Results
| Daily loss floor (do not go below) | – |
| Daily loss allowance | – |
| Current equity | – |
| Maximum drawdown floor | – |
| Room to maximum drawdown floor | – |
| Risk per trade | – |
| Full-stop trades that fit before the floor | – |
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The same 3% measured three ways
Our example day starts with a closed balance of $103,500 and a profitable trade carried over midnight at +$1,200, so start-of-day equity is $104,700. The table applies a 3% daily limit to that day. “Room” is the start-of-day equity minus the floor, before any new trade.
| Method | Reference | Allowance | Floor today | Room |
|---|
| 1. % of the initial balance, from start-of-day balance | $103,500 | $3,000 | $100,500 | $4,200 |
| 2. % of the start-of-day balance | $103,500 | $3,105 | $100,395 | $4,305 |
| 3. % of the start-of-day equity | $104,700 | $3,141 | $101,559 | $3,141 |
These figures only show the arithmetic. They are not a recommendation of any limit, position size or number of trades; your account’s own rules decide which line applies.
Why the reference point matters more at 3%
A 3% limit on $100k is $3,000, only a $30 move on one lot if one lot is 100 ounces. Tighter limits make the starting point of the day matter more: here the open +$1,200 lifts the equity-based floor to $101,559, above the initial balance. If that trade turns round and gives back its open profit, $1,200 of the $3,141 allowance is gone without a new trade being placed.
One bad day on gold
Take a fresh day on which balance and equity both start at $100,000 and nothing is open, so all three methods give the same $3,000 allowance. You buy 1 lot of XAUUSD and gold falls $25 before you close. On many accounts one lot of gold is 100 ounces — check your contract specification — so each $1 move is worth $100 on 1 lot and the loss is $2,500. That is 83.3% of the day’s allowance, leaving $500. A second trade of the same size that ends the same way would cost another $2,500 and go $2,000 past the floor.
A stop is a request, not a promise: on news or in a fast market the fill can be several dollars away, so the real loss can be larger than planned.
Related
Change any field in the calculator above, or open the full daily loss calculator. If you want the limit held on your MetaTrader 5 account automatically, see the free MT5 Daily Loss Lock.
Questions
What is a 3% daily drawdown on $100k?
$3,000 if the percentage is taken from the initial balance. Taken from a start-of-day value it is 3% of that value: $3,105 from a $103,500 balance or $3,141 from $104,700 of equity in our example.
Can the floor be above my initial balance?
Yes, when the account is in profit and the limit is measured from the start of the day. In our example every method puts the floor above $100,000.
Does the 3% reset at my local midnight?
Normally the day is counted from 00:00 on the broker server clock, which is the time MetaTrader 5 shows in Market Watch. Check your own account's rules for the exact reset time.
Not financial advice. This calculator is a planning aid; your account’s own rules and figures always take precedence.
