Position sizing when the correct stop is wider than you would like

[Shadow Trader]

Sweep based setups often demand a stop beyond the sweep extreme, and on volatile pairs that can mean forty or sixty pips. New traders respond by shrinking the stop to fit their usual lot size, which defeats the logic of the setup, because the stop now sits inside the zone where liquidity is being collected. The correct response is to start from the stop, not from the lot size. Decide the invalidation level first, measure the distance in pips, and then calculate the position size from your fixed risk amount. For example, if you risk one percent of your account and the stop is fifty pips, the lot size is whatever makes fifty pips equal to that one percent. Sometimes the resulting size is tiny, and that is fine. If it is so small that the profit potential is not worth the commission, skip the trade. What you must not do is let the lot size dictate the stop. This single habit removes a large share of the premature stop outs that people blame on manipulation when the real cause was a stop placed in the wrong spot.

[FXS HongKong Scalper]

Starting from the stop is the right approach. Many beginners do the opposite and end up with stops that make no sense for the setup. One thing I would add is to check that the target still gives an acceptable ratio with the wider stop. If the stop is 50 pips and the next liquidity level is only 40 pips away, the trade may not be worth taking.