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03 · Level 3Position size, drawdown, margin calls, and the habits that empty an account faster than any bad entry. Twelve lessons.

Risk and the mind: how accounts survive

  1. 3.1

    Risk per trade: the 1-2% rule

    Deciding the money you can lose on one trade before deciding anything else. Everything downstream — size, stop, target — follows from that number.

  2. 3.2

    Working out position size

    Risk in money, divided by the stop distance in pips, divided by pip value. Three numbers you already have, in that order.

  3. 3.3

    Risk and reward

    What the ratio between stop and target does to the hit rate you need. The arithmetic is fixed; the ratio you can actually get is not.

  4. 3.4

    Drawdown and losing streaks

    How far an account falls from its peak, and why a run of losses is normal rather than evidence that something broke.

  5. 3.5

    Margin call and stop out

    The two thresholds at which a broker warns you and then closes your positions, and the numbers that bring an account to them.

  6. 3.6

    Fear, greed and FOMO

    The three states in which traders break their own rules, and what each one feels like from the inside while it happens.

  7. 3.7

    Overtrading and chasing losses

    Two patterns that turn one bad trade into a bad week: trading more often than the plan allows, and raising size to win it back.

  8. 3.8

    Discipline: the rules you do not break

    A short written routine before, during and after the session — the part of trading that is the same every day.

  9. 3.9

    Signals, robots and copy trading

    Three ways to hand decisions to someone else, what each one actually copies, and what stays your risk regardless.

  10. 3.10

    Checking a broker in the local register

    Where the register is, what to type into it, and which answers mean the licence does not cover what you were offered.

  11. 3.11

    Tax on trading in your country

    Which authority wants to hear about trading results, what kind of income they are treated as, and what records to keep from the start.

  12. 3.12

    Taking your money out

    The route a withdrawal takes, how long each step holds it, and the checks that stop one.

What changes in how an account is handled

At the end of this level a reader can take a chart they already know how to read and decide how much money to put behind one idea. That decision comes before the entry, not after it. The reader learns to pick a number in rupees, set it against the distance to the stop, and let that produce a position size. The habit is simple to describe and slow to acquire. It is the first point in the course where money is treated as something that can run out.

The earlier levels taught direction and chart reading. They did not teach survival. A reader who can spot a setup but risks the whole account on it is one bad week from stopping. This level puts a limit on each trade and a limit on the week. The limit is chosen in advance and written down. The reader then follows it when the market is open and the outcome is unknown. That is a different skill from analysis, and it is practised separately.

The order matters. Risk per trade comes first because every later number depends on it. Position size follows, then the comparison of what is risked against what is aimed for. Drawdown and losing streaks come next, because a run of losses is normal and must be planned for. Margin calls, emotion, and overtrading follow, since these are the ways a plan gets abandoned. The last lessons deal with the practical side: who is regulated, what is owed in tax, and how money leaves the account. Each idea rests on the one before it.

A reader who skips the early lessons will find the later ones abstract. Margin calls feel like a warning until the reader has already sized a position and watched it move against them. The lessons are short, but the practice between them is where the learning sits.

The habits that empty an account before the market does

Most accounts that stop do not stop because of one wrong call. They stop because the loss on that call was larger than the plan allowed, and the next call was made to get the money back. The sequence is common enough to be predictable. A reader who understands it in advance has a chance of noticing it while it happens. The lessons on fear, greed, and chasing losses are not moral advice. They describe a mechanical failure that shows up in the account balance.

Overtrading is the same failure wearing different clothes. It often looks like effort. More trades feel like more chances, but each trade carries cost and each decision carries fatigue. A reader who has fixed the risk per trade can still lose steadily by taking too many trades. The fix is a limit on the number of trades or on the daily loss, written before the session starts. This level treats that limit as part of the method, not as an optional extra.

Signals, robots, and copy trading appear here because they promise to remove the decisions. They do not remove the risk. A reader who follows someone else still owns the loss and still needs to know the position size. The same applies to choosing a broker. A firm may be registered with SEBI, or it may not, and the register is public. The reader is shown how to check rather than told which firm to use. Tax and withdrawals come last because money that cannot be taken out is not profit. The rate depends on how the income is classified, and that varies, so the lesson points to a tax professional rather than a number.

How long this level takes and where readers stumble

The twelve lessons can be read in a few evenings. The practice takes longer. A reader who sizes positions on paper, records the risk in rupees, and reviews the week will need about four to six weeks to make the habit feel normal. That estimate assumes a few hours each week and no live money at the start. Some readers will move faster and some slower, and the pace is not a measure of ability.

The common stumble is arithmetic under pressure. Working out position size on a chart is easy when the market is quiet. It becomes hard when a stop is close and the reader wants a larger position. The remedy is repetition before any money is at stake. A reader who has done the calculation fifty times on paper will do it correctly when it matters. The same applies to the daily loss limit. It is tested on quiet days so that it holds on bad ones.

The second stumble is the losing streak. A plan that risks one or two per cent per trade will still produce several losses in a row. That is expected, not a sign that the method is broken. A reader who has not planned for it will increase the size to recover, which is the behaviour this level is built to prevent. The drawdown lesson gives the arithmetic of a streak so the reader can see it coming. The margin call lesson shows what happens when the account cannot cover the position. Both are about staying in the market long enough to use what was learned.

The third stumble is the broker and the exit. A reader may spend weeks on charts and minutes on the register and the withdrawal process. This level puts those checks at the end, but they are not optional. A firm that is not registered, or a withdrawal that takes longer than expected, can end the course for reasons that have nothing to do with analysis.

Doing it once, step by step

The reader will work through the level in order, using USD/INR around 83.2500 as the example instrument and a rupee account. Each step is done on paper first, with no live money, until the arithmetic is automatic.

  1. 01

    Write down the risk per trade

    Choose a percentage of the account to risk on one idea, between one and two per cent. On an account of ₹50,000, one per cent is ₹500. Write that number at the top of the page. Every position size in this level is built from it.

  2. 02

    Convert the stop distance into rupees

    Take the entry and the stop for USD/INR and find the distance between them. If the entry is 83.2500 and the stop is 83.2000, the distance is 0.0500 rupees per unit. Multiply by the number of units to get the loss if the stop is hit. Adjust the units until the loss equals the risk from step one.

  3. 03

    Set a daily and weekly loss limit

    Decide the most the account may lose in one day and in one week, and write both down. When either limit is reached, stop for the period. This is the rule that prevents a bad day from becoming a bad month.

  4. 04

    Record every trade on paper

    For four to six weeks, log each idea with the entry, the stop, the target, the size, and the risk in rupees. Do not place the trade. At the end of each week, add the results and compare them with the limits. This shows whether the plan is followed, which matters more than whether the week was profitable.

  5. 05

    Check the firm against the SEBI register

    Before sending any money, look up the firm on the SEBI website. Confirm the name and the registration. If the firm is not listed, do not proceed. Registration does not remove the risk of loss, but it tells the reader who is accountable.

  6. 06

    Test a withdrawal with a small amount

    Deposit a small sum using UPI or bank transfer, then withdraw part of it. Note how long it takes and what it costs. Do this before the account holds a larger balance. Tax on trading depends on how the income is classified and varies, so ask a tax professional rather than relying on a general figure.

Questions that come up next

How long does this level take to finish?

The twelve lessons are short, and most readers read them in a few evenings. The practice between them is the slow part. Sizing a position on paper, writing a risk limit, and following it for a week takes longer than reading about it. Give the level a month rather than a weekend.

Do I need a live account before starting?

No. Every exercise here can be done on paper, with a notebook and a calculator. Working out a position size in rupees needs the account balance you intend to use, but that balance can be a figure you choose rather than money already deposited. Practising the arithmetic first means the first live trade is not also the first time you have done the sum.

What happens if I skip the risk per trade lesson?

The later lessons stop making sense. Position size is built from the risk figure, and the comparison of risk against reward has nothing to compare without it. Margin calls and losing streaks are then just warnings rather than things you have already planned for. The order in the level is not decorative.

Is a small account at a disadvantage?

A small account limits how much can be lost on one trade, which is not the same as being safer. Costs take a larger share, and the distance to a stop on USD/INR may be too wide for the smallest size a broker allows. That varies between brokers, so check the minimum size before assuming a plan fits.

Where do I check whether a broker is registered?

SEBI keeps a register of registered intermediaries, and the entries can be searched. A name that does not appear there is a reason to stop. Registration does not remove market risk, and it does not mean a strategy will work. It only tells you who is accountable.

How do I take money out?

Withdrawal is normally back to the bank account or UPI method used to fund the account, and the timing varies between brokers. Read the withdrawal terms before depositing, not after. The lesson on this comes last because it is the part most readers only think about when they need it.

The words used on this page

risk per trade
The amount of money you accept losing if one trade goes against you. It is chosen in rupees before the trade opens, and it does not change once the position is live.
position size
How much of USD/INR you actually buy or sell. It is worked out from the money you are willing to lose and the distance from the entry to the stop.
drawdown
The fall from the highest point your account has reached to its current level. A run of losses produces one, and it is normal rather than a sign that something is broken.
margin call
A message from the broker that the money held against open positions has fallen below what is required. It asks for more funds or for positions to be reduced.
stop out
What happens when a margin call is not met and the broker closes positions to protect the remaining balance. The closing price is not chosen by you.
overtrading
Taking more trades than the plan allows, often to recover a loss or because sitting still feels like doing nothing. Each extra trade carries cost and adds risk.

What to take away

  • A plan is a number chosen before the trade, not a feeling during it.
  • Every later figure in this level comes from the risk per trade, so that lesson carries the rest.
  • A run of losses is expected, and the account survives it only if the size was small enough.
  • The rules are worth nothing unless they hold when the outcome is unknown.

Printable summary

Every lesson in this level on a few pages, with the worked figures. For reading away from the screen.

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Start at the first lesson if this is new. If you already have an account, Level 3 is the one that keeps it.Meerayour course guide