Question 1

What is a futures contract calculator?

Accepted Answer

A futures contract calculator tells you exactly how many contracts to trade based on your account risk, stop loss distance, and the tick value of the instrument. TickShield is a free futures contract calculator that supports 40+ CME instruments and instantly shows conservative, best-fit, and aggressive contract scenarios so you never over-size a position.

Question 2

How do I calculate futures position size?

Accepted Answer

Divide your risk amount in dollars by the product of your stop loss in ticks and the tick value of the contract. Formula: contracts = floor(risk amount / (stop ticks x tick value)). For example, risking $500 with a 10-tick stop on MES (tick value $1.25) = floor(500 / (10 x 1.25)) = 40 contracts. TickShield calculates this instantly and shows you conservative, best-fit, and aggressive scenarios.

Question 3

What is tick value in futures trading?

Accepted Answer

Tick value is the dollar amount your profit or loss changes for each minimum price movement (one tick) in a futures contract. For example, one tick on the E-mini S&P 500 (ES) is worth $12.50, while one tick on the Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) is worth $1.25. Knowing tick value is essential for accurate risk management.

Question 4

Can I use TickShield with any futures platform?

Accepted Answer

Yes. TickShield works with any futures trading platform. It supports all major CME equity index futures (ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, RTY, M2K, YM, MYM), energy futures (CL, MCL, NG), metals (GC, MGC, SI, HG), FX futures (6E, 6B, 6A, 6J), CBOT grains (ZC, ZW, ZS), treasuries (ZN, ZB) and crypto futures (MBT, MET).

Question 5

What is a good risk to reward ratio for futures trading?

Accepted Answer

Most professional futures traders target a minimum R:R of 1:2, meaning the potential reward is at least twice the risk on every trade. TickShield colour-codes R:R automatically: green for 1:2 or better, amber for between 1:1 and 1:2, and red for below 1:1.

Question 6

How many contracts should I trade per $1000 risk?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the instrument and your stop loss size. For example, risking $1,000 with a 10-tick stop: ES = floor(1000 / (10 x 12.50)) = 8 contracts, MES = floor(1000 / (10 x 1.25)) = 80 contracts, NQ = floor(1000 / (10 x 5.00)) = 20 contracts, CL = floor(1000 / (10 x 10.00)) = 10 contracts. Use TickShield to calculate this instantly for any instrument.

Question 7

What is the difference between ES and MES futures?

Accepted Answer

The E-mini S&P 500 (ES) and Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) track the same index but differ in contract size. One ES contract is worth $50 per point with a tick value of $12.50, while one MES contract is worth $5 per point with a tick value of $1.25, exactly one-tenth the size. MES allows much finer position sizing for smaller accounts.

Question 8

Is TickShield free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. TickShield is completely free to use with no account or signup required. Open the website, select your instrument, enter your risk parameters, and get your position size instantly.

Question 9

What futures instruments does TickShield support?

Accepted Answer

TickShield supports 40+ CME Group instruments across 8 categories: Equity Index (ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, RTY, M2K, YM, MYM, NKD), Energy (CL, MCL, NG, MNG, QM, QG, RB, HO), Metals (GC, MGC, SI, SIL, HG, MHG, PL), Crypto (MBT, MET), FX (6E, 6B, 6A, 6J, 6S, 6C, 6N, M6E, M6A, M6B), Treasuries (ZN, ZB, UB, TN, ZF, ZT), Grains (ZC, ZW, ZS, ZM, ZL), and Livestock (LE, HE).

TickShield - Futures Risk Calculator

Select instrument and enter risk parameters