Understand your risk buffer
Your risk budget is a ceiling—not a target.
Illustrative example · $1,000 daily budget ÷ 3 trades · $0.27 risk per share · costs excluded
1,234 whole shares 1,200 rounded shares
The calculator rounds down to a simpler share count. That leaves part of your budget unused.
Why the numbers differ
Daily allocation: $1,000 ÷ 3 rounds down to $333.33 per trade, leaving $0.01 unallocated.
Whole shares: 1,234 shares × $0.27 = $333.18, leaving $0.15.
Share increments: rounding to 1,200 shares reduces planned loss to $324, leaving $9.33.
Including costs: adding $0.02 per share makes modeled risk $0.29. The calculator then gives 1,100 shares and $319 planned loss, including that cost allowance.
Using more of the budget: 1,234 shares would use $333.18 under these assumptions, leaving less room for execution differences. This calculator currently keeps its automatic share-increment rounding; there is no exact-capacity switch.
Two stops must be calculated by assigned shares × distance to each stop, then added together. They do not automatically lower total risk.
Buffers can be zero. Actual losses can exceed the plan if fills or costs differ from your inputs.
