MetaTrader will let you open almost any position your margin permits, and it offers no opinion on whether you should. The platform’s job is execution; the sizing decision is entirely yours, and this lesson covers how to verify it using what the terminal actually shows you.
Reading the contract specification
Every sizing calculation starts here, and it takes ten seconds.
Market Watch → right-click symbol
→ Specification
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Contract size | Units per standard lot |
| Digits | Decimal places — defines a pip |
| Minimum volume | Smallest position allowed |
| Volume step | Increment between sizes |
| Margin | Collateral per lot |
| Swap long / short | Overnight cost |
| Stops level | Minimum stop distance |
| Trading hours | Including the daily break |
Contract size and digits together
These two fields answer the gold pip question the Gold Trading section raised.
XAU/USD example
Contract size: 100
Digits: 2
→ 1 standard lot = 100 oz
→ $1 price move = $100 per lot
→ Smallest quote increment = 0.01
Whatever your broker calls a “pip” on gold, the contract size tells you what a dollar of price movement is worth, and that is the number position sizing actually needs.
Work in dollars of price movement rather than pips on gold and the ambiguity disappears entirely.
Verifying pip value directly
A practical check that takes two minutes and removes all doubt.
1. Open a minimum-size position
(0.01 lots)
2. Note the current price and the
floating P/L
3. Wait for a visible price move
4. Note the new price and P/L
5. Divide the P/L change by the
price change
This gives you the value per unit of price movement on your actual account, in your actual account currency, with your broker’s actual contract size.
Worth doing once per instrument you trade. Write the result down.
The Pip Value calculator gives the same figure without opening a position, and cross-checking the two confirms you have the right inputs.
Reading the Trade tab
The account figures at the bottom of the Trade tab, and what each actually tells you.
| Figure | Meaning | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Balance | Closed-trade value | Little, day to day |
| Equity | Balance + floating P/L | Position sizing |
| Margin | Collateral in use | Capacity check |
| Free Margin | Equity − margin | Whether an order will fill |
| Margin Level | Equity ÷ margin × 100 | Distance from trouble |
Size from equity, not balance. If you hold open positions, balance overstates what the account is worth. Equity is the live figure.
Margin level below 100% means your open positions require more collateral than your equity covers. Brokers issue margin calls somewhere near this and stop out lower.
With 1% risk per trade and a total exposure cap, margin level should never be a number you think about. If you are watching it, positions are too large.
Checking margin before opening
The order window shows the margin required for the volume you have entered, before you submit.
Worth glancing at, particularly on gold and indices where margin requirements are higher than on major pairs.
The Margin calculator gives the figure in advance if you prefer to check before opening the window.
The margin figure tells you what the broker holds as collateral. Your risk is the stop distance multiplied by position size, which is usually far smaller — or unlimited if you have no stop. Traders who size positions by what their margin permits have confused capacity with appropriateness, and the platform will not correct them.
The default volume trap
Worth repeating from the interface lesson because it is a genuine account risk.
MetaTrader‘s order window and one-click panel open with a default volume. The platform default is often 1.0 lots.
If your calculated size is 0.03 and you submit without changing the volume, you have opened a position roughly thirty times larger than intended.
Tools → Options → Trade
Set default volume to your broker’s
minimum (usually 0.01)
Two minutes, once, and a mis-click costs almost nothing afterwards.
Volume step and rounding
Position size calculations rarely produce a valid lot size directly.
Calculation result: 0.167 lots
Volume step: 0.01
Valid: 0.16
Invalid: 0.167
Round DOWN to 0.16
Rounding up pushes risk above your limit. It is a small amount each time and it compounds into a systematic breach of the rule you set.
On accounts where the minimum volume is 0.10 rather than 0.01, small accounts may find the calculated size is below what the broker allows. That is information about whether the account is ready for that instrument, not a reason to round up.
A pre-trade verification sequence
Ten seconds, every trade.
1. Equity — current, not balance
2. 1R in money (equity × risk %)
3. Stop distance (crosshair measure)
4. Lot size (calculator)
5. Round down
6. Margin available — order window
7. Submit with stop and target
Steps 1 and 2 change slowly; steps 3 to 5 change every trade.
Account currency effects
Relevant if your account is not denominated in USD.
Pip values are typically expressed in the quote currency of the pair, then converted to your account currency at the current rate.
On EUR/USD with a USD account, a standard lot pip is $10 consistently. With a EUR account, the same pip converts to a euro amount that fluctuates with the exchange rate.
On pairs where neither currency is your account currency — GBP/JPY on a USD account — the pip value moves continuously.
The practical handling: use a pip value calculator set to your account currency rather than assuming a fixed figure. On cross pairs this matters on every trade rather than occasionally.
Verifying a copier’s sizing
A specific check for anyone using automated copying.
Copiers apply their own lot sizing rules — fixed lot, risk percentage, or a multiplier of the signal’s stated size. Which one is configured determines your exposure entirely.
Worth verifying on the first few copied trades: open the Trade tab, check the volume that actually got placed, and confirm it matches what your risk percentage should produce for that stop distance.
Telegram Trade Linker supports risk-based sizing along with daily loss limits, so the configuration can be set to match your risk plan rather than a fixed lot. But the configuration is yours to set, and checking the first few trades confirms it is doing what you intended rather than what you assumed.
What to do next
The next lesson covers indicators and templates — adding them, configuring them, and installing custom ones correctly.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find pip value in MetaTrader?
It is not displayed directly. Open the symbol’s contract specification for contract size and digits, or open a 0.01 lot position and divide the floating P/L change by the price change to measure it on your actual account.
Should I size positions from balance or equity?
Equity. If you hold open positions, balance overstates what the account is currently worth. Equity includes floating profit and loss and is the live figure.
Does the margin figure tell me my risk?
No. Margin is collateral the broker holds and tells you what you are permitted to open. Risk is stop distance multiplied by position size — usually far smaller, or unlimited without a stop.
Why should I change the default lot size?
Because MetaTrader’s default is often 1.0 lots. If your calculated size is 0.03 and you submit without changing the volume, the position is roughly thirty times larger than intended. Set the default to the broker minimum.
Should I round lot size up or down?
Down, always. Rounding up pushes risk above the limit you set, and the small excess each time compounds into a systematic breach of your own rule.
How do I check a copier is sizing correctly?
Look at the Trade tab on the first few copied trades and confirm the placed volume matches what your risk percentage should produce for that stop distance. Copiers apply whatever sizing rule is configured, not what you assumed.