Calculating risk per trade is the most basic — and most skipped — step in trading. Get it right and every trade risks the same, controlled amount. Get it wrong and one oversized trade can undo a month. The maths is simple once you see it.
The formula
Position size = (account × risk %) ÷ (stop distance × value per unit). First decide the dollars you will risk (say 1% of a $10,000 account = $100). Then divide by how much you lose per unit if the stop is hit. The result is your size.
A worked example
You risk $100. Your stop on a trade is 50 pips away, and each pip is worth $1 per mini-lot. Loss at stop for one mini-lot = 50 × $1 = $50. To risk $100, you trade two mini-lots. Widen the stop to 100 pips and you trade one — same $100 risk, correctly sized.
Why it must be automatic
Doing this by hand under pressure invites mistakes, and a single mis-sized trade can dwarf your normal risk. A calculator removes the error, so every trade risks exactly what you decided in calm.
Calculate it instantly
NEXALIONE’s lot-size calculator turns your account, risk percent and stop into the exact position size across forex, indices, gold and crypto. Start free.