Tools
Risk management calculator: risk per trade and daily loss limit
What one stop costs, which stop in a row ends your day, and what a losing streak does to the account. Three numbers worth knowing before the first trade of the day.
Risk per trade in money
Risk per trade = balance × risk percent. $10,000 × 1% = $100 — that's what one full stop costs. This number sets your position size: size = risk ÷ distance to stop (the position size calculator does it for you).
A percentage beats a fixed amount: as the account grows the risk grows with it, and in a drawdown it shrinks on its own.
Daily limit: which stop ends the day
Divide the daily limit by the risk per trade and round up — that's the stop in a row on which your day ends. A 3% limit at 1% risk ends on the third stop. A 5% limit at 2% risk: two stops make −4%, the third breaks the limit at −6%.
At prop firms the daily limit is a rule, not a wish. FTMO 2-Step sets it at 5% of the starting balance, FTMO 1-Step at 3% (checked against the firm's rules on 2026-09-23). Other firms' limits are on the prop firm rules pages.
Losing streaks and compounding
If risk is taken from the current balance, n stops in a row produce a drawdown of 1 − (1 − r)ⁿ: ten stops at 1% is −9.56%. If it's taken from the starting balance, it's simply n × r: ten stops at 1% is −10%.
You have to win back more than you lost: after a drawdown d you need a gain of d ÷ (1 − d). After −20% you need +25%, after −50% — +100%. That's why a daily limit protects the whole account, not just one day.
Frequently asked questions
- Risk on the current or the starting balance?
- On the current balance risk shrinks in a drawdown and grows with profit. On the starting balance it's simpler and matches how prop firms count their limits. What matters is picking one rule and not switching mid-streak.
- Why a daily limit if risk per trade is already capped?
- Risk per trade caps one stop, not a streak. Expensive days are usually several entries in a row after the first loss — the daily limit is what stops those.
- How do I stick to the limit, not just calculate it?
- Log trades as the day goes and watch what's left. The Trading OS journal computes the remaining daily limit from the day's closed trades for any account with a limit set.
What's left of the daily limit — as the day goes
Give an account a daily limit and the Trading OS journal shows how much more you can lose today, from your closed trades.
No sign-up — the journal runs in your browser; an account is only needed for sync.