AlphaEngine OSHow the number is calculated
Every futures contract has a tick size (the smallest price step) and a tick value (what one step is worth in dollars for one contract). The calculator does three things:
- Risk per contract = stop distance in ticks × tick value.
- Contracts = your risk per trade ÷ risk per contract, rounded down.
- Real risk = contracts × risk per contract. In R it is real risk ÷ the risk you planned, so 0.8R means the trade risks 80% of your planned amount.
Example: a $50,000 account risking 0.5% plans $250. An 8-tick stop on ES is 8 × $12.50 = $100 per contract. $250 ÷ $100 = 2.5, so 2 contracts and $200 of real risk, or 0.8R.
Why it rounds the way it does
Contracts are rounded down, never up: a third contract in the example would risk $300, more than you planned. A stop in points that isn't a whole number of ticks is rounded up to the next tick, because the price can't stop between ticks and a wider stop costs more. The page tells you when it rounded.
When the result is zero, one contract with that stop already risks more than your number. The result is information, not a problem to solve by raising the risk. The micro of the same market is one tenth of the size; the page shows what it would risk.
Tick values used
From the CME Group contract specifications (minimum price fluctuation, outright), checked on 26 October 2026. Exchanges can change a specification; your platform shows the one in force.
| Contract | Exchange | Tick size | Tick value | Per point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES | CME | 0.25 | $12.50 | $50 |
| MES | CME | 0.25 | $1.25 | $5 |
| NQ | CME | 0.25 | $5.00 | $20 |
| MNQ | CME | 0.25 | $0.50 | $2 |
| YM | CBOT | 1 | $5.00 | $5 |
| MYM | CBOT | 1 | $0.50 | $0.50 |
| RTY | CME | 0.1 | $5.00 | $50 |
| M2K | CME | 0.1 | $0.50 | $5 |
| CL | NYMEX | 0.01 | $10.00 | $1,000 |
| MCL | NYMEX | 0.01 | $1.00 | $100 |
| GC | COMEX | 0.1 | $10.00 | $100 |
| MGC | COMEX | 0.1 | $1.00 | $10 |
What it doesn't know
It doesn't know commissions, fees, or a stop that fills a few ticks worse in a fast market. It doesn't connect to your broker and doesn't place anything: you type the size and the stop into your platform. Its job is narrower: the size is decided before the trade, by arithmetic, instead of in the moment.