Position size
How many contracts
can your drawdown carry?
Size from the drawdown, not from the account size. Pick an account or type your figures, set your stop in ticks, and decide how many full losses in a row the account must survive.
In short Divide the drawdown by the number of full losses the account must survive, then by the risk of one contract (stop in ticks × tick value, plus fees). On a 2,000 dollar drawdown with a 40-tick stop and 8 losses to survive, that is 1 NQ contract (200 dollars of risk) or 12 MNQ.
Contracts
1 NQ
Switch to MNQ: 12 contracts
- Risk per contract
- $200.00
- Risk per trade
- $200.00
- Share of the drawdown per trade
- 10%
- Full losses before the floor
- 10
The same stop on every contract
Contracts allowed by your drawdown and your number of losses, at 40 ticks.
| Contract | Tick value | Risk per contract | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| NQ E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 = $5.00 | $200.00 | 1 |
| MNQ Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 = $0.50 | $20.00 | 12 |
| ES E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 = $12.50 | $500.00 | 0 |
| MES Micro E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 = $1.25 | $50.00 | 5 |
| YM E-mini Dow | 1 = $5.00 | $200.00 | 1 |
| MYM Micro E-mini Dow | 1 = $0.50 | $20.00 | 12 |
| RTY E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.1 = $5.00 | $200.00 | 1 |
| M2K Micro E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.1 = $0.50 | $20.00 | 12 |
| CL Crude Oil | 0.01 = $10.00 | $400.00 | 0 |
| MCL Micro Crude Oil | 0.01 = $1.00 | $40.00 | 6 |
| GC Gold | 0.1 = $10.00 | $400.00 | 0 |
| MGC Micro Gold | 0.1 = $1.00 | $40.00 | 6 |
Contracts = drawdown ÷ (losses to survive × (stop in ticks × tick value + fees)), rounded down.
Account data of October 15, 2026. A calculator, not advice: check the figures against the firm's own rules page before you buy.
Trading the footprint? Budget the DeepChartsOFF licence and its market data on top of the evaluation.
Questions traders ask
How many contracts should I trade on a 50K prop firm account?
It depends on the drawdown and your stop, not on the 50K. With a 2,000 dollar drawdown, a 40-tick stop and 8 losses to survive, the budget per trade is 250 dollars: 1 NQ (200 dollars per contract) or 12 MNQ (20 dollars each). A tighter stop or fewer losses to survive allows more.
How much is one tick worth on NQ, MNQ, ES and MES?
NQ: 0.25 point, 5 dollars. MNQ: 0.25 point, 0.50 dollar. ES: 0.25 point, 12.50 dollars. MES: 0.25 point, 1.25 dollar. Ten micros carry the same exposure as one mini.
How many losses in a row should a prop firm account survive?
A common rule of thumb is 8 to 10 full losses. Losing streaks of 6 to 8 trades happen even to traders with a positive edge, and an evaluation is lost at the first touch of the floor.
Does a trailing drawdown change the position size?
Yes. With an intraday trailing drawdown, open profit that comes back also eats your room, so size as if a full give-back were a loss. The calculator uses the drawdown you have left: update it after every session.