I have a strategy that I'm building and am having a bear of a time trying to calculate contract sizes. I don't want a simple trade 5 contracts every time. I want to start with a base amount (say 1) and then if the strategy fails and falls behind, it will calculate the next position size to catch up. The biggest challenge I'm having is when the position is about to reverse and am trying to figure out the existing P&L to combine with the current closed acct value. This is fairly easy with backtesting, but not so much with live account. Does anyone have one they put together and is using successfully?

Thanks in advance.

Use chatGPT and use this prompt:

 

Code

Prompt: I’m building a dynamic futures trading strategy in Excel where position size adjusts to recover from drawdowns. I don’t want to trade a fixed number of contracts — I want to start with a base amount (e.g. 1 contract), and if the strategy loses or falls behind a target, the next trade size should increase to catch up. The hardest part is handling reversals — I need to calculate the current open P&L, combine it with the account equity, and then size the next trade correctly. Please explain how to model this in Excel step by step, including how to track realized and unrealized P&L, define a target equity curve, calculate the deficit, and compute the next position size. Also explain how to use Goal Seek to find the next contract size that brings the equity back to target. Then create a simple working Excel template (with sample data and formulas) that implements this logic and automatically updates the next contract size as trades close.

trendisyourfriend 

Use chatGPT and use this prompt:   Code Prompt: I’m building a dynamic futures trading strategy in Excel where position size adjusts to recover from drawdowns. I don’t want to trade a fixed number of contracts — I want to start with a base amount (e.g. 1 contract), and if the strategy loses or falls behind a target, the next trade size should increase to catch up. The hardest part is handling reversals — I need to calculate the current open P&L, combine it with the account equity, and then size the next trade correctly. Please explain how to model this in Excel step by step, including how to track realized and unrealized P&L, define a target equity curve, calculate the deficit, and compute the next position size. Also explain how to use Goal Seek to find the next contract size that brings the equity back to target. Then create a simple working Excel template (with sample data and formulas) that implements this logic and automatically updates the next contract size as trades close.

Sadly, I've been working with Chat GPT on this and it's a slow and perilous journey.

You can use a dynamic position size formula based on equity curve percentage change. I built mine in Excel linked to the broker API to auto-adjust per loss streak. Works great in live trading.