Every futures calculator on the internet is doing the same four lines of math. This page gives you the numbers and the formulas, and if you would rather not do napkin math at 9:28 AM, the same calculations run inside the free STS Calculator in the community dashboard. Here is what it looks like:
Two numbers define a futures contract for a trader: how far it moves per tick, and what a tick is worth. Everything else is multiplication.
The micros are exactly one tenth of the full contract, which is what makes them the right training ground: the same tape at a tenth of the consequence, as covered in NQ vs MNQ.
Dollar risk: stop distance in points times point value. A 30 point stop on NQ is $600 per contract; the same stop on MNQ is $60. Position size: account risk divided by that number, exactly as the example above shows, and always rounded down. The full method is in the position sizing guide, and where the stop belongs in the first place is stop placement. P&L: points times point value times contracts, minus the few dollars per round trip in commissions that scalpers pay dozens of times a week.
Day trading margin tells you the deposit your broker requires, and nothing about what you can lose. A contract with a $1,000 day margin can move several times that against you in an afternoon, which is why sizing off the margin minimum is fatal and why the risk math above comes first. The full distinction between day margin, overnight margin, and auto-liquidation is in futures margin explained.
The STS Calculator runs all of this inside the community dashboard: pick the contract, enter your account risk and stop distance, and it returns the contract count with the per-contract math shown, in the same dark theme as the rest of the platform. It is free with a free community account, sitting in Quick Links next to the NQ key levels and the free earnings calendar. The math tells you how many contracts; the map tells you where the trade is, and the full daily profile is in Pro.
Reading about levels is one thing. Watching them trade in real time is another. STS4x members get the full daily key levels for NQ, ES, and GC, plus live trading sessions every weekday at 9:30 AM ET where the systems run out loud.
See what Pro includes Free daily NQ levels