Futures position size calculator

Contracts = (account × risk %) ÷ (stop × point value), rounded down so the loss at the stop stays at or below the risk you set. Enter an account size, a risk per trade, a stop in points or ticks and a contract (NQ, MNQ, ES, MES, YM, MYM, RTY or M2K) to get the dollar risk per trade, the risk per contract, the maximum whole contracts and the actual percentage risked at that size.

Worked example: a $25,000 account risking 1% has $250 to lose on one trade. A 20-point stop on NQ risks $400 a contract, so the maximum is 0 NQ; the same stop on MNQ risks $40 a contract, so the maximum is 6 MNQ, an actual risk of $240 (0.96% of the account). With a 10-point stop the NQ maximum is 1.

Losing streak check

Plain arithmetic, not a forecast: at a fixed size, a run of full-stop losses costs the number of losses times the loss per trade. At 1% risk per trade, 5 losses in a row cost 5% of the starting account and 10 cost 10%.

Quick answers

How many NQ contracts should I trade with a $25,000 account?

The formula is contracts = (account × risk %) ÷ (stop in points × $20), rounded down: at 1% risk ($250) and a 10-point stop ($200 a contract) it gives 1 contract, and at a 20-point stop ($400) it gives 0 NQ or 6 MNQ.

What is the 1% rule in futures trading?

It caps the loss on any one trade at 1% of the account, so dollar risk = account × 0.01 ($250 on $25,000), and the stop distance and contract count are set so a full-stop loss stays within that figure.

How do I calculate position size for MNQ?

MNQ contracts = dollar risk ÷ (stop in points × $2), rounded down: $250 of risk with a 20-point stop is $250 ÷ $40 = 6.25, so 6 contracts.

How much do I lose if NQ moves 20 points against me on 2 contracts?

20 points × $20 × 2 contracts = $800, before commissions and slippage.

What is risk per contract?

Risk per contract = stop distance in points × point value, so a 15-point stop is $300 on NQ, $30 on MNQ, $750 on ES and $75 on MES.

How do I convert a stop in ticks to points?

Points = ticks × tick size, so a 40-tick stop is 10 points on NQ (tick 0.25, $200 a contract) but 4 points on RTY (tick 0.1, $200 a contract).

How much do 10 losing trades in a row cost at 1% risk?

At a fixed size risking 1% each, 10 full-stop losses cost 10 × 1% = 10% of the starting account ($2,500 on $25,000); that is arithmetic, not a forecast of how often it happens.

Is it better to trade MNQ than NQ with a small account?

MNQ is one tenth of NQ ($2 a point instead of $20), so size moves in steps of $2 a point rather than $20 and a stop too wide for one NQ can still fit the risk budget; commission is charged per contract, so 10 MNQ pay about 10 times the fees of one NQ. The trade-offs are worked through in NQ vs MNQ: which contract to trade.

Point and tick values: CME Group published contract specifications. Price movement only; commissions, fees and slippage are not included, and a stop can fill worse than its price in a fast market or a gap.

Choosing the stop comes first: how many points an NQ stop loss needs.

For systematic entries and exits on NQ, see STS NQ futures signals.