Yes, this I know. I'd not want to risk more than 1%, maybe only .5 % of my equity per trade. Knowing that trendfollowing has a low hit ratio, I'd expect around 60% of my trades to be losers ! But I want 2.5 to 3R trades - that's it. The 40% winners should on average take in 2.5 - 3.0 x my average loss. Important is that the open trades are monitored - if I'm in the green zone, the underlying has gone 1R in my favor, I'd pull up the Stop loss on my entry level. Recent example is FX pair Pound vs US$ (GBPUSD), would have gone long @ around 1.2631 and my SL would now be placed there (initial SL @ 1.2590). Would now be in safe harbor (downward gaps on weekends of course are possible) and my profit target would be 1.2790 . I consider speculating as basically cutting losses when it makes senses, making sure they don't wipe you out, and trying to catch large moves long or short no matter what the underlying. Important is, the swap fees can bite into your P/L when trading currencies and you expect to hold them for > 1 day. https://www.forexchurch.com/forex-broker-swap-rates