Risk per trade
Risk per trade is how much of the account you accept losing if a single stop is hit. It is the decision that makes a bad streak either an inconvenience or the end of the account. Run this calculation now: lot size and position size calculator
Practical ranges
Between 0.5% and 2% of capital per trade is the range used by those who survive. Where you sit inside it depends on how many simultaneous positions you hold: three correlated positions at 2% each are not three 2% risks, they are one 6% risk in disguise.
The arithmetic that matters is the losing streak. At 1% per trade, ten losses in a row cost about 9.6% of the account — recoverable. At 5% they cost 40% and demand a 67% gain just to get back to par.
On a prop firm account
The daily limit imposes a ceiling the percentage alone cannot see: with a 5% daily limit and three possible trades per session, risking 2% each allows the day to blow up in three stops. Risk per trade must fit inside the daily limit with headroom, not the other way round.
TCC's position size calculator starts from cash risk, stop distance and point value, and returns the lot size — with daily limit consumption shown beside it.