Results
| Daily loss floor (do not go below) | – |
| Daily loss allowance | – |
| Current equity | – |
| Maximum drawdown floor | – |
| Room to maximum drawdown floor | – |
| Risk per trade | – |
| Full-stop trades that fit before the floor | – |
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The same 5% measured three ways
Our example day starts slightly below the initial size: the closed balance is $9,850 and a trade carried over shows -$60, so start-of-day equity is $9,790. The table applies a 5% daily limit to that day. “Room” is the start-of-day equity minus the floor, before any new trade.
| Method | Reference | Allowance | Floor today | Room |
|---|
| 1. % of the initial balance, from start-of-day balance | $9,850 | $500 | $9,350 | $440 |
| 2. % of the start-of-day balance | $9,850 | $492.50 | $9,357.50 | $432.50 |
| 3. % of the start-of-day equity | $9,790 | $489.50 | $9,300.50 | $489.50 |
These figures only show the arithmetic. They are not a recommendation of any limit, position size or number of trades; your account’s own rules decide which line applies.
What changes on a $10k account
On a $10k account the numbers are small enough that position steps start to matter. On many accounts the smallest gold position is 0.01 lot; if one lot is 100 ounces, 0.01 lot moves $1 for every $1 in price. A 5% limit gives about $500 for the day, so 0.10 lot ($10 per $1 move) uses the whole allowance on a $50 move. Commission and swap, charged per lot, also take a bigger slice of a small allowance than they do on a large one.
One bad day on gold
Take a fresh day on which balance and equity both start at $10,000 and nothing is open, so all three methods give the same $500 allowance. You buy 0.1 lot of XAUUSD and gold falls $42 before you close. On many accounts one lot of gold is 100 ounces — check your contract specification — so each $1 move is worth $10 on 0.1 lot and the loss is $420. That is 84% of the day’s allowance, leaving $80. A second trade of the same size that ends the same way would cost another $420 and go $340 past the floor.
A stop is a request, not a promise: on news or in a fast market the fill can be several dollars away, so the real loss can be larger than planned.
Related
Change any field in the calculator above, or open the full daily loss calculator. If you want the limit held on your MetaTrader 5 account automatically, see the free MT5 Daily Loss Lock.
Questions
How much can I lose per day with 5% on a $10k account?
$500 if the percentage is taken from the initial balance. From a start-of-day value it is 5% of that value: $492.50 from a $9,850 balance or $489.50 from $9,790 of equity in our example.
Why is the room under the balance methods less than $500?
Because equity starts the day below the start-of-day balance: the open trade is $60 down, and that $60 is already counted against today when the day is measured from balance.
What is the smallest gold position on a $10k account?
On many accounts it is 0.01 lot, which is 1 ounce if one lot is 100 ounces. Check the contract specification in MetaTrader 5 for your own account.
Not financial advice. This calculator is a planning aid; your account’s own rules and figures always take precedence.
