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One field on the order screen

One number for the size field, and the rows printed around it (Philippines)

The form below fills in exactly one box on an order screen. Everything else on that screen is printed by the platform around the box — and on a display this size, most of it starts under the fold.

Three inputs go in — what is on the account, the share one trade may spend, the distance to the exit in pips — and one figure comes back: the size. That figure belongs in the size field and nowhere else. It does not price the order: the platform does that, printing the pip value, the margin and the costs of your exact order before the confirm. The point of arriving with a number is that you then have something to hold those printed rows against while scrolling past them with a thumb.

Least this trade can cost$1.00
Size that fits that figure — Standard lots—
That size written in cent units—
Each pip of the exit, at that size—

The rows assume a dollar-quoted pair such as EUR/USD, where a full lot moves $10 per pip — 100,000 units × 0.0001. Any other instrument carries a different pip value, and the costs named further down are not inside these rows. For learning, not advice.

Row by row, and where each one turns up on the screen

Row aboveWhere it turns up on the phoneWhat to check thereNext step
Least this trade can costNowhere on the screen — it stays with youThat the amount is still one you are willing to spendIf it is not, change the middle box, not the order
Size in Standard lotsThe size field itselfDigit by digit against the figure printed hereOverwrite what the field offers rather than nudge it
The cent-unit versionThe same field, on a cent accountWhich account is actually open right nowRead the account name on the screen before typing
Value of one pipAmong the platform's own figures, usually under the foldThat its figure and this one roughly agreeScroll to the end of the ticket before the confirm

The same order, two screens

The figure does not change with the display. What changes is how much of the order screen is in front of you at one time. A browser on a larger display can carry the size field and the platform's printed figures in a single view, so the eye moves between them without anything leaving the screen. A phone shows the field first and the figures after a scroll, which makes them two separate readings rather than one comparison.

Neither screen is the correct one. Only one of them lets you read both halves without moving, and it is useful to know which one you are on before you decide how carefully to scroll.

  1. The size field already has a number in it

    Check whether that number is yours or one the screen offered. A field with something in it reads like a suggestion on a small display, and it is not — it is a default. Replace it outright from the figure above.

  2. The field is all you can see

    Check what sits below it. The platform's own figures for this order live down there, and on a phone they are one scroll away rather than one glance. Reach the last line of the ticket, then decide.

  3. You want to compare two instruments

    Check whether they will fit — they will not, on a phone. Do it in two passes with the first written down, or move that one job to a bigger display. Holding the first ticket in your head while opening the second is where sizes get mixed up.

One thumb, one keypad

An extra zero typed with a thumb looks entirely plausible on a small display. There is no wide screen beside it to make the shape of the number obvious, and the field accepts anything the account can support without comment.

So compare digit by digit against what the form printed rather than against what you meant to type. Two figures that agree take three seconds to confirm; one that does not is the reason for doing this at all. The same goes for the exit distance: a stop typed as 2 instead of 20 changes the size by a factor of ten and looks like a small thing on the screen.

Rows this form has no field for

The figure above is a floor — the least the trade can cost. These ride along with it and are read on the ticket, not here:

  • The gap at the open. A position starts on the far side of the spread, which is why a fresh row shows a small negative figure. Where the two prices are shown.
  • Each night it stays open. A swap — the overnight adjustment on a held position. No box here takes a duration.
  • Screen price against fill price. An order fills against what exists when it arrives, not against the number you were looking at while typing.

Questions asked with the ticket open

Does the display change the answer?

No. The same three inputs give the same size on any screen. What the display changes is how much of the order screen you can read without scrolling.

Where do the platform's own figures appear?

Printed with the order before the confirm. On a phone they usually sit under the size field, so the ticket has to be scrolled to its end to see them.

The ticket's pip figure does not match this one exactly.

Roughly is enough here. The ticket prices your exact order on your account; this form assumes a dollar-quoted pair and nothing else.

The size came back under 0.01. Did something go wrong?

No. The smallest Standard trade is 0.01, so a smaller answer points at cent units rather than at rounding your figure upwards.

Should the share in the middle box be 1%?

It is the usual beginner figure, not a rule. What matters is that a figure exists before the size field does.

Where does the exit distance come from?

From the chart, counted in pips rather than in centimetres of screen — see reading a chart on a small display.

Is the result what the trade will cost?

It is the least it can cost. Whatever the rows above add to it, the trade costs at least this much.

Do I run it again for every order?

The share stays put; the distance moves with the instrument and the day. Two of the three boxes change, so it takes seconds.

What if the answer looks uncomfortably small?

That is information, not a fault. A cent account counts a position about a hundred times smaller — the account line covers what that changes on the screen.

Can the whole comparison be rehearsed?

On a demo: the same ticket, the same printed rows in the same places, and virtual money in the field.

Read the ticket where nothing is at stake

A demo account opens the same order screen on virtual money: type the size from here, scroll to the printed figures, and watch what the row does overnight. An email, a password, no documents, no time limit.

Open a free demo at Exness