Option Scalper in QuantPower

The Scalper is a manual trading screen, not an algo. Every order is one you start yourself, and it goes to your own broker account through the same order path as every other QuantPower order, with the same checks: the kill switch, the daily loss limit, the cap on orders a day, the exchange's ban list and the broker login. Before the first Scalper order, you read and accept a short risk note once, and QuantPower's server keeps that record. The rules of a scalping strategy, the costs and the arithmetic of small targets are in our option scalping strategy guide; this page explains the screen itself.

What the Option Scalper does

A short history of fast option screens

Scalping is older than screens. On the trading floors of the Chicago futures exchanges, "scalpers" were the local traders who stood in the pit all day, bought at the bid and sold at the offer, and held each position for seconds or minutes. They earned the spread and provided much of the market's liquidity. Their tools were their voice, their hands and a trading card, and their speed came from standing a few feet from the order flow.¹

When futures moved from the pit to the screen, scalpers needed a new way to act at the speed of the market. The answer was the price ladder: a vertical column of prices with the quantity waiting to buy and sell at each one, where a single click on a price placed an order there. Trading Technologies' MD Trader, one of the best-known ladders, was patented in the United States in 2004, and the "click on the price axis" idea it described is now part of almost every professional futures screen.² The principle was simple: put the price, the quantity and the button in the same place, so that the trader never has to move from reading to acting.

India's option market grew up on screens from the start. NSE began trading index options on the Nifty in June 2001, and for years most traffic was in the monthly contract. Weekly options changed the pace: Bank Nifty weekly options began in May 2016 and Nifty weekly options in February 2019, and by the early 2020s index options had become the most traded contracts in the world by number of contracts.³ Much of that volume came from individuals trading small quantities on phones, often within the same day.

That growth brought scrutiny. SEBI's study of individual traders in equity F&O, published in September 2024, found that 93% of more than one crore traders lost money over the three years to March 2024.⁴ In October 2024 SEBI tightened the rules for index derivatives: one weekly expiry per exchange, larger contract sizes, and premium collected upfront from option buyers.⁵ For anyone trading in and out of options quickly, the result was larger positions per lot, higher costs per trade and a stronger case for hard limits on the account.

QuantPower's Scalper draws on both lines of that history. Like a price ladder, it keeps the price, the strike, the quantity and the buttons on one panel. Like the post-2024 rules, it keeps the safety controls on the same screen: the kill switch is one tap away, and every order passes the daily loss limit and the other checks before it reaches your broker.

Who the Scalper is for

The Scalper suits a trader who already knows which contract and how many lots, and wants to act on that decision without hunting through menus:

• Index option buyers and sellers who take short trades on the weekly or monthly expiry and watch one strike at a time.
• Traders who read the option's own chart. Many scalpers watch the call or put premium rather than the index, because the premium is what they pay and receive.
• Traders who watch both sides. The Dual view shows the call and the put of one strike side by side, which helps when you wait to see which side breaks first.
• Traders with a rule for size. The size is set once, in lots, in rupees or as a share of margin, and every Buy and Sell follows it until you change it.

It is not the screen for building a strategy with several legs, for an order on shares, or for a rule that should run on its own. For several legs at once, use the strategy builder or a basket; for shares and futures, use the order sheet from the watchlist, the chart or the terminal; for rules that run on their own, use an algo. The trading terminal brings the watchlist, chart, option chain and order sheet together on one screen.

The Scalper screen, part by part

The screen is built from top to bottom in the order a scalper uses it: what you are trading, the chart, the panel with the buttons, and what you already hold.

The screen fits a phone held upright, and it works the same in a laptop browser, where it opens from the Scalper item in the left menu. On a laptop, pressing G and then S from most screens opens the Scalper.

Single and Dual chart views

The Single view shows one large chart and three buttons under it: the call at the chosen strike, the index, and the put at the same strike. The index chart is the one shown when the screen opens; tap CE or PE to watch the option's own premium instead. The single chart shows an exponential moving average and volume, and the full order and position lines with their tags, so you can tap or drag them.

The Dual view shows two smaller charts side by side: the call on the left and the put on the right, both at the strike on the panel, each with its strike, type and last price underneath. The Dual charts are kept plain, with no moving average or volume, so the candles have room on a narrow screen. Your order and position lines still appear on them.

Which view to choose depends on how you trade:

The interval switch applies to the chart or charts on screen. Many scalpers keep the 1-minute or 3-minute chart for entries and look at 5 or 15 minutes for the direction of the day.

Choosing the underlying, expiry and strike

Tap the underlying's name in the top bar to open the picker. It lists Nifty, Bank Nifty, FinNifty and Midcap Nifty (NSE) and Sensex (BSE). Picking one reloads the strike list for that underlying.

The expiry is the nearest one by default. If you choose another expiry on the option chain, the Scalper uses that expiry too, because the two screens share the choice. The expiry is shown beside the strike on the panel, so you always see which contract you are about to trade.

The strike stepper moves through every strike of the chosen expiry, one at a time. When the strike list loads, the stepper starts at the strike nearest the index, the at-the-money strike. The arrows stop at the lowest and the highest strike. Under the strike you see the expiry and the option's last price.

The CE / PE switch chooses between the call and the put at that strike. The Buy and Sell buttons always act on the contract shown on the panel: strike, type and expiry together, for example "Nifty 25250 CE".

Quantity and lots

Option quantities in India are traded in lots. The Scalper shows the quantity in units, with the lot size beside it, for example "Qty (×65) 130" for two lots of 65.

Tap the quantity to open the quantity sheet. It has minus and plus buttons to change the number of lots, and quick picks for 1, 2, 5 and 10 lots. The same quantity is used by the B and S taps on the option chain, so a size set on one screen carries to the other. It stays the same for every Scalper order until you change it.

Lot sizes are set by the exchanges and change from time to time. The Scalper takes the lot size from the contract's own entry in the day's instrument list, so the units it shows are the units that will be sent.

Under the Buy button, the panel shows an approximate premium for the quantity: units multiplied by the last price, in thousands of rupees. Under the Sell button it shows the margin, from QuantPower's server, for the lots a sell would use. Both are guides, not quotes, because the fill can differ from the last price.

Position size: lots, amount or a share of margin

The Scalper settings offer three ways to size each order:

The lots are always whole and rounded down, so an order never uses more than the amount you set; the most is 500 lots. With Amount or % Margin, the buttons on the panel and the order sheet show the lots each side would use. When a figure the size needs is not known yet, such as the margin for a sell, the order has no quantity and the button stays off until it is. An order above the exchange's freeze quantity is split as described below.

Market or Limit

The panel's switch sets the order type for the next Buy or Sell:

• Market sends the order to fill at the best price available when it reaches the exchange. It is the fastest way in or out, and in a fast market it can fill some distance from the last price you saw.
• Limit sends the order at the option's last price at the moment the order sheet opens. It fills only at that price or better, so it may fill in part or not at all if the premium moves away.

Each Scalper order is a regular Day order. For a stop-loss order, a GTT or an iceberg, use the full order sheet from the chain or the chart, where every order type is available.

Stop-loss and target on every Scalper order

In Scalper settings you can set a stop-loss and a target in points. Both are optional and off by default; set one, both or neither. When they are set, every Scalper order carries them:

1. The points become prices from the option's price at your tap. For a buy, the stop-loss is below and the target above; for a sell, the other way round.
2. The order sheet shows both prices before you send, with a note that they are set from the price at your tap.
3. They are part of the order you send, so the record of your tap covers them too.
4. They are placed when the order fills, for the filled quantity, as a GTT that waits at your broker.
5. When one is hit, the other is cancelled, so a position is never left with an exit order it no longer needs.

A level that cannot exist, such as a stop-loss at or below zero on a cheap option, is shown as off in the sheet and is not sent. If the stop-loss or target could not be placed after the order went, the screen says so at once with the reason, for example "Stop-loss / target not placed:" followed by the cause, and the Orders screen shows the same note. The stop-loss and target then appear as lines on the option's chart, where you can see, move or delete them.

How a Scalper order is sent, step by step

1. You tap Buy or Sell on the panel. The Scalper order sheet opens for the contract on the panel.
2. The sheet shows the order in one line: the side, the contract, the quantity in units, the order type and the product, for example "BUY NIFTY 25250 CE · 130 qty · Market · Intraday".
3. It shows the stop-loss and target prices, or "off", and the position size when it is not Lots.
4. If you have two or more brokers connected, the sheet shows a broker choice (see below).
5. It shows the margin, the funds available and the charges for the order, from QuantPower's server.
6. You press the sheet's button, which says what it will do, for example "Buy 2 lots". Cancel closes the sheet and nothing is sent.
7. Your press is recorded on QuantPower's server first. That record is tied to your login session and to the exact order the sheet showed, works once and lasts 60 seconds.
8. The order goes through the one order path, with a key that makes sure a repeated request can never place it twice.
9. The checks run: the one-time risk note, your segment settings, the kill switch, the daily loss limit, the cap on orders a day, the broker login and the static IP.
10. The order reaches your broker, and you see the result on screen: accepted with its order ID, or refused with the reason.

With one-tap switched on, steps 1 to 6 are skipped for a market order: the tap itself is the confirmation, and the order goes from step 7 on.

If the answer from the server is lost on the way back, the app asks the server whether the order exists before it says anything. It never tells you that nothing was sent when it cannot be sure, and it never sends the order again on its own. Check Orders in that case.

One-tap orders

One-tap sends a Scalper market order the moment you tap Buy or Sell, with no order sheet in between. It is off by default. To use it:

1. Accept the Scalper risk note.
2. Open Scalper settings with the gear and switch on One-tap orders (no confirm screen).

While it is on, the panel says "One-tap is ON." The switch is kept on that device only, so a new phone or browser starts with one-tap off. Even with one-tap on, the order sheet still opens when Limit is selected, when more than one broker is connected so that you choose the account, or when the order cannot be built yet, for example while a figure for the position size is loading.

A one-tap order takes the same path as every other order: your tap is recorded, the order carries the key that stops it being placed twice, and every check runs, from the kill switch to the daily loss limit. It also carries your stop-loss and target, if you have set them. Switch one-tap off in the same place at any time.

The one-time risk note

The first time you use the Scalper, the order sheet shows a line saying the Scalper risk note has not been accepted yet, with a link to read and accept it. The note sets out what fast trading involves:

• With one-tap switched on, each Buy or Sell sends a market order at once, with no confirm screen. One-tap is off until you switch it on; until then every Buy or Sell shows the order first.
• Orders use your Scalper settings: the product, the position size, the stop-loss and the target.
• Fast markets can fill at a worse price than the one you see, and you are responsible for every order sent.
• The kill switch and your daily loss limit still apply.

Tap I understand to accept it. QuantPower's server records the acceptance with the time and the device, and the Scalper settings sheet then shows "Scalper risk note: Accepted" with the date and time. The acceptance is kept with your account, so it applies on every device you sign in on.

Until the note is accepted, the server refuses Scalper orders with the message "Accept the Scalper risk note first. Scalper orders are refused until you do." Nothing reaches your broker. This check sits on the server, so it applies whichever device or app version you use.

Choosing the broker when you have several

When two or more brokers are connected, or a broker and the Forward test account, the Scalper order sheet shows a broker switch. The sheet chooses a broker for you only when it is certain:

Until a broker is chosen, the sheet's button stays off and the sheet reminds you to choose. The broker you choose is part of the recorded order, so the order cannot go to a different account from the one you saw. When the Forward test account is chosen, the sheet's title carries a "TEST" label, and the order stays inside QuantPower.

Large quantities and the freeze limit

Exchanges set a maximum quantity for a single order in each F&O contract, called the freeze quantity. A single order above it is rejected in full. When a Scalper order's quantity is above the freeze quantity, QuantPower splits it on its own into the fewest orders of whole lots that fit under the limit and sends them together. Each part is its own order and passes every check. If one part is refused, the parts after it are not sent, and the result tells you how much went and how much did not.

The parts go out together, not one after another, so the order completes as fast as the limit allows. If you would rather show only one part in the book at a time, use an iceberg order from the order sheet instead.

Order and position lines on the option charts

When the option chart is on screen, your working orders and your open position in that option are drawn as lines on the price scale. A position shows at its average price with its quantity and live profit or loss; a limit or stop order shows at its price or trigger; a GTT shows at its trigger. In the Single view each line has a tag you can tap: the tag opens the order or position, and its button cancels the order or exits the position, each through its own sheet. You can drag a limit or stop order's tag to a new price, and the order sheet opens in Modify with the new price for you to confirm. In the Dual view the lines are drawn without tags, to keep the two small charts clear.

The index chart has no lines, because orders are placed on the options, not on the index itself. The lines can be switched off in the Scalper settings ("Order and position lines on the option chart"). The full guide to working from the lines, including GTT triggers and the "+" for an order at a chosen price, is on the trade from the chart page.

The kill switch and other limits

The kill switch sits in the Scalper's top bar, in red, so it is never more than one tap away. Its sheet lists four segments: Equity, F&O, Currency and Commodity. Equity and F&O are ticked when it opens. Turning it on needs your second factor. Once it is on:

• New orders in the chosen segments are refused until each segment's next session. Only orders that close an open position still go through, so you can always get out.
• Open orders in those segments are cancelled.
• Your positions stay open. The kill switch places no order.
• Running algos in those segments stop.

The other limits on your account apply to Scalper orders exactly as to any order:

The loss figure counts your combined position across all connected brokers, so a loss at one broker cannot be hidden by trading at another.

Exiting a scalp

There are four quick ways out of a Scalper position:

1. The opposite button. If you bought a call, tap Sell on the same strike and type with the same quantity. The order sheet shows the contract and the quantity before you press its button.
2. The position's line. On the option chart in the Single view, the position's tag has an Exit button. It opens the order sheet with a Market order for the whole position, on the broker that holds it, for you to confirm.
3. Exit all on the Scalper. The Exit all button on the panel opens a sheet that lists your open positions, read when it opens, and exits them all when you confirm, after stopping running algos first; it needs your second factor.
4. The Positions screen. Tap Positions in the strip to exit one position at a time.

Before you exit, check the product. An Intraday position that you leave open is squared off by your broker near the close, at your broker's own time and terms.

Setting up the Scalper before the open

A few minutes of set-up before the market opens saves mistakes in the first fast minutes:

1. Connect your broker and complete its daily sign-in. The Scalper needs live prices; without a connected broker, it shows the connect card instead of the screen.
2. Open the Scalper from the menu, the Markets screen, the option chain, or with G then S on a laptop.
3. Pick the underlying from the top bar.
4. Check the expiry shown beside the strike. To trade a later expiry, choose it on the option chain first.
5. Set the quantity in lots from the quantity sheet.
6. Open Scalper settings with the gear: choose Intraday or Overnight, set a stop-loss and a target in points if you want them, choose the position size, and check that the order and position lines are on. Apply. The settings are saved, so you set them once.
7. Accept the risk note if you have not already, and decide whether to switch one-tap on for this device.
8. Choose Single or Dual, and the interval you trade on.
9. Know where your limits are. Check the daily loss limit and Smart Exit settings on your account, and where the kill switch sits on the top bar.

If you trade with more than one broker, decide which account the Scalper is for, so you are not choosing under pressure.

A worked example: one scalp on a Nifty call

The numbers below are an example to show the steps, not a forecast or a suggested trade. Suppose the lot size is 65, the Nifty is near 25,240 and the nearest strike is 25,250.

1. You open the Scalper on Nifty. The strike stepper shows 25250 CE with the expiry and a last price of ₹142.
2. The quantity is set to 2 lots, so the panel shows "Qty (×65) 130". Under Buy, the approximate premium is about ₹18.5K: 130 × ₹142 = ₹18,460.
3. You switch the chart to CE and watch the 1-minute candles of the call.
4. You choose Limit, so the order goes at the last price when the sheet opens. Your settings have a stop-loss of 10 points and a target of 20 points.
5. You tap Buy. The sheet says "BUY NIFTY 25250 CE · 130 qty · Limit · Intraday", with the stop-loss at ₹132 and the target at ₹162. You press Buy 2 lots.
6. The order goes to your broker and fills at ₹142. A blue position line appears on the call's chart at ₹142, with "LONG 130" and the live profit or loss beside it, and the stop-loss and target wait as GTT lines at ₹132 and ₹162.
7. If the premium reaches ₹162, the target sells the position and the stop-loss is cancelled. If it falls to ₹132, the stop-loss sells it and the target is cancelled. Or, a few minutes later, you decide to exit yourself: you tap Exit on the position's tag, the order sheet opens with a Market sell for 130 units, and you confirm it.

Each order in this example is a separate order at your broker, and each pays brokerage and charges. Whether a scalp makes or loses money after costs depends on the move, the spread and the charges; the scalping strategy guide linked at the top of this page works through that arithmetic on one lot.

Using the Scalper with the Forward test account

The Forward test account is QuantPower's test account: orders on it stay inside QuantPower and never reach a broker, while prices are the live ones you see in the app. It is a good place to learn the Scalper's buttons and the order of steps before you use real money.

When the Forward test account is connected alongside a broker, choose it in the Scalper order sheet's broker switch. The sheet's title then carries a "TEST" label, the position appears with a "Forward test" note on its chart line, and real Portfolio, Funds and risk figures are never mixed with it. Forward test positions follow the same product rules as a broker: Intraday positions are squared off at the square-off time, and Overnight positions carry to the next trading day.

Good habits on a fast screen

• Read the panel before every tap. The contract, the type and the quantity are all on it.
• Set the size once, before the open. Changing lots in a hurry is where large mistakes start. Sizing by amount or by margin keeps each order within a limit you chose calmly.
• Switch one-tap on only when you are ready for it. With it off, every order shows itself before it goes.
• Prefer Limit when the spread is wide. A Market order in a thin strike can fill well away from the last price.
• Keep to liquid strikes. Strikes near the money usually have narrower spreads than far ones.
• Watch the count of open orders in the strip. An unfilled limit order left behind can fill later when you no longer want it.
• Use the kill switch when you have had enough. It is there to stop you trading for the rest of the session, not only in an emergency.
• Review the day. The Orders screen lists every order of the day with its status and fill, so your Scalper trades can be checked against your rules after the close.

Common mistakes

• Trading the index chart's price. The order is for the option on the panel; its premium moves differently from the index.
• Forgetting the expiry carried from the chain. If you chose a later expiry on the option chain, the Scalper uses it too. Check the expiry under the strike.
• Leaving the product on Overnight by accident. An Overnight position is not squared off by your broker at the close.
• Doubling the quantity on an exit. If you bought 2 lots, the exit is 2 lots. Use the position's Exit to close exactly what you hold.
• Ignoring partial fills. A Limit order may fill in part. Check the filled quantity on the position line before you add or exit.
• Trading through a loss limit in your head. The daily loss limit refuses new orders when it is reached; set it before the open, not after a bad trade.

Common problems

The Scalper and the scalping strategy guide

This page and our scalping strategy guide cover two different things. The guide explains scalping as a way of trading: how an option's price responds to small moves in the index, the break-even arithmetic, a full rule set, strike and expiry choice, risk rules and how to backtest and run those rules as an algo. This page explains one screen in QuantPower for placing such trades by hand.

If your scalping rules can be written down completely, they can be built in the strategy builder, backtested, forward-tested and run as an algo instead of by hand. If they rely on judgment on the day, the Scalper is the screen built for them.

Orders, your broker and the rules

QuantPower is trading software, not a broker. Every Scalper order is an order on your own broker account, sent through the broker's official API from the static IP registered with your broker, after your broker's daily sign-in. Your funds and positions stay with your broker throughout, and your broker's own risk checks apply on top of QuantPower's.

A Scalper order is a manual order: you start each one yourself on the screen. It is not an algo, and it is not a strategy that runs on its own. QuantPower gives no tips, calls or advice on what to trade; the choice of contract, size and timing is yours.

Pricing

The Scalper is free in QuantPower. Manual orders, including Scalper orders, cost no tokens. Your broker's brokerage and the statutory charges apply to each order as to any other. Tokens (1 token = ₹1, GST extra) pay for live algos, Forward tests of algos, backtests beyond the free ones and AI use. See pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Option scalping strategy: the rules, costs and arithmetic of scalping index options
• Nifty option chain: open interest, IV and Greeks for choosing a strike
• Order types: market, limit, stop-loss and the rest explained

References

1. William L. Silber, "Marketmaker Behavior in an Auction Market: An Analysis of Scalpers in Futures Markets", *Journal of Finance* (1984)
2. Trading Technologies International, US patents 6,766,304 and 6,772,132, "Click based trading with intuitive grid display of market depth" (2004)
3. NSE: history of index derivatives, including the launch of Nifty index options in June 2001 and weekly index options (nseindia.com)
4. SEBI, "Analysis of Profit and Loss of Individual Traders dealing in Equity F&O Segment", 23 September 2024 (sebi.gov.in)
5. SEBI, circular on measures to strengthen the equity index derivatives framework, 1 October 2024 (sebi.gov.in)
6. QuantPower: the Scalper screen, its order sheet and the order path, from the app's code, checked 12 November 2026