How much can I risk?

All your open trades together may never risk 3% or more of your current balance. On the Alpine 2-Step and 1-Step, breaking this rule ends the account. On the Alpine Pass, you first get a warning; if it continues, your account can be paused.

How the risk of a trade is calculated

Risk = distance from your entry to your stop loss × position size × value per point. Only the price distance counts. Spread and commission are not included. Add up the risk of all your open trades and compare it with 3% of your current balance.

Example on a $100’000 balance

What counts

• Current balance: the 3% is measured on your balance at the time, so the limit moves with your closed profits and losses.
• Stop loss at break-even or better: that trade counts as 0% risk.
• Widening a stop loss: the risk is calculated again with the new stop loss.
• Trailing stops count like a normal stop loss.
• Pending orders do not count until they are filled.
• A buy and a sell on the same instrument both count in full. They do not cancel each other out.
• A stop loss added after you open the trade, even seconds later, does not count. The trade is treated as a trade without a stop loss.

Trades without a stop loss

Without a stop loss, the maximum lot sizes below apply. Each open trade counts as a share of its limit, and together they may not go over 100%.

Example on $50’000: 0.4 lots BTCUSD is 50% of the crypto limit, and 12 lots EURUSD is 60% of the forex limit. Together that is 110%, so it breaks the rule.

Mixed example on $50’000: a trade with a stop loss counts with its share of the 3% limit. A BTCUSD trade with 1.5% risk is 50% of the limit. With 12 lots EURUSD without a stop loss (60% of its limit), the total is 110%, so it breaks the rule.