Trader calculating position risk before execution
← TRADING SYSTEM
TRADING / 02FIELD MANUAL

SURVIVAL BEFORE PERFORMANCE

Control the risk.
Protect the machine.

Your edge cannot express itself if one emotional decision can destroy the account. Risk is decided before entry, while the mind is still neutral.

Enter the system ↓

01 / THE FOUNDATION

What matters
before tactics.

01

Risk capital only

Never trade money required for rent, food, emergencies or debt payments. Financial pressure corrupts execution.

02

Fixed risk unit

Define 1R as the amount you accept losing if the planned stop is reached. Compare outcomes in R, not emotional euros.

03

Correlated exposure

Three positions driven by the same currency or macro idea may be one large trade disguised as three small trades.

EXAMPLE BALANCE€10,000

Educational example only.

RISK AT 0.50%€50 = 1R

The maximum planned loss.

FIVE LOSSES−2.5%

Before costs and slippage.

RECOVERY RULENo revenge sizing

Size stays inside the plan.

02 / THE PROTOCOL

Turn knowledge
into action.

Use the same sequence until good decisions become easier to reproduce under pressure.

01

Set account risk

A common educational framework uses 1–2% per trade. A more defensive operating range is 0.25–0.50%, especially while proving consistency.

02

Define technical invalidation

Place the stop where the setup is objectively wrong — not at an arbitrary distance and never where the loss merely feels comfortable.

03

Calculate size

Account balance × risk percentage = maximum loss. Divide that loss by the monetary value of the stop distance to calculate size.

04

Install circuit breakers

Choose a daily and weekly stop before trading. Example discipline rule: stop after 2 full losses or −1.5R in a day; review before returning.

THE MONEYMAKERS STANDARDClear rules.
Honest review.
Repeatable action.

FIELD CHECKLIST

01Is this genuinely risk capital?

02What is 1R today?

03Where is technical invalidation?

04What is total correlated exposure?

05What event or volatility risk is nearby?

06What ends today's session?

FAILURE PATTERNS

×Sizing first and inventing a stop later

×Increasing risk to recover a loss

×Treating prop-firm maximum loss as a personal risk target

×Assuming a stop guarantees the exact exit price

×Risking the same size in different volatility

03 / SOURCES & EVIDENCE

Built on more
than opinion.

CME — Trade and risk management↗CME — The 2% rule↗CFTC — Use risk capital only↗
FINAL STANDARD
“The goal is not to avoid every loss. The goal is to make every loss survivable, planned and useful.”
NEXT / REGULATE THE MIND. ↗