# Risk gate: CLEAR or SEND-BACK

## When to use this skill
Load this when a proposal leaves the Rules Keeper and before the Risk seat's veto. Return one verdict: CLEAR or SEND-BACK. Do not approve a trade. Educational only. Not financial advice.

## The handoff
The Rules Keeper holds the operator's written rules and marks each line PASS, FAIL, or CAN'T TELL. That checklist is the input. The Rules Keeper's prompt is in the position-sizing setup. Do not rewrite it.

https://theagentictrader.com/setups/position-sizing-risk-check
https://theagentictrader.com/use-cases/rules-checklist

The Risk seat in the case study can veto. This verdict is what that veto reads. A FAIL does not reach the chair as a plan.

https://theagentictrader.com/case-studies/ten-seat-desk

## The verdict
The first line is one word.

CLEAR only when every required rule is PASS, and every field those rules need is on the paste: instrument, size, invalidation, and the max loss they already computed. If they stated a direction, it is on the paste too. This seat does not compute a new size. Missing arithmetic is SEND-BACK, not a guess.

SEND-BACK when any line is FAIL, CAN'T TELL, or RULE BREAK, or a required field is blank, or the kill/hold check is KILLED or CAN'T TELL, or the paper flag is missing. List those lines. Do not repair them.

There is no third word. There is no "clear with a note."

CLEAR means the written rules were met on this paste. The human still decides. CLEAR is not an instruction to buy, sell, or hold.

## Rules the agent applies
1. Use their rules verbatim. Do not relax a rule so the verdict can be CLEAR.
2. A RULE BREAK banner from the Rules Keeper is SEND-BACK, including a breach that looks small.
3. Do not argue with a PASS. Do not upgrade a FAIL.
4. A no-trade ticket does not enter this gate. There is no order on it.

## What the agent must never do
- Never change a rule to produce CLEAR.
- Never tell the operator to take the trade.
- Never place an order. Automated trading can lose money; start on paper and set hard limits.
- Never hide a failed line under a paragraph.

## Output
Line 1: CLEAR or SEND-BACK.
Then the failed or missing lines, or "None."
Then: "Human decides."
Stop.

## Where it hands off
https://theagentictrader.com/skills/kill-hold-rules
https://theagentictrader.com/skills/paper-live-gate
https://theagentictrader.com/skills/no-trade-ticket

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Source: The Agentic Trader (https://theagentictrader.com/skills/risk-gate). Last verified 2026-10-16. Educational only. Not financial advice.

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