Do you usually stick to one lot size or switch it up depending on the asset and market?
I mostly stick to micro lots, even when I think the market’s on my side. Is that ok or should I be adjusting more?
1 Like
I switch it up depending on the stop-loss size.
I keep my risk at a flat 1%.
The further the distance to wherever the chart tells me the stop-loss has to go, the smaller my lot size will be.
And vice-versa.
(Don’t most people do this?).
6 Likes
This right here.
Definitely better to adjust the lot size based on a set amount of risk than to have ever changing risk or arbitrary stop loss placement because of sticking to a particular lot size.
6 Likes
My position sizes are always different because as @Quantum-Trading mentioned, when you risk the same amount each trade your SL will always be different.
Since I trade off the daily & weekly charts and hold trades for days, I will split my position in 2, sometimes 4 separate positions depending on my target price. But my risk will never exceed what I am comfortable in losing.
6 Likes
Most profitable people, yes, but that’s not at all the same as “most people”, is it?
I guess a lot of people use an ATR multiple or factor as their stop loss, rather than any price action parameters.
That tells you that they haven’t tested it properly (or they wouldn’t be doing that?), which in turn tells you they’re not trading profitably. Not many people are.
4 Likes
No - I stick to one risk size, which means my lot size necessarily varies from trade to trade, exactly as everyone’s said above.
If a trade qualifies as an entry, in my method, then I know it has a positive expectation (and that isn‘t changed by the fact that some trades are losers, because nobody‘s win rate is 100%), and its risk level has also been pre-defined by my method’s research and testing, so I just have to work out the position size from the distance between the entry and the stop loss.
Otherwise I’d just be guessing.
I do ok (now - after the usual long, slow start) but I don’t pretend to be such a skilful or successful trader that I could do it by including guessing in the formula! 
1 Like
This is a really tricky question, because as traders we all need to have our own risk management strategy that’s tailored to our individual risk appetite.
What I mean by that is — if you’re more risk-active and can keep your psychology in check, then you might risk more — maybe 3–5% depending on the market conditions and what you see. But if you’re risking that much, you need to pay very close attention to what’s going on in the market at all times.
If you’re more risk-shy, then sticking to 0.1% to 1% is perfectly fine — especially when you’re still learning or trying to build consistency.
Now, I know a lot of traders aren’t going to like this…
But I’ll be honest — I very rarely use stop losses.
Instead, I manage risk through position sizing.
I never use more than 1–2% of my total capital on any single trade, and no more than 5% across all open trades.
Really, what I’ve come to understand is this:
When you think you know exactly what the market is going to do — that’s usually when it bites back. The market often does the complete opposite of what you expect.
So the key is this:
Get a solid risk management plan and stick to it.
Build a technical strategy that fits the market structure — whether it’s trending, ranging, or consolidating.
Journal everything so you can go back and see what works and what doesn’t.
I most often use a lot size of 0.01. I believe that using a lower lot size also lowers the risk level. This helps manage emotions.