Risk per trade and prop guards
Risk per trade
Risk per trade (% of balance) sets the size of every trade: the bot works out the lot size so that hitting the stop loss loses that percentage. A wider stop means a smaller lot, so risk stays the same.
Fill in from a prop firm account
Choose your firm and account in Fill in from a prop firm account and the guards below are set to that account's rules (with the date we checked them). You can still change any of them.
The guards
Prop guards stop the strategy before it breaks a firm's rule. Live, MT5, MT4, cTrader and NinjaTrader check them on every price tick, including losses on open trades. When one is hit, open trades are closed and trading stops.
| Guard | What it does |
|---|---|
| Daily loss stop % | Stops for the rest of the day at this loss. Measured on the starting balance or the day's starting balance, like your firm. |
| Trading day resets at | The hour your firm's day starts again. |
| Maximum loss % and type | Static, trailing (follows your highest balance), or trailing until it locks at the start. Stops for good when reached. |
| Stop this far above the limit | A safety margin so slippage can't push you over the real limit. 1% is a sensible start. |
| Most trades per day | Caps how many trades open in one day. |
| Stop for good at this profit % | Usually the challenge's profit target: once passed, stop trading. |
| Stop for the day after this profit % | Helps with best-day (consistency) rules by not letting one day get too big. |
| Close everything on Friday | Closes trades before the weekend at the time you choose. |
Important: guards lower the risk of breaking a rule; they can't remove it. Prices can gap past a level, and a platform can be slow. Leave a buffer, and never trade the same account by hand at the same time as the bot.
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