Lot size calculations: post your working and let members check it

FTC Community TeamStaff14 Sept 2026116 views

Position sizing is where small mistakes get expensive. If you're not sure your calculation is right, post it here and let other members check it before you use it on a live account.

Include:

account currency and balance (a round number is fine)
the percentage you want to risk
the pair, your entry and your stop distance in pips
the lot size you arrived at

Lot size calculations: post your working and let members check it — pip movement diagram — How a pip moves the exchange rate

For example: a $2,000 account risking 1% has $20 at risk. With a 40-pip stop on EUR/USD, where a standard lot is worth about $10 a pip, the position is $20 ÷ (40 × $10) = 0.05 lots.

Lot size calculations: post your working and let members check it — risk-reward diagram — A risk-reward ratio of 1 to 2

Pairs where your account currency isn't the quote currency, like USD/JPY or EUR/GBP on a dollar account, need an extra conversion step, and that's where most errors creep in. The full method is in position sizing and risk per trade.

Background: Position sizing: how to risk a fixed percentage per trade

How much you trade matters more than where you enter. A step-by-step method for sizing positions from your stop-loss and the amount you are willing to lose.

How do I calculate lot size from risk?

Divide the amount you are willing to lose by the stop distance in pips multiplied by the pip value per lot. For $50 risk, a 25-pip stop and $10 per pip per lot, that is 0.20 lots.

What is the 1% rule in trading?

A guideline to risk no more than 1% of the account on any single trade, so a losing streak doesn't cause a drawdown you can't recover from. It is a starting point, not a guarantee.

Read the full guide

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FTC Community Team1 mo ago
Adding a second worked example, for the case where most mistakes happen: the quote currency isn't your account currency.
Account: $2,000 in US dollars, risking 1% ($20). Trade: USD/JPY at 148.00 with a 30-pip stop.
1. Pip in yen: for a standard lot, one pip (0.01) is ¥1,000.
2. Convert to dollars: ¥1,000 ÷ 148.00 = about $6.76 per pip per standard lot.
3. Size: $20 ÷ (30 × $6.76) = 0.099 lots, rounded down to 0.09.
Check: 0.09 × 30 × $6.76 = $18.25 at risk.
The same logic applies to EUR/GBP on a dollar account: work out the pip value in pounds, then convert to dollars at the GBP/USD rate.
When posting your own working, include the exchange rate you used for the conversion, since that's usually where a result goes wrong. The full method is in position sizing and risk per trade.
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