Understanding Position Sizing: KESUSD Example
Many new traders focus solely on entries, but proper position sizing is arguably more critical for long-term survival. It's about determining how much capital to risk on a single trade, usually as a percentage of your total trading account. For instance, if you risk 1% of a $10,000 account, that's $100 per trade. If you're trading $KESUSD currently at 0.00773994 and your stop loss implies a certain number of pips, your position size is adjusted so that the dollar value of that stop loss doesn't exceed your $100 risk limit. This prevents any single loss from being devastating, allowing you to stay in the game even after a string of wrong calls.
This is a really helpful point about position sizing. I've definitely been guilty of focusing too much on just the entry. How do you decide what percentage of your account is the right amount to risk per trade, especially when you're starting out?