Stop loss
Also called: Stop-loss order, Protective stop, SL, Stop level, Zarar durdur, Stop seviyesi
A stop loss is an order placed where your trade idea is proven wrong, cutting the loss at an amount you chose in advance.
4 min read · one puzzle on the page
What a stop loss is for
A stop loss is an order that closes your position automatically when price reaches a level. It limits the loss, but its real job is to answer one question: at what price is this trade wrong?
Every trade rests on an idea. If you buy at support, the idea is that support holds. If price closes below it, the idea is over, and that is where the stop belongs. A stop is not the limit of the pain you can take; it is the price where the idea stops being true.
The distance from entry to stop is called 1R. You measure targets and losses in that unit, and losing 1R is part of the plan, not a disaster.
Where does the stop go?
Beyond the structure. Buying at support, the stop goes under the last swing low and its wick, not just under the line. Selling at resistance, above the last high and its upper wick. Add a small buffer: the spread plus a few pips. Price often overshoots an old low slightly, and a stop sitting right on it gets taken.
A fixed pip count or a percentage of the account does not decide where the stop goes. A fixed 20 pip stop lands inside the structure one day and needlessly far the next. Find the invalidation on the chart first, then measure the distance.
Position size comes from that distance. With a 10,000 dollar account risking 1 percent, you risk 100 dollars. If the stop is 50 pips away, size the trade so 50 pips equals 100 dollars; with a 25 pip stop, twice that. A wide stop means a smaller size, not a tighter stop.
No sensible place for a stop means no trade. If price has run for a long time without pulling back, the nearest structure is far behind, so the stop is either huge or placed somewhere meaningless. Rather than chase it, wait for new structure to form.
Try it on a chart
This chart does not draw a stop loss; it asks the question behind it: if you enter, where does the stop go? Look at where price pulled back during the rally and how far that point is from the current price.
Price has been rising for 30 candles with almost no pullback. Do you get in now?
No sign-up needed. Make your call; when the chart opens you'll see why.
The costliest stop mistakes
Putting the stop where everyone else does. One or two pips under the low, or just under a round number like 1.1000, is where stops cluster, and price sweeps those clusters often. Go beyond the structure, but not into the middle of the crowd.
Moving to breakeven too early. Shift the stop to entry after a small move in your favour and an ordinary pullback takes you out flat before price reaches the target. Move it when the structure changes, after a new higher low has formed and held.
Mental stops. Having a stop in your head means leaving the decision to the moment price gets there, and in that moment most people wait one more candle. The stop should sit on the platform as an order.
Worst of all, moving the stop further away as price approaches it. That is the quickest way to turn a 1R loss into 3R.
A stop does not always fill at its price
When price reaches your level, a stop becomes a market order and fills at the best price available. In a calm market the difference is small; on news you can slip a few pips or much more. That is slippage.
Weekend gaps are worse. If Friday closes at 1.0850 and Monday opens at 1.0790, a stop at 1.0830 fills around 1.0790. A stop limits the loss, but it does not guarantee the exact price.
That is why cutting size or staying out before major data releases protects you better than relying on the stop alone.
Timeframe matters too. A sensible H1 stop looks far on M5, and a sensible M5 stop sits inside an ordinary H1 candle. Set it by the structure on the chart you traded, not by switching charts.
Frequently asked questions
How many pips should a stop loss be?
There is no fixed number. The stop goes where the trade idea is invalid, a little beyond the support, the last low or the wick, and the pip count follows from that. It might be 15 pips one day and 60 the next. What stays fixed is the money at risk: a wider stop means a smaller position, so each loss costs the same.
Can you trade without a stop loss?
You can, but the loss has no limit. Without a stop, the decision gets made while price is moving against you, and in that moment most people choose to wait a bit longer; that is how small losses grow. A stop lets you decide calmly, before entering. If you cannot find a sensible place for one, the trade itself is usually weak.
How do I calculate position size from my stop?
Place the stop by structure first and measure the distance from entry. Then set your risk per trade; many traders use a small fraction such as 1 percent of the account. Size equals the risk amount divided by stop distance times pip value. For 100 dollars of risk and a 50 pip stop you need 2 dollars per pip, which is 0.2 lots on EUR/USD.
