Never Risk More Than 2% Per Trade (2024)

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How much should you risk per trade?

Great question.

Try to limit your risk to 2% per trade.

But that might even be a little high. Especially if you’re a newbie forex trader.

Never Risk More Than 2% Per Trade (1)

Here is an important illustration that will show you the difference between risking a small percentage of your capital per trade compared to risking a higher percentage.

Risking 2% vs. 10% PerTrade

Trade #Total Account2% risk on each tradeTrade #Total Account10% risk on each trade
1$20,000$4001$20,000$2,000
2$19,600$3922$18,000$1,800
3$19,208$3843$16,200$1,620
4$18,824$3764$14,580$1,458
5$18,447$3695$13,122$1,312
6$18,078$3626$11,810$1,181
7$17,717$3547$10,629$1,063
8$17,363$3478$9,566$957
9$17,015$3409$8,609$861
10$16,675$33310$7,748$775
11$16,341$32711$6,974$697
12$16,015$32012$6,276$628
13$15,694$31413$5,649$565
14$15,380$30814$5,084$508
15$15,073$30115$4,575$458
16$14,771$29516$4,118$412
17$14,476$29017$3,706$371
18$14,186$28418$3,335$334
19$13,903$27819$3,002$300

You can see that there is a big difference between risking 2% of your account compared to risking 10% of your account on a single trade!

If you happened to go through a losing streak and lost only 19 trades in a row, you would’ve gone from starting with $20,000 to have only $3,002 left if you risked 10% on each trade.

You would’ve lost over 85% of your account!

If you risked only 2% you would’ve still had $13,903 which is only a 30% loss of your total account.

Of course, the last thing we want to do is to lose 19 trades in a row, but even if you only lost 5 trades in a row, look at the difference between risking 2% and 10%.

If you risked 2% you would still have $18,447.

If you risked 10% you would only have $13,122.

That’s less than what you would’ve had even if you lost all 19 trades and risked only 2% of your account!

The point of this illustration is that you want to set up your riskmanagement rules so that when you do have a drawdown period, you will still have enough capital to stay in the game.

Can you imagine if you lost 85% of your account?!!

You would have to make 566% on what you are left with in order to get back to breakeven!

Trust us, you do NOT want to be in that position.

“What Do I Have to Do to Get Back to Breakeven?”

Here is a table that will illustrate what percentage you would have to make to break even if you were to lose a certain percentage of your account.

Loss of Capital% Required to get back to breakeven
10%11%
20%25%
30%43%
40%67%
50%100%
60%150%
70%233%
80%400%
90%900%

You can see that the more you lose, the harder it is to make it back to your original account size.

This is all the more reason that you should do everything you can to PROTECT your account.

Not sure how well (or poorly) your trade went?

Use our Gain & Loss Percentage Calculator to help you know what percentage of the account balance you have won or lost.

It also estimates a percentage of current balance required to get to the breakeven point again.

Never Risk More Than 2% Per Trade (2)

By now, we hope you have gotten it drilled into your head that you should only risk a small percentage of your account pertrade so that you can survive your losing streaks and also avoid a large drawdown in your account.

Remember, you want to be the casino… NOT the gambler!

Never Risk More Than 2% Per Trade (3)

Never Risk More Than 2% Per Trade (2024)

FAQs

Never Risk More Than 2% Per Trade? ›

One popular method is the 2% Rule, which means you never put more than 2% of your account equity at risk (Table 1). For example, if you are trading a $50,000 account, and you choose a risk management stop loss of 2%, you could risk up to $1,000 on any given trade.

Is it 1% or 2% risk per trade? ›

Lesson summary. Always calculate your maximum risk per trade: Generally, risking under 2% of your total trading capital per trade is considered sensible. Anything over 5% is usually considered high risk.

What is 2% risk in trading? ›

NEVER RISK MORE THAN 2 PERCENT OF YOUR CAPITAL ON ANY ONE STOCK. This means that a run of 10 consecutive losses would only consume 20% of your capital. It does not mean that you need to trade 50 different stocks!

How many percent should I risk per trade? ›

Risk per trade should always be a small percentage of your total capital. A good starting percentage could be 2% of your available trading capital. So, for example, if you have $5000 in your account, the maximum loss allowable should be no more than 2%. With these parameters, your maximum loss would be $100 per trade.

Can I risk 5% per trade? ›

Some aggressive traders, with a high risk appetite, could risk between 2% and 5% of their total trading capital per trade. This approach may result in high returns but with the attendant risk of incurring huge, unexpected losses. They are well-informed and knowledgeable about the volatility of the market.

What is the 2% rule of trading? ›

One popular method is the 2% Rule, which means you never put more than 2% of your account equity at risk (Table 1). For example, if you are trading a $50,000 account, and you choose a risk management stop loss of 2%, you could risk up to $1,000 on any given trade.

What is the 2% risk in day trading? ›

The 2% rule in investing suggests that you should never risk more than 2% of your capital on any single trade or investment. This approach helps manage risk by limiting potential losses and preserving capital for future opportunities.

What is 1% risk per trade? ›

The 1% rule demands that traders never risk more than 1% of their total account value on a single trade. In a $10,000 account, that doesn't mean you can only invest $100. It means you shouldn't lose more than $100 on a single trade.

What is the 2% rule investopedia? ›

The 2% rule is a money management strategy where an investor risks no more than 2% of available capital on a single trade. Downside risk is an estimation of a security's potential loss in value if market conditions precipitate a decline in that security's price.

What is the 1% rule in swing trading? ›

The 1% rule in swing trading means that you should not lose more than 1% of your capital on a single trade, regardless of whether you use a stop loss or not. It's important to follow this rule to manage risk effectively.

What is 90% rule in trading? ›

Understanding the Rule of 90

According to this rule, 90% of novice traders will experience significant losses within their first 90 days of trading, ultimately wiping out 90% of their initial capital.

What is the highest risk per trade? ›

Calculate your maximum risk per trade

Choosing how much to risk per trade is all about your personal circ*mstances. You'll find some guidance that says don't risk more than 1% of your trading capital per trade, while others say it's ok to go up to 10%.

What is the 80% rule in trading? ›

The 80% Rule is a Market Profile concept and strategy. If the market opens (or moves outside of the value area ) and then moves back into the value area for two consecutive 30-min-bars, then the 80% rule states that there is a high probability of completely filling the value area.

Can I risk 2% per trade? ›

Always calculate your maximum risk per trade: Generally, risking under 2% of your total trading capital per trade is considered sensible. Anything over 5% is usually considered high risk.

What is the 3% rule in trading? ›

3% Rule: This suggests risking no more than 3% of your trading capital on any single trade. This helps limit the potential loss from any one trade and protects your overall capital.

What is the 5-3-1 rule in trading? ›

The 5-3-1 rule in Forex is a trading strategy based on three key principles: choosing five currency pairs to trade, developing three trading strategies, and choosing one time of day to trade.

What is 1 to 2 risk reward ratio trading? ›

The risk of losing $50 for the chance to make $100 might be appealing. That's a 1:2 risk-reward, which is a ratio where a lot of professional investors start to get interested because it allows investors to double their money. Similarly, if the person offered you $150, then the ratio goes to 1:3.

What is 1% risk day trading? ›

Enter the 1% rule, a risk management strategy that acts as a safety net, safeguarding your capital and fostering a disciplined approach to navigate the market's turbulent waters. In essence, the 1% rule dictates that you never risk more than 1% of your trading capital on a single trade.

What does a 1% risk mean? ›

If only 1 in 100 individuals without exposure develop the disease, then the absolute risk for developing the disease without exposure would be 1% or 1:100. Thus the relative risk of developing the disease would be 0.1 / 0.01 = 10.

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