Enter how much you are willing to lose and how far away your stop is. You get the number of contracts, the dollars really at risk with commission, and the micro contract to use when even one E-mini is too big.
How it works
Risk per contract. The stop distance in points times the contract's point value, plus the round turn commission. NQ is worth $20 a point and MNQ $2, so a 20 point stop costs $400 on NQ and $40 on MNQ before commission.
Number of contracts. Your risk budget divided by the risk per contract, rounded down. Rounding down keeps the real loss at the stop at or under your budget.
Micros when one E-mini is too big. Each micro is one tenth of its E-mini: MNQ for NQ, MES for ES, MYM for YM, M2K for RTY, MCL for CL and MGC for GC. When the budget can't cover one E-mini, the calculator sizes the micro instead.
Example
Risk $500 on NQ with a 20 point stop: 20 × $20 + $2.80 commission = $402.80 a contract, so 1 NQ with $402.80 at risk. Widen the stop to 30 points and one NQ costs $602.80, more than the budget, so the answer is 8 MNQ at $60.74 each, $485.92 at risk.
Questions
What is the tick value of NQ and MNQ?
Both move in 0.25 point ticks. An NQ tick is worth $5.00 ($20 a point) and an MNQ tick $0.50 ($2 a point). ES ticks are $12.50 and MES ticks $1.25.
Why include commission?
Because you pay it on every trade, win or lose. On a tight stop with several contracts it can add a real share to the loss, and prop firm loss limits count it.
How much should I risk on one trade?
That depends on your account's rules and is your call. A simple way to think about it: with a $1,000 daily loss limit, a $250 loss per trade leaves room for four losing trades in a day.
Does it work for forex or crypto?
This calculator is for futures contracts. Inside the ChartTrainer simulator the order ticket sizes forex lots, crypto coins and stock shares from your risk the same way.