← Futures Method Reference · Position sizing
Reference · Daily tool

The Contract Calculator

Dollar-risk-first sizing, done for you. Enter the dollars you'll risk and the size of your stop, and it returns the number of contracts that makes that stop equal your risk — the one correct order from Module 01.

How to use it

Decide your dollar risk first. Place the stop where the idea is invalid (the session extreme / previous structure), and read its size off your chart. Then let the calculator set the contracts — never bend the stop to fit a size you want. If one contract already risks more than your budget, size down with micros or skip the trade.

Your inputs are saved on this device. The math: contracts = ⌊ amount risked ÷ (stop in points × $/point) ⌋.

The order never changes
Dollars → stop → contracts. Decide the dollars, place the honest stop, let the calculator set the size. Working backwards — picking a contract size and then squeezing the stop to fit — is how you end up stopped out of winners. If you don't like the stop, don't take the trade.

Contract values used

InstrumentTick size$ / tick$ / point
ES · E-mini S&P 5000.25 pt$12.50$50
MES · Micro S&P 5000.25 pt$1.25$5
NQ · E-mini Nasdaq-1000.25 pt$5.00$20
MNQ · Micro Nasdaq-1000.25 pt$0.50$2
YM · E-mini Dow1 pt$5.00$5
MYM · Micro Dow1 pt$0.50$0.50
RTY · E-mini Russell 20000.10 pt$5.00$50
M2K · Micro Russell 20000.10 pt$0.50$5

Every micro is 1/10 the size of its mini — the tool for sizing precisely and scaling out granularly (Module 01.4).

A calculator, not a green light
The number of contracts is only valid after the trade has passed every gate — alignment, the setup, a logical stop, and the grade. Sizing is the last step, not the reason to take a trade.

Keep these to hand

The tools you run every session.

Run it live

The Pre-Trade Checklist

Every make-or-break gate, in order — sizing (dollar-risk-first) is the last line. Saved per device; resets daily.

Module 01

Foundations — Futures & Risk

Where dollar-risk-first sizing, tick math, and minis-vs-micros are taught in full.