Glossary / Instruments
Micro futures contracts
Definition
Smaller versions of standard futures contracts, typically one tenth the size.
Why it matters
Micros let a small account keep risk per trade under 1% while trading the same instruments as funded traders.
Example
Where 1 ES contract risks $500 on a 10-point stop, 1 MES risks $50 - which is what makes a $2,000 account able to trade the same plan.
How to track it in a journal
TradeStack calculates the core performance numbers — win rate, average win and loss, profit factor, expectancy, drawdown and consistency — automatically from imported trades, so micro futures contracts stops being something you estimate and becomes something you read.
Related terms
Tick value
The dollar value of the smallest price increment of a contract.
Pip
The standard smallest price move in a currency pair, usually 0.0001.
Lot size
The trade unit in forex: 100,000 units for a standard lot.
Contract specifications
The exchange definition of a futures contract: size, tick, hours and expiry.
Questions that use this term
Keep reading
Trading journal guides
Expectancy, profit factor, drawdown, backtesting and the PDT rule.
Free trading calculators
Position size, risk-reward, expectancy and options profit.
Expectancy calculator
Expected profit per trade from your own numbers.
Broker CSV export guides
Step-by-step exports for Tradovate, NinjaTrader, IBKR and more.
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