RiskGuard Calculator
Trade Size & Risk Planner
Stop guessing. This tool helps you calculate how big your position should be so that if price hits your stop loss, you only lose a small, fixed percentage of your account (for example 1%). Keep your risk constant, regardless of the leverage or asset volatility.
1. Account & Risk Settings
2. Trade Setup
Note: Leverage determines your margin, NOT your risk. This calculator adjusts position size so you only lose your Risk Amount.
Max Loss (Risk)
$0.00
Position Size
$0.00
0.00 Units
Margin Required
$0.00
Effective Lev.
0.00x
Ready to Calculate
Enter your account size, entry, and stop loss to see your position size.
Account Health View
Visualizing the risk relative to total capital.
Position Structure
Your Money (Margin) vs. Borrowed Money.
Trade Breakdown Details
| Metric | Value | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Distance to Stop | 0.00% | The price percentage move that hits your stop loss. |
| Risk per Unit | $0.00 | Loss incurred per single coin/share held. |
| Reward Target (2R) | $0.00 | Price needed to make 2x your risk (Standard profit target). |
The Math of Ruin
Why risk 1-2%? Because losses compound geometrically against you. If you lose 50% of your account, you don't need a 50% gain to recover—you need 100%.
Using this calculator ensures that a string of losses doesn't wipe you out, keeping you in the game long enough for your edge to play out.
Recovery Table
How to Use This Calculator
1. Account & Risk Settings
These are your “baseline” settings. You usually set them once at the start of a session, not for every single trade.
Account Balance
Enter your total trading capital in this account (for example: 10,000 for a 10,000 USDT account).
Risk per Trade (%)
Move the slider to the percentage you’re comfortable with.
- Conservative: 0.5%
- Standard: 1%–2%
- Aggressive: 3%–5% (higher stress, higher risk)
What it means:
If you set 1% on a 10,000 account, your maximum loss per trade is 100.
The calculator will size your position so that if your Stop Loss is hit, you lose around that amount — not more.
2. Trade Setup (Your Chart Data)
Next, you enter the numbers from your chart (TradingView, Binance, Bybit, etc.).
Long vs Short
- Choose Long if you think price will go up (buy low, sell high).
- Choose Short if you think price will go down (sell high, buy back lower).
Entry Price
The price where you plan to open the trade.
Stop Loss Price
The price level where your idea is “wrong” and you want to exit.
- For a Long, Stop Loss must be below the Entry.
- For a Short, Stop Loss must be above the Entry.
The distance between Entry and Stop is what the calculator uses to measure how much price can move against you.
3. Leverage (for Futures / Margin Trading)
Use this only if you’re trading with leverage (crypto futures, forex, etc.).
Leverage Slider
Set this to the leverage you actually use on your exchange (e.g. 5x, 10x, 20x).
Important:
- In this calculator, leverage does not change your risk.
- Your risk is still controlled by: Account Balance × Risk % × distance to Stop.
- Leverage only changes how much margin you need to open the position.
In simple terms:
- Higher leverage → you need less margin, but liquidation is closer.
- Lower leverage → you need more margin, but you have a bit more buffer before liquidation.
4. Reading the Outputs
Once you fill in the inputs, the results area will update automatically.
Position Size (USDT)
The total value of the position you should open.
Example: if it shows 5,000, you open a 5,000 USDT position on your exchange.
Position (Units / Coins)
How many coins/contracts this position size equals (for example 0.25 BTC, 1500 XRP, etc.).
Risk Amount
The amount you will lose if your Stop Loss is hit.
This should match your plan:
1% risk on a 10,000 account → around 100.
Margin Required
How much of your own money you need to open the trade, based on the leverage you selected.
- Higher leverage = smaller margin required.
- Lower leverage = larger margin required.
5. Example Scenario
You have a 10,000 account and want to risk 1% (100) on a Bitcoin long.
- Account: 10,000
- Risk: 1%
- Entry: 50,000
- Stop Loss: 49,000
The distance between Entry and Stop is 1,000, which is a 2% drop from 50,000.
To lose only 100 on a 2% price drop:
- The calculator will suggest a 5,000 position size.
- If BTC falls 2% (from 50,000 to 49,000), your 5,000 position also falls 2%.
- 2% of 5,000 = 100.
So when price hits your Stop Loss, you lose 100, which matches your 1% risk plan.
Use this tool before opening any trade. If the suggested position size feels too big or the stop loss feels too tight, it’s a sign to adjust the idea, not to randomly increase your risk.
The Math of Survival
"Amateurs worry about how much they can make. Professionals worry about how much they can lose." This calculator ensures that one bad trade doesn't wipe out your account.
🛡️ The Golden Rule of 1%
The standard advice for risk management is simple: Never risk more than 1% to 2% of your total account on a single trade.
Why? Because if you risk 10% per trade, a string of 5 losses (which happens to everyone) destroys 50% of your capital. If you risk 1%, 5 losses is just a 5% drawdown—an annoying scratch, not a fatal wound.
The "Drawdown" Trap:
- If you lose 10%, you need 11% gain to recover.
- If you lose 50%, you need 100% gain to recover.
- If you lose 90%, you need 900% gain to recover.
🛑 Invalidation Points
Your Stop Loss shouldn't be a random number. It should be your Invalidation Point—the price where your trade idea is proven wrong.
Once you know your Entry and your Invalidation Point, this calculator tells you exactly how many shares or coins to buy so that if you do hit that stop loss, you only lose your pre-set dollar amount (Risk).
This effectively removes emotion. You know exactly what the "worst case scenario" costs before you ever click Buy.
Risk Management FAQ
What is "Risk of Ruin"?
Risk of Ruin is the mathematical probability that you will lose your entire account balance. By keeping your position sizes small (adjusted for volatility), you statistically reduce your Risk of Ruin to near zero, allowing the "Law of Large Numbers" to play out in your favor over time.
How does Leverage affect this?
Leverage doesn't change where your stop loss is, but it changes how fast you get there. If you use high leverage, your Position Size must be smaller to maintain the same Dollar Risk. This tool calculates that automatically.
Disclaimer: Trading financial markets involves high risk and is not suitable for everyone. This tool is for educational position sizing only and does not provide investment advice.
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