Tools you can use before your next session.
Size a position with numbers rather than conviction, read the risk rules in plain English, and put a repeatable structure around the trading day.
How many contracts can you afford to trade?
Contract
MNQ · tick 0.25 = $0.50
Tick values follow CME contract specifications. Check your broker or prop firm for fees and any rule differences.
Contracts you can trade
12
- Risk budget
- $250.00
- Risk per contract
- $20.00
- Actual risk if stopped
- $240.00
The calculator is an educational tool and does not account for commissions, fees or slippage.
Risk is decided before reward.
A free 14-page guide to position sizing, daily and weekly limits and prop-firm drawdowns, with a written plan you can actually follow.
- Position sizing with worked ES and MNQ examples
- Daily, weekly and drawdown limits with clear responses
- Prop-firm trailing drawdowns explained with a worked example
- Printable checklist, Daily Risk Card and Risk Operating Plan
Documents you can print and reuse.
Pre-market checklist
Levels, news, setup criteria and your risk for the day, in ten minutes.
PDF · 1 page
Trade review template
Review the decision, not just the result. Five questions after every trade.
PDF · 1 page
Trading journal
Log setups, rule adherence and R-multiples. Copy it to your own Drive.
Google Sheets
Plain-English glossary
- Tick
- The smallest price movement a contract can make. Stop distances and targets are measured in ticks.
- Micro contract
- A smaller version of a full-size market. Same price data, one tenth the exposure per tick.
- R-multiple
- A trade result expressed in units of the risk you took. A 2R win is twice your planned risk.
- Trailing drawdown
- A prop-firm loss limit that moves up with your highest account balance. Profits raise the limit too, so they don't add to your cushion until the limit stops trailing (if the firm's rules allow it to stop).
Recommended reading
Trading in the Zone
Mark Douglas
An exploration of probability, uncertainty and the mental habits involved in disciplined trading.
Best Loser Wins
Tom Hougaard
A perspective on accepting losses, managing behaviour and thinking differently about trading performance.
Market Wizards
Jack D. Schwager
Conversations with accomplished traders examining different methods, risk approaches and professional mindsets.
The Mental Game of Trading
Jared Tendler
A practical framework for recognising and improving recurring emotional and decision-making patterns.
Book recommendations are provided for general educational interest. CM Futures is not affiliated with the authors or publishers.
Want help turning these into a process?
Apply first and we will arrange a free discovery call to confirm the programme suits where you are now.