By EdgeSizer · Updated May 2025
Most traders who blow their Topstep or Apex combine don't blow it because their strategy was wrong. They blow it because they put on too many contracts.
I've seen it happen over and over: a trader with a solid setup, a clear entry, a defined stop — and then they just... use too much size. The stop gets hit. The drawdown bites. The account is gone.
Position sizing in MNQ is not complicated. But it requires you to do the math before you enter, not after. This guide walks you through exactly how to calculate how many MNQ contracts to trade based on your stop loss, your risk budget, and your account type.
The Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) tracks the Nasdaq-100 index — the same 100 large-cap tech and growth companies as the full NQ contract. The only difference is size.
Here's what you need to know cold:
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Contract multiplier | $2 per index point |
| Tick size | 0.25 points |
| Tick value | $0.50 per tick |
| Point value | $2.00 per point |
| Relationship to NQ | 1/10th the size |
So if the Nasdaq-100 moves 100 points in your favor, you make $200 per MNQ contract. If it moves 100 points against you, you lose $200 per contract.
That sounds modest. The danger is when you're running 10, 15, or 20 contracts and don't realize the full exposure.
That's it. Everything else is just plugging in your numbers.
Why $2? Because MNQ is worth $2 per point of movement. Every point the index moves, you gain or lose $2 per contract.
You see a clean setup on MNQ. Your entry is at 19,450. Your stop is at 19,420. That's a 30-point stop. You want to risk $150 on this trade (staying well inside Topstep's daily loss limits).
You trade 2 MNQ contracts. If the stop hits, you lose $120 — not $150, because you rounded down. That's intentional.
Your setup has a 60-point stop. You're willing to risk $250.
Same answer, different setup. Notice how a wider stop forces fewer contracts for the same risk.
You want 3 contracts per TP level (9 total, for a 3-TP setup). What does your stop need to be if your risk budget is $200?
That's an 11-point stop on MNQ. Tight, but workable for scalps. If your setup has a 30-point stop, you'd need $540 of risk to run 9 contracts — which might exceed your combine limits. This is exactly why you size from your stop, not from how many contracts you want to run.
If you're trading a regular retail account, oversizing is bad. If you're trading a prop firm account, oversizing is fatal — because the rules are stacked against drawdowns.
The math doesn't change based on which firm you're with. But the consequence of ignoring it is account termination vs. a painful lesson.
Most professional traders risk 1-2% of account per trade. In a prop firm context, I'd argue for being even more conservative: 0.5-1% during the evaluation phase.
Your goal in a combine isn't to make the most money. It's to not lose your account. That's a different objective, and it requires different sizing.
| Account Size | 1% Risk | 0.5% Risk |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $500/trade | $250/trade |
| $100,000 | $1,000/trade | $500/trade |
| $150,000 | $1,500/trade | $750/trade |
Here's where most traders get the math backwards. They figure out their contract count and then set OCO brackets without thinking about the dollar amounts.
If you're splitting 6 contracts across 3 take profit levels (2-2-2), your brackets should reflect:
This is exactly what EdgeSizer calculates automatically — enter your entry, stop, and risk, and it outputs the bracket amounts in dollars, ready to paste into your platform.
MNQ moves an average of 300-500 points per day in normal conditions. A 20-point stop on a 5-minute chart gets hit by noise constantly. A 50-100 point stop on a 15-minute setup gives the trade room to breathe.
The right response to wide stops is: accept fewer contracts. One contract with a 100-point stop and $200 of risk is better than 10 contracts with a 10-point stop that gets clipped on every entry.
During high-volatility sessions — Fed announcements, CPI prints, earnings reactions — MNQ can move 200-300 points in minutes. A simple rule: on days with Tier 1 economic releases, cut your size in half. The volatility means your stop is more likely to be hit by noise.
Mistake 1: Sizing based on what you want to make, not what you can afford to lose. Always start with the loss, not the gain.
Mistake 2: Not accounting for the 3-TP split. All contracts are at risk until TP1 hits. A 6-contract position is a 6-contract position from a risk standpoint.
Mistake 3: Forgetting slippage on fast markets. On MNQ, slippage is usually 1-2 ticks, but during volatile moments your stop might fill 5-10 ticks beyond your target.
Mistake 4: Using a fixed number of contracts regardless of setup. "I always trade 5 MNQs" is not a position sizing strategy.
Everything else — combine rules, TP splits, OCO brackets — is built on top of that formula. Get the formula right before you click buy.