Calculate a position size from the risk limit and stop you enter

Steps

1. 1

   Set your risk FIRST: either a % of your book size, or a direct £/$ amount — you choose the path, there is no pre-filled default.

2. 2

   Pick the mode that matches what you are sizing: Stocks, Options, or FX.

3. 3

   Stocks: enter your entry and stop — the sizer floors to a whole number of shares so you never risk more than you set.

4. 4

   Options: enter the max loss of ONE contract of your defined-risk structure (already the whole-contract £/$ figure) — the sizer floors to a whole number of contracts.

5. 5

   FX: enter the pair, lot type and stop distance in pips — the sizer floors your lot size down to 2 decimal places so your actual risk never exceeds your limit.

6. 6

   Read the result against your risk limit, not the other way round: if the size looks too big or too small for the trade, change your stop or your risk setting — do not chase a round number.

What the numbers mean

riskAmount

What: The £/$ amount you decided to risk on this trade, whichever way you set it — a % of your book, or typed directly.

How to read it: This is the number every size in this tool is built to stay at or under.

What it is not: It is not a target to hit and not a recommendation of how much you should risk — that limit is yours to set, and the course teaches the judgement behind it.

riskPct

What: The risk amount expressed as a percentage of the book size you entered.

How to read it: Compare it to the per-trade limit you already hold yourself to.

What it is not: It is not a suggested figure — this field ships blank on purpose; there is no default percentage anywhere in this tool.

entry

What: The price you intend to enter at.

How to read it: Used with your stop to work out the risk per share.

What it is not: It is not a live quote and not a prediction — it is the price you plan to use.

stop

What: The price at which this idea is wrong and you would exit for a loss.

How to read it: The distance between entry and stop is your risk per share; a tighter stop buys you a bigger position for the same £/$ risk.

What it is not: It is not a suggested level — it is the number you have already decided on.

shares

What: The number of shares your risk amount buys you at this entry/stop, floored down to a whole share.

How to read it: Multiply by your entry price to see the capital this actually deploys.

What it is not: It is not advice to take this position size, or to take the trade at all.

positionValue

What: The total capital this position ties up: shares × entry price.

How to read it: Compare it to your book size — a small risk can still deploy a large chunk of capital when the stop is tight.

What it is not: It is not the amount at risk; that is riskAtRoundedSize, which is usually much smaller.

pctDeployed

What: Position value as a percentage of the book size you entered.

How to read it: A useful sanity check alongside % risked — capital deployed and capital at risk are two different limits.

What it is not: It is not shown at all if you leave book size blank.

maxLossPerContract

What: The worst-case £/$ loss on ONE contract of the defined-risk options structure you are sizing, already scaled for the standard 100-share contract multiplier.

How to read it: Take it straight from your structure’s max-loss line (e.g. the net debit paid on a debit spread, ×100).

What it is not: It is not a per-share figure — do not enter the max loss before multiplying by 100, or the size will be 100x too big.

contracts

What: The number of contracts your risk amount buys at this max loss per contract, floored down to a whole contract.

How to read it: Multiply by the max loss per contract to see your actual risk at this size.

What it is not: It is not advice on which structure to use — that judgement is the course’s Options Structure Lab territory.

pair

What: The currency pair you plan to trade, e.g. EUR/USD.

How to read it: Used to detect the quote currency, which sets the pip size.

What it is not: It is not validated against a live symbol list — typos will silently mis-detect JPY pairs, so check the pip size shown looks right.

stopPips

What: Your stop distance in pips.

How to read it: Combined with pip value per lot to work out how many lots fit your risk amount.

What it is not: It is not a suggested distance — it is the stop you have already set.

pipSize

What: The price movement one pip represents for this pair: 0.0001 normally, 0.01 when the quote currency is JPY.

How to read it: Detected automatically from the pair you typed — check it against your broker if the pair is unusual.

What it is not: It is not editable — it is derived, not a setting.

pipValue

What: How much one pip of movement is worth, in your account currency, for one whole lot of the size you chose.

How to read it: pipValue = lot units × pip size × your quote-to-account conversion rate.

What it is not: The conversion rate is whatever you entered (default 1, labelled indicative) — enter your broker’s actual rate for an accurate figure, this is not a live FX quote.

lots

What: The lot size your risk amount buys at this stop distance, rounded DOWN to 2 decimal places.

How to read it: Rounding down means your actual risk at this size is always at or under your risk amount, never over it.

What it is not: It is not rounded to the nearest broker minimum lot step — check your broker allows the size shown.

riskAtRoundedSize

What: What you actually risk once your size is rounded down to a whole share, contract, or 2dp lot — always at or below the risk amount you set.

How to read it: The gap between this and your risk amount is the small "left on the table" from rounding down, on purpose, so you never risk more than you chose.

What it is not: It is not your risk amount restated — if the two numbers differ, rounding is why.