Futures position size calculator
Put in what you're willing to lose on the trade and where your stop is. It tells you how many contracts that is. Micros, minis, crude, gold and more, with the right point values, and a mode that sizes from your prop firm's daily limit.
- Risk per trade
- $150.00
- Risk per contract
- $40.00
- Actual risk at this size
- $120.00
- Stop
- 20 pts, 80 ticks
- Tick value
- $0.500
Set it as a rule in Actal and every trade you import is checked against it, along with your daily stop and max trades.
Journal for free →How it works
Position size comes from two numbers: how much you're willing to lose on this trade, and how much one contract loses if your stop gets hit. Divide the first by the second and round down.
Example: you risk $150, you trade MNQ, and your stop is 20 points away. One MNQ loses 20 × $2 = $40 at the stop. $150 ÷ $40 = 3.75, so you trade 3 contracts and your real risk is $120. Always round down. Rounding up is how $150 of risk quietly turns into $160.
The stop comes first and the size comes second. Put your stop where the idea is wrong, then size to it. Never move the stop closer just so you can trade more contracts.
Tick values for popular futures
A tick is the smallest price move. Tick value is what one tick is worth per contract. Point value is what a full 1.00 move is worth.
| Contract | Name | Point value | Tick size | Tick value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNQ | Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | $2 | 0.25 | $0.5 |
| NQ | E-mini Nasdaq-100 | $20 | 0.25 | $5 |
| MES | Micro E-mini S&P 500 | $5 | 0.25 | $1.25 |
| ES | E-mini S&P 500 | $50 | 0.25 | $12.5 |
| MYM | Micro E-mini Dow | $0.5 | 1 | $0.5 |
| YM | E-mini Dow | $5 | 1 | $5 |
| M2K | Micro E-mini Russell 2000 | $5 | 0.1 | $0.5 |
| RTY | E-mini Russell 2000 | $50 | 0.1 | $5 |
| MCL | Micro WTI Crude Oil | $100 | 0.01 | $1 |
| CL | WTI Crude Oil | $1,000 | 0.01 | $10 |
| NG | Natural Gas | $10,000 | 0.001 | $10 |
| MGC | Micro Gold | $10 | 0.1 | $1 |
| GC | Gold | $100 | 0.1 | $10 |
| SIL | Micro Silver | $1,000 | 0.005 | $5 |
| SI | Silver | $5,000 | 0.005 | $25 |
| 6E | Euro FX | $125,000 | 0.00005 | $6.25 |
| ZN | 10-Year T-Note | $1,000 | 0.015625 | $15.625 |
From the CME Group contract specifications. The same values Actal uses when it imports your trades.
Sizing for a prop firm evaluation
On an eval, your account size doesn't matter much. The drawdown and the daily loss limit do. That's what the "From prop firm limit" mode is for. Put in the firm's daily limit, stop yourself at about a quarter of it, and make sure four losers in a row fit inside that. With a $1,000 daily limit that's about $60 a trade, which is 1 MNQ with a 30 point stop.
It will feel small. That's the point. At that size one bad trade can't end the eval. I go through the full plan in how to pass a prop firm evaluation.
Sizing mistakes I see all the time
- Sizing from the account balance on a prop firm eval. A $50K eval with a $2,000 drawdown is a $2,000 account.
- Moving the stop closer so you can trade more contracts. The stop goes where the idea is wrong, then you size to it.
- Rounding up. 3.75 contracts is 3, not 4.
- Forgetting fees. On micros, fees are a real part of every trade.
- Sizing up after a green day because it feels safe. Size stays the same until your rules say otherwise.
- Doubling up after a loss to win it back. That one ends more accounts than anything else. More on that in how to stop revenge trading.
Questions people ask
Actal checks every trade you import against your rules: size, daily stop, max trades and a cooldown after a loss. Free during beta, no card.
Made by Joakim Jusell, futures trader and coach at Jusell Trading Academy.