Risk/Reward Risk/reward and position size tool for NinjaTrader 8
by FlowForged Analytics
A trade planner that starts from your dollar risk. Click an entry and a stop, and Risk/Reward sizes the position, labels every level in dollars and R, and can send the orders from the chart.
NinjaTrader 8Dollar-risk sizing1R and 2R linesSnap to OHLCOrder placement
A short plan with $400 of risk. The stop line reads −$396.00, with 6.6 contracts and $396.00 risk under it, so the count stays inside the budget. The entry line reads $0.00, the 1R line +$396.00, and the target, dragged to the Lunch Low level, +$729.21 (+1.84R). Refine and Hammer are also on this chart. Tap to enlarge.
Quick info
Platform
NinjaTrader 8 on Windows
Concept
A drawing tool that sizes a position to a fixed dollar risk and labels the plan in dollars and R
Designed for
Traders who risk a set dollar amount per trade and want the contract count worked out for them
Best used when
Planning an entry and stop on the chart, and placing the orders from the same chart
Two parts
The FF Risk / Reward indicator adds the toolbar pill. The FF Risk / Reward drawing tool is the plan you draw
Orders
Through the account selected in Chart Trader, after a confirmation. Sim accounts work
Data
Any NinjaTrader data feed. No Order Flow+ and no Tick Replay
Access
Part of the FlowForged Suite, free during the private beta
What Risk/Reward does
You set the dollars you are willing to lose. Risk/Reward works out how many contracts that buys at the stop you draw.
Click an entry, then a stop. The tool reads the instrument’s point value, measures the stop distance, and divides your risk budget by the risk of one contract. The count is shown in tenths of a contract, so on a full-size contract such as NQ or ES, each 0.1 is one micro. By default it rounds down, so the risk shown never exceeds your budget.
The target lands at 2R and you can drag it anywhere. Every line carries a label: the stop shows the dollar risk, the 1R and 2R lines their dollar value, and the target its reward and R-multiple. Drag any of the three anchors and everything reprices.
When the plan is ready, Place on the pill sends it to the account selected in Chart Trader, after a confirmation. Each contract goes in as its own limit entry, and its stop and target follow as a linked pair once it fills.
Purpose
A fixed dollar risk only works if the contract count changes with every stop. Doing that by hand means stop distance, point value and division while the setup is forming, then typing the bracket into Chart Trader.
Without Risk/RewardWorking out the contract count from stop distance and point value by handConverting points to dollars for the stop and the targetEntering the entry, stop and targets one order at a time
With Risk/RewardThe count follows from your dollar risk and the stop you drawEvery line labelled in dollars or points, with its R-multipleOne bracket per contract sent from the pill, after a confirmation
Why choose it
Sized to your dollars. Set the risk on the pill. Every drawing on the chart reprices the moment you change it.
Inside the budget by default. Dn rounds the count down so the risk never exceeds the budget. Up rounds it up when you would rather fill the budget.
Two clicks to a plan. Entry, then stop. The target is placed at 2R and the drawing stays selected, ready to adjust.
Snaps to the candle. In Auto mode the entry snaps to a candle body (open or close) and the stop and target to a wick (high or low).
Dollars or points. One button switches every label between the two.
Orders from the chart. Place opens a confirmation showing side, quantity, prices, risk and reward.
A clean chart after the fill. The drawing is removed once an entry fills, leaving NinjaTrader’s own order lines.
How it works
Set the risk. The pill shows your budget, $500 by default. The minus and plus buttons step it by $50.
Click the entry. Press the new-drawing button on the pill, then click the chart. The entry snaps to the nearest candle body within 12 pixels.
Click the stop. A stop below the entry makes a long, above it a short. The target is placed at 2R straight away.
Adjust. Drag the entry, stop or target. The contract count, the dollar labels and the R-multiple update as you drag.
Place. With Chart Trader open on a connected account, Place opens the confirmation. Half of the contracts, rounded down, target 1R and the rest 2R.
Key capabilities
Contract count from a dollar risk budget, in steps of 0.1 contract
Round down (default) or round up, switched from the pill
Entry, stop and target lines with draggable anchors, plus dashed 1R and 2R reference lines
Labels in dollars or points, with the target’s R-multiple
Contract caption with warnings for a count under one contract or a stop too wide for the budget
Signed tick tracker from entry to the last price
Snap modes Off, Wicks, Bodies, OHLC and Auto, with a radius of 1 to 64 pixels
Order placement through Chart Trader’s account: one limit entry per contract, each with its own stop and target
Cancel for working orders, and automatic removal of the drawing once an entry fills
How to set up Risk/Reward in NinjaTrader 8
Add FF Risk / Reward from the Indicators window. It draws nothing itself; it adds the R:R pill to the chart.
Set Default risk $ in its settings, or use minus and plus on the pill.
Leave Round contracts up off to stay inside the budget, or turn it on.
To place orders, open Chart Trader and select a connected account. A Sim account is fine for practice.
Press the new-drawing button on the pill, click the entry, then click the stop.
New to NinjaTrader add-ons? The install guide covers importing, Tick Replay and common fixes.
Risk/Reward FAQ
Does Risk/Reward need Order Flow+ or Tick Replay?
No. It works with any NinjaTrader data feed.
How does it size the position?
It divides your risk budget by the risk of one contract: the stop distance times the instrument’s point value. The count is shown to one decimal and rounds down by default, so the risk shown never exceeds your budget.
Does it work with micros?
Yes. On a full-size contract such as NQ or ES, each 0.1 of a contract is one micro, so you can see the micro count for the same dollar risk.
Can it place the orders?
Yes, through Chart Trader after a confirmation. Chart Trader must be open with a connected account selected. Accounts whose names start with Sim or Playback get the sim confirmation; any other account gets the live one.
Risk/Reward does not pick the trade. It turns the entry and stop you choose into a position sized to your dollar risk, and shows what each level is worth before you commit:
The contract count worked out for every stop
Every level labelled in dollars or points, with R
The orders sent from the chart, after a confirmation
Risk/Reward is in the free private beta
It ships as part of the FlowForged Suite for NinjaTrader 8. The beta is free; request access and we'll email you when it's ready.
Futures trading involves substantial risk and is not for every investor. Chart examples show past market activity and are not indicative of future results. Risk/Reward is a planning and order-entry tool, not trading advice. Orders placed from it are real orders on the account selected in Chart Trader.
One drawing is one trade plan. Every line and label is worked out from your risk budget and the three anchors.
ENTRYSTOPTARGET
The lines are the plan
Orange entry, crimson stop and green target, drawn from the entry bar to the right edge of the chart. The 1R and 2R lines are dashed, in the target color.
+$729.21 (+1.84R)
The labels are the money
The stop shows the risk at the sized count, the 1R and 2R lines their dollar value, and the target its reward and R-multiple. The entry reads $0.00.
6.6 contracts
The caption is the size
Under the stop: the contract count in tenths, then the dollar risk. A warning sign marks a count under one full contract, or a stop too wide for even 0.1.
+12 ticks-5 ticks
The tracker is the distance
Above the entry label: ticks from the entry to the last price, signed in the trade’s direction. Green toward the target, red toward the stop.
Drawing a plan
First click: entry. Start a drawing from the pill, then click the chart. The anchor snaps per the snap mode.
Second click: stop. The stop line follows the mouse until you click. A stop below the entry makes a long, above it a short.
Target at 2R. The second click completes the drawing: the target is placed at twice the stop distance and the drawing stays selected.
All three handles sit on the entry bar’s column. Drag the entry to move the whole plan, or drag the stop or target to reprice. Prices are rounded to the instrument’s tick size before anything is calculated. The tool is also listed in the chart’s drawing tools as FF Risk / Reward.
The 1R and 2R lines appear only once the target is beyond them, so with the target at its default 2R you see the 1R line and the target. Drag the target past 2R and the 2R line appears too.
Snap modes
Autodefault
Entry to the nearest open or close. Stop and target to the nearest high or low.
Wicksoption
Every anchor to the nearest high or low.
Bodiesoption
Every anchor to the nearest open or close.
OHLCoption
Every anchor to the nearest of open, high, low and close.
Offoption
Anchors land exactly where you click.
Snapping only engages within the snap radius (12 pixels by default) of a candle’s price, measured on screen. It replaces the chart’s own magnet setting for this tool.
Sizing
The count is your risk budget divided by the risk of one contract: the stop distance times the instrument’s point value. It is shown to one decimal. Dn (the default) rounds down, so the risk never exceeds the budget. Up rounds up and may go slightly over.
Orders are always whole contracts of the chart’s instrument. Dn rounds the count down to a whole contract, Up rounds it up. The confirmation shows the real quantity and risk.
NQ stop
Chart (Dn)
Orders Dn/Up
10 pts
2.5 contracts
2 / 3
25 pts
1.0 contracts
1 / 1
30 pts
0.8 (8 micros)
0 / 1
Worked examples with $500 of risk on NQ at $20 a point. The caption’s risk reads $500.00, $500.00 and $480.00. Below one full contract it adds a warning and the micro count, and with Dn there is no whole contract to place. If even 0.1 contract would exceed the budget, the caption reads “insufficient budget” and shows what 0.1 would cost.
Placing orders
Select a drawing and Place lights up once these checks pass. Hover it to see the side, the whole-contract quantity and the risk. While it is grey, hovering shows which check is failing.
The risk allows at least one whole contract
The entry and stop are at different prices
The target is on the reward side of the entry
Chart Trader is open with an account selected, and that account is connected
Place opens a confirmation showing the account, instrument, side, quantity, entry, stop, the 1R and 2R targets with their quantities, the risk, the maximum reward and the blended R:R. A live account gets a red banner and a Place LIVE button. You can tick “Don’t ask again this session”, separately for sim and live accounts.
Each contract is sent as its own one-lot limit entry at the entry price, good for the day. When an entry fills, its stop (a stop-market order) and its target (a limit order) go in as a linked pair: when one fills, the other is cancelled. Half of the contracts, rounded down, target 1R and the rest 2R.
Contracts
At 1R
At 2R
1
0
1
2
1
1
3
1
2
4
2
2
Orders go to the 1R and 2R prices, not to the target line you dragged. The dragged target is for planning and must sit on the reward side for Place to light up.
While orders are working, Place turns into Cancel (✕). Cancel withdraws every working entry, stop and target from the placement. It does not close a position that has already filled; do that in Chart Trader.
After the fill
With Remove drawing after placing orders on (the default), the drawing disappears as soon as the first entry fills. From then on the trade is NinjaTrader’s own working orders, drawn by Chart Trader. Each contract has its own stop and target pair, so you can move one leg in Chart Trader without touching the others.
The R:R pill in the toolbar stack at bottom left, idle: $500 risk, 1R, 2R, $ and Dn lit, “Editing defaults” beside it. On the right, an open trade’s working orders, two 1-lot sell limits at 7,528.25 and 7,530.00 and the sell stop at 7,515.25, labelled by Tally.
Indicator settings
The FF Risk / Reward indicator holds the risk budget and rounding for its chart, and the settings that new drawings started from the pill begin with. It shows no label on the chart; the pill is its interface.
0. Toolbar
Show toolbarOn
Shows the R:R pill. Turn it off for a clean chart.
Defaults
Default risk $500
The risk budget for every drawing on this chart. Minimum 1. The pill’s minus and plus change it in $50 steps.
Default show 1ROn
New drawings started from the pill show the 1R line when this is on. With no drawing selected, the 1R button on the pill shows and changes it.
Default show 2ROn
New drawings started from the pill show the 2R line when this is on. With no drawing selected, the pill’s 2R button changes it.
Default show $ labelsOn
New drawings started from the pill label in dollars when this is on, points when off. With no drawing selected, the pill’s $ button changes it.
Default show contract countOn
New drawings started from the pill show the contract caption when this is on.
Default snap modeAuto
The snap mode new drawings started from the pill begin with: Off, Wicks, Bodies, OHLC or Auto.
Default snap radius (px)12
The snap radius new drawings started from the pill begin with, 1 to 64 pixels.
Default show tick trackerOn
New drawings started from the pill show the signed tick distance from entry to the current price when this is on.
Remove drawing after placing ordersOn
Removes the drawing once an entry from Place fills. Working orders stay visible through Chart Trader.
Round contracts upOff
Off rounds the count down, so the risk never exceeds the budget. On rounds it up, so the risk may exceed the budget by up to one contract’s stop distance. Same as the Dn / Up button.
Drawing properties
Each drawing has its own properties: right-click it and choose Properties. A drawing started from the pill begins with the indicator’s defaults above; one started from NinjaTrader’s drawing tools menu begins with the defaults below.
Sizing
Show 1R line / Show 2R lineOn / On
The dashed reference lines. Each is drawn only once the target is beyond it.
Snap
Snap modeAuto
Off, Wicks, Bodies, OHLC or Auto. See Drawing a plan.
Snap radius (px)12
How close, in pixels, the cursor must be to a candle’s price for the snap to engage. 1 to 64.
Labels
Show contract countOn
The two-line caption under the stop.
Show $ labelsOn
On shows dollars, off shows points. The labels stay either way.
Show tick trackerOn
The signed tick count above the entry label.
Visuals
Entry colorOrange
The entry line, its label and its handle. The tick tracker uses it at zero.
Stop colorCrimson
The stop line and its label. The tick tracker uses it below zero.
Target colorMediumSeaGreen
The target line, the 1R and 2R lines and their labels. The tick tracker uses it above zero.
Contract-count colorOrange
The caption under the stop.
Line thickness (px)1.25
0.5 to 5.
Label font size15
8 to 24.
Toolbar
Risk, rounding, the reference lines and order placement all sit on one pill. The note beside it tells you whether the next toggle edits the selected drawing or the chart default.
R:R$500−+1R2R$Dn
• Editing defaults
As it sits on the chart, default settings, nothing selected. Lit buttons in teal; Place stays grey until a drawing is selected.
New drawing (the ringed dot) starts a drawing: click the entry, then the stop.
$500 is the risk budget for this chart. − and + step it by $50, never below $50, and every drawing reprices.
1R and 2R show or hide the reference lines on the selected drawing. With nothing selected they change the default the next drawing from the pill starts with.
$ switches the labels to points and reads pt while in points. It edits the selected drawing or the default, like 1R and 2R.
Dn rounds the count down; click for Up. It applies to every drawing on the chart.
Place (the triangle) sends the selected drawing’s orders after the confirmation. While they are working it shows ✕, which cancels them.
• Editing defaults changes to • Editing selected, in teal, while a drawing is selected.
The pill has no power button. It hides with the rest of the suite’s pills from the Master Switch (Ctrl+Alt+T), and the Show toolbar setting removes it.
Requirements
Platform
NinjaTrader 8 on Windows. No Order Flow+ subscription required.
Data
Any NinjaTrader data feed. No Tick Replay required.
Instrument
Any instrument with a tick size and point value in NinjaTrader. The micro count assumes a full-size contract with a one-tenth micro, such as NQ and MNQ or ES and MES.
Orders
Chart Trader open with a connected account selected. Accounts whose names start with Sim or Playback get the sim confirmation; any other account gets the live one.
Setup
The FF Risk / Reward indicator on the chart. It holds the risk budget the drawings read.
Try it in the free private beta
Risk/Reward ships as part of the FlowForged Suite. The beta is free.