Position sizing: the 0.01 per $1,000 rule
One number decides whether the record on this site becomes your record: the lot size. Here is the rule, why it is fixed, and how to scale it without breaking it.
The rule
0.01 lot for every $1,000 of balance. $1,000 → 0.01. $2,500 → 0.02. $5,000 → 0.05. Round down, never up. Every statistic on this site assumes this sizing; the 'if you had followed' calculator uses it; the risk line in each signal is computed with it.
Why fixed, not 'risk 1% of the stop'
Percent-of-stop sizing is correct in theory and dangerous in practice for signal followers: a wide-stop trade gets a small lot, a tight-stop trade gets a big one, and the big one is exactly where slippage at news hits hardest. A fixed lot per $1,000 keeps the dollar swing of every trade in the same range, which is what lets you sit through a red week without changing behaviour.
What it means in dollars
On XAUUSD, 0.01 lot moves $1 per pip ($0.10 of price). A typical stop of 120–170 pips therefore risks $12–17 per $1,000 — around 1.2–1.7% — and a TP2 of +85 pips returns $8.50. Over a month of 23 trades at 71% win rate that becomes the +12.4% you see on the record.
Scaling
- Recalculate on the 1st of each month from the closed balance. Not after every win, not after every loss.
- Withdrawals reduce the base; deposits increase it. The same way our record is measured net of flows, your size follows your real balance.
- Never scale into a trade. Two positions in the same zone at 0.01 each is 0.02 — that is a size decision, not a conviction decision.
Cent accounts and tiny balances
Below $1,000 the rule gives less than 0.01, which most brokers cannot fill. Options: fund to $1,000 minimum, use Exness Standard Cent (0.01 cent-lot = 0.0001 standard), or accept a slightly higher risk at 0.01 with a $500 balance — around 2.5–3.5% per trade. Know which you chose; do not drift.
Published 01 Sep 2026 · Updated 01 Sep 2026