A margin call occurs when your account equity falls below the required margin level. This guide explains how margin works, the math behind margin calls, and practical strategies to prevent them.
Margin Call Prevention Guide
A margin call occurs when your account equity falls below the required margin level. This guide explains how margin works, the math behind margin calls, and practical strategies to prevent them.
Key Principles
- Never risk more than 1-2% of your account on a single trade
- Always use stop losses — no exceptions
- Understand the math: a 50% drawdown requires 100% recovery
- Keep margin level above 200% at all times
- Diversify across instruments and timeframes
Common Mistakes
- Using position sizes that are too large for your account
- Moving stop losses further away when trades go against you
- Trading without understanding pip values for your instrument
- Ignoring volatility — using the same stop size for all instruments
- Over-leveraging to maximize potential profits
Related Tools
Use the Position Size Calculator, Drawdown Calculator, and Margin Calculator together for complete risk management.