In your account currency
1-2% recommended
Distance from entry to stop
How Position Sizing Works
Position sizing is the most important risk management tool in trading. It ensures you never risk more than a fixed percentage of your account on any single trade, protecting your capital during losing streaks.
The formula: Position Size (lots) = (Account Balance × Risk %) ÷ (Stop Loss in pips × Pip Value per standard lot)
For example, with a $10,000 account risking 1% with a 50-pip stop on EUR/USD: ($10,000 × 0.01) ÷ (50 × $10) = 0.20 lots (2 mini lots or 20 micro lots).
Most professional traders risk 0.5–2% per trade. The 1% rule is the most common guideline — it means you'd need 100 consecutive losing trades to blow your account. Even aggressive traders rarely exceed 3%.
A standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency. A mini lot is 10,000 units (0.10 lots). A micro lot is 1,000 units (0.01 lots). For EUR/USD, one pip on a standard lot = $10, mini lot = $1, micro lot = $0.10.
Yes. For pairs where USD is the quote currency (EUR/USD, GBP/USD), a pip on a standard lot = $10. For other pairs (USD/JPY, EUR/GBP), the pip value varies based on the exchange rate. Use the custom pip value option for these.