of the trade. As the position grows, Tempest re-issues the stop at the same price for the larger quantity — but the price itself does not change.
• The target migrates one step deeper with each scale-in fill. After the first scale-in fills, the target moves to the "Target 2" level; after the second scale-in fills, it moves to the "Target 3" level. As your position grows, the target tightens to a level that reflects the larger position.

Note: Scale-in orders are not part of the stop/target OCA group, because a scale-in adds to a position rather than closing it. To make sure a closed position cannot be silently re-opened, Tempest explicitly cancels any still-pending scale-in when the stop or target fills, or when you flatten the position.

The Widest-Stop Rule

A signal can carry more than one stop level (a "Stop", a "Stop 2", and a "Stop 3"). Tempest places the protective stop at the widest of the levels the signal provides — the one farthest from the entry price:

• For a long position, the widest stop is the lowest stop level.
• For a short position, the widest stop is the highest stop level.

Tempest picks the widest level by measuring the distance of each provided level from the entry and using whichever sits farthest away, ignoring any blank levels. For example, if a long signal supplies two stop levels, Tempest uses the lower of the two so the stop has more room rather than the tighter one. The widest level is chosen so the protective stop is not placed tighter than the signal's other stop levels would allow.

Warning: A wider stop allows price more room before the protective exit triggers, which means a larger potential loss per contract if the stop is hit. Stop placement is determined by the signal and your configuration — review it before enabling auto-execution.

How Position Size Splits Across Steps

Your configured position size (see Position Sizing) is divided across the entry and scale-in steps:

• No scale-in — the whole size goes on the single entry.
• One scale-in — the size is split between the first entry and the scale-in, with any odd contract going to the first entry.
• Two scale-ins — the size is split across the first entry and both scale-ins, with extras going to the earlier legs.

If your configured size is too small to give every step at least one contract, Tempest raises the size just enough so that every scale-in level the signal carries gets placed — a one-scale-in signal always ends up with at least two contracts, and a two-scale-in signal with at least three. Larger sizes you configure are honored exactly as set.

Note: Because of this, a signal with scale-ins may place slightly more contracts than the smallest size you set. Make sure your configured size reflects the risk you intend to take.

Resubmit Order Brackets

If a position ends up unprotected — for example its protective orders were cancelled, or the position was opened manually — you can have Tempest place a fresh stop and target without opening a new position.

• One position: right-click the position (or its signal) and choose Resubmit Order Brackets.
• All open positions at once: an administrator-only menu item, Resubmit Brackets (all open positions)…, does this in bulk.

When you resubmit, Tempest:

• Confirms there is a real open position at the broker (and that its side matches) before placing anything.
• Cancels any stale or partial protective orders on that symbol first.
• Places a fresh stop and target sized to the current position — and works out which target level applies based on how many scale-ins have already filled.
• Refuses to place a target that would fill instantly against the current market, and refuses orders whose stop/target geometry is inverted for the position's direction, telling you why instead.

Important: The bulk Resubmit Brackets (all open positions)… action only acts on naked positions — positions that have no working stop and no working target on the closing side. Positions that already have a working bracket are skipped, so a resubmit cannot overwrite stops and targets you have already set. If every open position is already protected, Tempest reports that there is nothing to do.

📷 Screenshot: The right-click menu on a position row showing "Resubmit Order" and "Resubmit Order Brackets".

A Worked Example

To see the lifecycle end to end, consider a long signal with one scale-in (illustrative only):

1. The entry fills and Tempest opens the first part of the position.
2. Tempest arms a protective stop (at the widest stop level the signal carries) and a target — both sized to the first entry — and places the scale-in order at the next level up.
3. Price rises and the scale-in fills, adding to the position.
4. Tempest cancels the original stop and target, then re-issues them sized for the full position: the stop stays at the same price, and the target moves to the "Target 2" level.
5. Price reaches the new target; the target fills, the position closes, and the stop is cancelled automatically.

You entered in two steps and exited at the migrated target — the behavior Tempest follows for any winning scale-in trade. Outcomes depend on market conditions and are never guaranteed.

Trading futures carries a substantial risk of loss, including loss of principal. In fast-moving markets, orders may fill at prices different from the levels shown. Signals are informational only and are not recommendations, and past performance does not guarantee future results. You alone are responsible for your bracket configuration and the decision to enable auto-execution.

Related: Assisted Trading · Position Sizing · Positions & Orders · The Signals View