Stop-loss and drawdown planning worksheet
A beginner-friendly sheet for recording your own assumptions about a planned stop, exposure, potential loss, and drawdown. Fill it in on screen or print it for notes.
01 / How to use the sheet
Record assumptions, then question the estimate.
Use the blank fields to write your own definitions and assumptions. A planning relationship can be written as price-move loss ≈ stop distance × pip or point value, then other costs and execution uncertainty can be listed separately.
Total potential-loss estimate ≈ price-move loss + spread or commission + financing or other costs + slippage or gap allowance
This is a planning aid, not an exact calculator or universal rule. Verify current broker details, contract specifications, conversions, and costs before relying on any number.
02 / Your assumptions
Write down the stop-loss and exposure picture
Type into the lines or print this page and write by hand. Leave a note beside any value that still needs verification.
Record when you wrote or reviewed these assumptions.
Write the market, symbol, or currency pair as your broker names it.
Record your own label, such as long, short, buy, or sell.
Write the entry price or condition you are using for this plan.
Record the level or condition that would invalidate the idea.
Write the distance in pips, points, or the unit used for this instrument.
Record units, lots, contracts, or another broker-defined quantity.
Note the value in the account currency and verify it for the planned size.
Write the currency used for the estimate.
Name whether you are referencing balance, equity, or another defined value.
Record your own boundary or leave it blank until you have verified your framework.
List correlated positions, open orders, or other exposure you want to consider.
List missing broker details, conversions, costs, liquidity questions, or assumptions.
Record your neutral reasoning, open questions, or decision to pause and review.
03 / Potential-loss planning
Keep the possible deductions visible
Record each part of your own estimate separately. Actual spread, commission, financing, slippage, gaps, liquidity, leverage, and fill conditions can differ from a plan.
A planning estimate based on your stop distance and pip or point value.
Record the cost assumption in the same currency as the estimate.
Include a separate note for swap, financing, conversion, or other costs.
Keep room for execution that differs from the planned level.
Add the planning components; this is not an exact result or guarantee.
Check that every figure uses the same account currency or note where conversion is needed. Broker-specific rules can change the result.
04 / Drawdown review
Describe a decline from a prior high
Drawdown describes a decline from a prior high to a later value in a defined series. State whether you are measuring balance, equity, or something else, and keep the dates and calculation context with the numbers.
Record the high-water mark for the balance, equity, or series you define.
Record the later value and the date or period if useful.
A planning calculation: prior high minus later value.
Record your calculation and denominator; do not treat it as a target or limit.
Name the account, equity series, dates, currency, and anything excluded.
Write what is known, unknown, or worth checking again later.
05 / Illustrative arithmetic
Hypothetical planning aid only
Invented example — not a target or recommendation
The values below are fictional and educational. They are not a suggested stop, position size, risk boundary, percentage, trade, or expected outcome.
- Hypothetical stop distance
- 25 pips
- Hypothetical pip value
- $1 per pip
- Price-move loss estimate
- 25 × $1 = $25
- Hypothetical costs and allowance
- $3 + $5 = $8
- Total potential-loss estimate
- $25 + $8 = $33
A real result can differ because of gaps, slippage, spreads, commissions, financing, liquidity, leverage, currency conversion, and broker-specific rules. Verify current details with the broker or venue.