🔄 How to Manage Multiple Trades Without Overexposure
🎯 The Lesson
Opening several trades at once feels productive — like you’re “diversifying.”
But if all your positions move the same way, you’re not diversified — you’re overexposed.
Good traders know: more trades ≠ more safety.
It’s about correlation and total risk, not trade count.
⚙️ Step 1: Calculate Your Total Exposure
Every trade carries a % risk of your balance.
If you risk 2% per trade and open 5 trades →
2% × 5 = 10% total exposure
That means if all hit stop loss, you lose 10% of your account — in one move.
That’s not trading — that’s roulette.
Keep total open risk below 6% at all times.
Example:
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3 trades × 2% = 6% ✅
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4 trades × 2% = 8% ❌ too high
📊 Step 2: Watch Correlation
EUR/USD and GBP/USD often move together.
So if you buy both, you’re doubling your exposure to the USD.
In reality, that’s one trade disguised as two.
To fix it:
✅ Mix pairs from different regions (e.g. EUR/USD + AUD/JPY).
✅ Avoid stacking trades that rely on the same currency strength or weakness.
🧩 Step 3: Use a “Portfolio Risk Limit”
Set a max drawdown rule for all open trades combined.
Example:
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Account: $10,000
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Max open drawdown: 4% → $400
If unrealized losses hit $400, you close weakest trades immediately.
This prevents a small red day from becoming a disaster.
🔑 Step 4: Think in Risk Units, Not Trades
Each trade = 1 unit of risk.
When you open new positions, make sure total units ≤ 6.
It’s how professional prop firms manage traders — and why they survive volatility while others blow up.
🚀 Takeaway
Trading multiple pairs doesn’t make you safer — managing total exposure does.
Trade less, control risk more, and your equity curve will finally start to look like a business plan.
📢 Join my MQL5 channel for more trading & risk-management insights:
👉 https://www.mql5.com/en/channels/issam_kassas
