TickSPYOpen tools in the desk ↗

LEARN THE DESK / TOOLS

Position size and risk–reward calculator

Calculate shares, planned loss and reward-to-risk from your own entry, stop and target assumptions.

Make the arithmetic explicit

Position sizing divides your chosen loss budget by the distance from entry to stop. Reward-to-risk compares the target distance with the stop distance. A large ratio does not say how likely the target is. Start with an amount you chose yourself; the calculator does not decide what risk is suitable for you.

Try it with your own numbers

Local calculation only. These inputs are illustrative, not live quotes. Nothing you enter is uploaded.

Worked example

A $25,000 account with a chosen 0.5% loss budget gives $125. Entry $100 and stop $98 risk $2 per share, so floor(125/2) = 62 shares. A $106 target is 3:1 reward-to-risk before costs.

The calculation

Budget = account × risk% / 100. Shares = floor(budget / |entry − stop|). Reward/risk = |target − entry| / |entry − stop|.

Method and references

Arithmetic is shown above so you can reproduce the result. Indicator background: J. Welles Wilder, New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978); John Bollinger, Bollinger on Bollinger Bands (2001). These references explain methods, not a claim that TickSPY predicts prices.

Exercises use the values you enter, not a hidden market feed. Examples demonstrate mechanics; they are not evidence of profitability. Reviewed October 11, 2026.

What this cannot tell you

Gaps, slippage, fees and execution can make actual losses larger. Share count is not capped by buying power and ignores margin, borrowing and contract multipliers. Targets and stops must be on opposite sides of entry.

Explore this in the tools tab →