Calculate the maximum whole futures contracts that fit inside the remaining daily loss allowance after realized loss, open risk, and a personal reserve.
STEP-BY-STEP
How to use this tool
- Enter the lower of the firm’s binding daily limit and your personal daily stop.
- Update realized loss and open risk before evaluating another trade.
- Leave a reserve for slippage, fees, calculation error, and unexpected volatility.
- Enter the technical stop distance and exact tick value for the chosen contract.
- Add fees and the separate firm or platform maximum contract rule.
- Use the rounded-down ceiling only after the complete pre-trade and account-rule checks pass.
WORKED EXAMPLE
See the calculation in context
A $1,000 daily limit minus $250 realized loss, $100 open risk, and a $150 reserve leaves $500 usable. At $104 risk per contract, the conservative ceiling is four contracts.
Calculation method
Usable allowance = daily loss limit − realized loss − open-position risk − personal reserve. Risk per contract = stop ticks × tick value + fees. Contract ceiling rounds usable allowance ÷ risk per contract down and applies the separate maximum rule.
AVOID THESE ERRORS
Common mistakes
- Entering net P&L when gross realized losses drive the rule
- Leaving open risk out of the daily calculation
- Treating the remaining allowance as a target to use
- Forcing a tighter stop so more contracts fit
- Using the wrong micro or full-size tick value
- Ignoring trailing or equity-based drawdown rules
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions and answers
Why subtract a personal reserve?
A reserve helps protect against slippage, fees, delayed exits, and differences between the estimate and the firm’s calculation.
Should profitable trades increase the daily loss allowance?
Do not assume so. Firms calculate daily loss differently, and some limits use balance, equity, high-water marks, or start-of-day values.
What if the result is zero?
The planned contract cannot fit inside the entered remaining allowance; reduce product size or stop for the day.