Scanner Configuration Guide

Tuning Your Top the Bot™ Scanners for Better Results

Where to Configure Your Scanners

All scanner settings live on your My Stan page in Top the Bot™. This is where you tell your bot what to look for, how much risk to take, and which markets to scan. Think of it like programming a fishing net — you decide how big the holes are and where to cast it.

Your configuration determines which signals show up on your dashboard. Get it right, and you'll see high-quality setups. Get it wrong, and you'll drown in noise.

Every Setting Explained

Score Threshold (min_score) — Default: 7

This controls the minimum quality of signals that appear on your dashboard. A score of 7 means only setups where multiple indicators align will show up.

• Beginners: Keep it at 7 or higher. Fewer signals, but higher quality.
• Experienced: You might lower it to 5-6 to see more setups, but you need the discipline to filter mentally.
• Lower than 5 = noise. You'll overtrade and lose money.

Max Risk Per Trade (max_risk) — Default: $40

This is the maximum dollar amount you can lose on any single trade. It's not how much you invest — it's how much you're willing to lose if your stop loss gets hit.

Why $40? Because with a $100,000 virtual balance, $40 is just 0.04% of your account. Professional traders risk 0.5-2% per trade. Starting small teaches you to respect risk before you scale up.

Your position size is calculated from this number:

Position Size = Max Risk / (Entry Price x Stop Loss %)

Stop Loss Percentage (stop_pct) — Default: 5%

This sets how far the price can move against you before the trade automatically closes. A 5% stop on a $20 stock means you exit if it drops to $19.

• Tighter stops (2-3%): Less risk per trade, but you get stopped out more often
• Default (5%): Good balance for most strategies
• Wider stops (7-10%): More room to breathe, but bigger losses when wrong

The Fallen Angel scanner often needs slightly wider stops because oversold stocks can dip further before bouncing.

Reward-to-Risk Ratio (rr_ratio) — Default: 2:1

This is arguably the most important number in trading. A 2:1 ratio means your profit target is 2x your risk. If you risk $40, you're targeting $80 in profit.

Why this matters: With a 2:1 ratio, you only need to win 34% of your trades to break even. Win 50% and you're very profitable.

Never go below 2:1 as a beginner. The math simply doesn't work at 1:1 unless you have an edge most beginners don't have yet.

Max Daily Trades (max_daily_trades) — Default: 5

This caps how many trades you can take per day. Stan uses a split: up to 3 stocks, 2 forex, and 2 crypto (7 total). For your bot, 5 is the default.

Why limit trades? Because overtrading is the #1 account killer for new traders. Every trade has fees (even small ones), every trade carries risk, and every trade requires mental energy. Five focused trades beat twenty scattered ones every single time.

Active Scanners (scan_types) — Default: angel, rocketship

Choose which scanners feed signals to your dashboard:

Start with one or two scanners. Adding all four at once means more signals, more decisions, and more chances to make mistakes.

Sector Filters (sectors)

You can limit stock scanners to specific sectors (Technology, Healthcare, Energy, etc.). This is useful when: - A sector is showing unusual strength or weakness - You understand one industry better than others - You want to avoid sectors with upcoming uncertainty (e.g., biotech before FDA decisions)

Beginner vs. Intermediate vs. Advanced Configurations

The key difference isn't that advanced traders take more risk — they take more informed risk with more tools running simultaneously.

Common Mistakes in Scanner Setup

1. Setting the score threshold too low. You get flooded with mediocre signals and overtrade. Start at 7.

2. Setting max risk too high too fast. $40 feels small, but that's the point. Prove you can be profitable with small risk before increasing it.

3. Using a 1:1 reward-to-risk ratio. You need a 50% win rate just to break even. Bumping to 2:1 gives you a massive mathematical advantage.

4. Enabling all four scanners on day one. Each scanner requires different skills and attention. Master one before adding another.

5. Ignoring sector filters during earnings season. If half the tech sector is reporting earnings this week, those stocks become unpredictable — filter them out.

6. Changing settings after every loss. Losing trades are normal. Change your settings based on patterns over 20+ trades, not one bad day.

Key Takeaways

1. Your scanner configuration is your trading system — treat it seriously
2. Start conservative (score 7+, $40 risk, 2:1 R:R, 1-2 scanners)
3. Only widen settings after you've proven consistency with tighter ones
4. Max daily trades is a discipline tool, not a limit to hit every day

Practice: Test Your Knowledge

Question 1: Your reward-to-risk ratio is set to 2:1 and your max risk is $40. What is your profit target on each trade, and what win rate do you need to break even?

Question 2: You're a beginner who just enabled all four scanners with a score threshold of 4. What's likely to happen, and what would you change?

Question 3: Why might you want a wider stop loss percentage on Fallen Angel trades compared to Rocketship trades?

Part of the Top the Bot™ Education Series topthebot.com/learn