Risk per trade calculator
What one trade costs at your chosen percentage, and how deep a losing run takes the account. The recovery column is the part most people have not looked at.
Risk on one trade
$500.00
After a losing run
5 losses$22598−9.6%+10.6% to recover
10 losses$20427−18.3%+22.4% to recover
15 losses$18464−26.1%+35.4% to recover
20 losses$16690−33.2%+49.8% to recover
Recovery is asymmetric: losing 20% needs a 25% gain to get back, and losing 50% needs 100%.
Set this as a rule →
Save it once and every check is measured against it.
What this covers
Fixed-fractional risk: each trade risks the same percentage of what remains.
Arithmetic on a streak length you choose. It makes no claim about how likely that streak is.
Excludes fees, which make every figure here slightly worse.
Formula and assumptions
Risk per trade = current equity × percentage.
After n losses, equity = starting equity × (1 − percentage)^n.
Drawdown = 1 − (remaining ÷ starting).
Recovery = the gain on remaining equity needed to return to the start.
Assumes each loss is exactly the planned amount — a gap makes it larger.
risk_per_trade.v1
Worked example
Example — not a forecast.
Account$25,000
Risk per trade2% = $500
After 10 losses$20,427
Drawdown18.3%
Gain needed to recover22.3%
Common mistakes
Choosing a percentage from what feels bearable on one trade rather than from what a run of ten does.
Ignoring that recovery is asymmetric — a 50% loss needs a 100% gain.
Raising risk after losses to make it back faster, which shortens the run to zero.
Applying a personal percentage to a prop account, where the firm's limit governs instead.
Limitations
This is arithmetic on numbers you supplied. It does not know your broker, your account, or the market. It does not predict price, does not say whether to take a trade, and is not advice. Maximelion is not affiliated with any broker or prop firm, and nothing here is endorsed by one.
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Last reviewed 25 July 2026