Intraday Risk Control Playbook

01 · The reality check

The odds favour caution

7 in 10

individual intraday traders in the equity cash segment lost money

No strategy can guarantee profits.

For a beginner with under ₹1 lakh, the recommended path is:

Paper tradingSmall, unleveraged positions

Source: SEBI study, 24 July 2024 — sebi.gov.in

02 · Today’s context · 1 Oct 2026

Before you trade today

No live prices verified

Nifty/Sensex levels and direction weren’t confirmed — so no stock picks or buy levels are given.

2 Oct is an NSE holiday

Never carry an intraday position into the holiday weekend by accident.

A framework, not an edge

These are risk-control rules — not a proven profitable strategy.

Source: NSE holiday list — nseindia.com

03 · Capital protection first

Seven hard limits

Instruments

Cash shares only. No F&O, no borrowed money.

Exposure

No leverage. Deploy at most 25% of capital at first.

Risk / trade

0.25% of capital, including estimated costs.

Daily loss

Stop at a 0.5% loss of capital.

Frequency

Max 2 trades a day, one position at a time.

Weekly stop

Pause live trading after losing 1.5%.

⛔ Prohibited

Averaging down · Widening stops · Revenge trading

04 · In rupees · capital ₹50,000

What the limits look like

₹125Planned risk per trade0.25%

₹250Daily loss budget0.5%

₹750Weekly stop1.5%

₹12,500Max capital deployed25%

These are discipline limits — not guarantees. Execution losses can still exceed them.

05 · One simple setup · long only

Opening-range breakout & retest

Pre-market: shortlist only 2–3 actively traded large caps. Check company announcements and your broker’s restrictions.

01 · Observe

9:15–9:45

Mark each share’s high and low. No entries.

02 · Break

Above range

Nifty above its range high; the share breaks above its own.

03 · Retest

Hold & turn

Pulls back, holds the level, starts moving up again.

04 · Enter

≥ 2:1 target

Room after costs. Stop below retest low — never widen it.

Testable entry rules — not evidence of an edge

06 · Skip unsuitable markets

When not to trade

A no-trade day is a valid outcome.

Nifty is falling, or keeps reversing inside its opening range
You missed the breakout — don’t chase it
Costs eat too much of the risk budget
Any single entry condition is not met

07 · Size before you order

Use the smaller of two quantities

Q = ⌊ min( A , B ) ⌋

A · RISK-BASED

(risk budget − costs & slippage) ÷ (entry − stop)

B · EXPOSURE-BASED

exposure limit ÷ entry price

Round down. If costs consume too much of the risk budget, skip the trade — never increase risk.

08 · Worked example · try your own numbers

Position-size calculator

RISK-BASED (₹125 − ₹25) ÷ ₹5 20 shares

EXPOSURE-BASED ₹12,500 ÷ ₹500 25 shares

RESULT · BUY NO MORE THAN 20 shares = ₹10,000

Planned price risk ₹100 · 2:1 target at ₹510

Illustrative only — not a stock recommendation. Use your broker’s actual cost estimate.

09 · Strict daily routine

The trading day, step by step

Before openWrite down entry conditions, stop, target and quantity.
After 9:45Enter only if every condition is met. Don’t chase a missed breakout.
2 losses / budget hitStop for the day.
After 2:00 PMNo new entries under this beginner plan.
By 3:00 PMClose everything. Verify no shares or pending orders remain.

NSE session 9:15 AM–3:30 PM IST · the 3:00 PM exit is a safety buffer

10 · Earn the right to size up

From paper to live, gated by evidence

30+ paper trades

Log entry, stop, exit, costs, slippage and rule compliance.

Pass the gate

Positive results after costs and consistent rule-following.

Tiny live positions

Only then — and still within every limit.

Thirty trades is a preliminary check — not proof of lasting profitability.

// Recommendation for today

Reliable execution and bounded losses — not daily income.

If you haven’t tested a setup yet, observe and paper-trade rather than risk money.