Every professional trader will tell you the same thing: entries matter far less than sizing. A great entry with wrong sizing can blow an account. A mediocre entry with correct sizing is survivable.
Yet most retail traders spend 90% of their energy on finding the entry, and 0% on how much to risk.
The only number that matters
Before any trade, one question: what is the maximum amount I am willing to lose if this trade is wrong?
This should be a percentage of your total account, not a fixed dollar amount. The standard is 1–2% per trade. At 2% risk, you can lose 50 consecutive trades before your account reaches zero. At 10% risk, you're broke after 10 losses in a row.
Even skilled traders have losing streaks. A 10-trade losing streak with 10% risk is career-ending. With 1% risk, it's an uncomfortable but survivable month.
The math of position sizing
Once you know your risk percentage, the math is straightforward:
1. Account size × risk % = dollar risk (e.g., $10,000 × 2% = $200) 2. Entry price − stop loss price = points at risk (e.g., $150 − $147 = $3) 3. Dollar risk ÷ points at risk = shares (e.g., $200 ÷ $3 = 66 shares)
This is the maximum number of shares you can hold while keeping your risk at exactly $200.
Why most traders size incorrectly
The most common mistake is sizing based on how confident you feel. A "really good setup" gets more size. A shaky one gets less. The problem is that confidence has no predictive value — your most confident trades are not more likely to win.
Position size should be mechanical. Same risk percentage, every trade. The edge comes from the setup quality and consistency over hundreds of trades, not from guessing which ones will work.
Pivora and position sizing
The risk calculator in Pivora does this math automatically from the analysis output. Once a trade plan is generated — with entry, stop loss, and targets — enter your account size and risk percentage, and the calculator tells you exactly how many shares or contracts to take.