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Forex Risk Management

Tips for Traders Wanting to Take on Larger Positions

Thinking of increasing your position sizes to bring in more profits? It’s true that this can help put more money in your pocket but increasing your position sizes also entails risking more money to make more money. Some traders rush to take larger positions too quickly and wind up blowing their accounts because they just aren’t ready, and they have issues along the way because they exceed their risk tolerance when doing so. If you want to pull off position size increases successfully, take a look at our tips below to get the best start. 

Tip #1: Check out your Performance so Far 

Is your desire to trade larger justified by your performance thus far? The truth is that you shouldn’t even think of trading larger positions if your account is in the red. If you jump to larger sizes when you aren’t doing well trading smaller ones, can you really expect to make a profit? If this is the case, don’t be discouraged, as you simply need to keep focusing on improving your results or practice on a demo before you start risking more money. On the other hand, if your account is in the green and has been for a while, this is a good sign that you’re ready to move on. 

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Tip #2: Try a Gradual Approach

If you’ve determined that your profits prove you’re ready to take on larger position sizes, you don’t want to make the mistake of making a much larger increase all at once. Trading larger means taking more risks and might come with some downsides you didn’t expect. For example, you might start feeling anxious or fearful now that more money is on the line. Or you might find yourself feeling depressed if you take a large loss that you aren’t accustomed to. The best way to do this is to gradually increase your position sizes over time. As long as you’re getting good results and still feeling confident, you’ll know that it’s time to increase the size you’re taking a little more. 

Tip #3: Look at Percentages vs Dollar Amounts

If you lose money, it can be a lot harder to accept if you’re thinking of the exact amount of money you lost in terms of cash. Allow us to explain: if you risk 2% on a trade on an account that holds $10,000, then you would lose $200. If you risked the same 2% on an account holding $100,000, you could wind up losing $2,000 instead. Losing the $2,000 is obviously much more devastating, and this is why you should think of your losses in terms of percentages instead. It’s a lot easier to think of your loss in terms of over 2% over the raw dollar amount, so you’ll be less likely to become emotional over it. 

The Bottom Line

Before you even think of taking larger position sizes, you’ll need to make sure that you’re account is making money, rather than losing it. Once you’ve confirmed that you’re ready, it’s best to take a gradual approach to trading larger so that you can ensure you keep a secure profit coming in with no nasty surprises. If you ever start to feel overwhelmed, you might want to stay at the size you’re at or go back to taking smaller trades until you’re feeling more comfortable with the increased risk tolerance. Our final pro tip is to think of your risk in terms of percentages rather than dollar amounts so that you’ll be able to cope with larger losses without feeling overwhelmed. Remember that losses are inevitable, so you’ll need to ensure that you’re ready for the increased risk that comes with taking larger trades.

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