Futures Position Size Calculator

What is futures position sizing?

Futures position sizing is the process of working out how many contracts to trade so that a stop-loss being hit costs no more than the maximum amount you're willing to risk. Because every futures contract has a fixed dollar value per tick or point of price movement, the number of contracts you can safely hold depends directly on your account balance, your stated risk, and how far away your stop is.

How the calculator works

Select a contract, enter your account balance and how much you're willing to risk (as a dollar amount or a percentage of your account), and enter your stop distance in points or ticks. The calculator updates immediately as you type. There is no Calculate button.

The position-sizing formula

Saviqor applies four steps:

1. Convert your stated risk (a dollar amount, or a percentage of your account balance) into a maximum dollar risk budget.
2. Convert your stop distance into ticks, using the selected contract's tick size.
3. Multiply the stop distance in ticks by the contract's tick value, giving the dollar risk of one contract at that stop distance.
4. Divide your risk budget by the one-contract risk, and round down to the nearest whole contract.

Points vs. ticks

A point is a full 1.00 move in a contract's price. A tick is the smallest price increment the exchange allows for that contract. For example, MES moves in 0.25-point ticks, so a 10-point stop is 40 ticks. You can enter your stop distance in either unit; the calculator converts between them using the selected contract's tick size.

Tick value and point value

Tick value is the dollar amount one contract gains or loses when the price moves by one tick. Point value is the dollar amount for a full 1.00 move: equal to the tick value divided by the tick size. Both are fixed per contract and are shown alongside the contract selector above.

Risk by dollars vs. percent

You can state your risk either as a fixed dollar amount or as a percentage of your account balance. The calculator converts either into the same underlying dollar budget. Neither is inherently correct; use whichever matches how you plan your risk. Saviqor does not recommend a specific risk percentage: that decision depends on your own trading plan and risk tolerance.

Worked examples

MES, $10,000 account, $500 risk, 10-point stop (40 ticks, $1.25/tick): risk per contract is $50.00, so the calculator recommends 10 contracts, for an actual risk of $500.00 (5.00% of the account).

MNQ, $5,000 account, 2% risk ($100), 20-point stop (80 ticks, $0.50/tick): risk per contract is $40.00, so the calculator recommends 2 contracts, for an actual risk of $80.00 (1.60% of the account), a little under the full $100 budget, since 2 is the largest whole number of contracts that doesn't exceed it.

Why contract quantities round down

Fractional contracts can't be traded, so the calculator has to round somewhere. Rounding down guarantees the position it recommends never risks more than you stated. Rounding up or to the nearest whole contract could push actual risk past your stated maximum, which Saviqor treats as the single most important rule in the product.

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